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IMDbPro

Dave Porter(II)

  • Composer
  • Music Department
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Dave Porter
A clip from the episode Gray Matter, from season one of the series Breaking Bad
Play clip2:02
Gray Matter
4 Videos
1 Photo
Dave Porter is a Los Angeles based composer for film and television. He began his classical musical training at the piano at age five, but it was his interest in electronic music as a teen that led him to start composing his own music. He studied both classical and electronic music composition at Sarah Lawrence College under John Yannelli and started his professional career as an assistant in Philip Glass' recording studio in New York City.

Dave is perhaps best known for his enduring creative relationship with one of Hollywood's most respected figures - Vince Gilligan. Since the remarkable pilot episode of Breaking Bad in 2007, Dave has written the original music for all of Gilligan's projects. He scored all 62 episodes of that groundbreaking series and created its iconic opening theme. Actor/Producer Bryan Cranston stated: "With his music, Dave Porter has created another character for Breaking Bad. Evocative and meaningful, Dave's work is an essential part of the storytelling." Since then, Dave has also been behind all of the original music for Breaking Bad's equally acclaimed spin-off, Better Call Saul, and helped bring the Breaking Bad universe to the big screen with his original score to Gilligan's feature film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

2024 will kick off a new chapter In Dave's career -- his first collaboration with Marvel Studios, Echo, will release on January 10th. The first project to be released under the new Marvel Spotlight banner, it will also be the first Marvel series with a TV-MA rating. "The Marvel team made me feel at home right away and have created a television series full of all of the hallmarks that inspire me -- real stakes, emotions, consequences, and a world in which all of the characters are always learning and evolving," said Porter on his collaboration with Marvel.

Other credits in recent years include working with James Franco on his masterful film The Disaster Artist and collaborating with documentary visionary RJ Cutler on Murf The Surf, a 4 part series produced by Brian Glazer and Ron Howard. He also loved working with creator/showrunner Rebecca Cutter on her groundbreaking Starz series Hightown, as well as AMC's boundary-defying series Preacher - produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Sam Catlin. Dave also recently wrapped up a decade long run as composer for the James Spader crime thriller series The Blacklist, one of the most successful television dramas of all time spanning more than 200 episodes.

Dave has twice been awarded ASCAP's Composer's Choice Award for Best Television Composer - at the inaugural event for the award in 2013, and once again in 2017. He was also bestowed the 2019 Citation Award by his alma mater Sarah Lawrence College for his creative achievements.
  • More at IMDbPro
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IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
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    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 4 nominations total

    Known for

    Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul (2015)
    Better Call Saul
    9.0
    TV Series
    • Composer
    The Blacklist (2013)
    The Blacklist
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Composer
    Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad (2008)
    Breaking Bad
    9.5
    TV Series
    • Composer
    Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong in The Brothers Grimsby (2016)
    The Brothers Grimsby
    6.2
    • Soundtrack
    • 2016

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Composer



    • Pluribus
      • Composer
      • Released
      • TV Series
      • 2026



    • Rhea Seehorn in Pluribus (2025)
      Pluribus
      8.5
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2025
    • Hightown (2020)
      Hightown
      6.9
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2020–2024
    • Vincent D'Onofrio and Alaqua Cox in Echo (2023)
      Echo
      5.9
      TV Mini Series
      • Composer
      • 2023–2024
    • The Blacklist (2013)
      The Blacklist
      7.9
      TV Series
      • music by
      • 2013–2023
    • Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez in Alert: Missing Persons Unit (2023)
      Alert: Missing Persons Unit
      6.0
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2023
    • Murf the Surf (2023)
      Murf the Surf
      6.7
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2023
    • Lucky Hank (2023)
      Lucky Hank
      6.8
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2023
    • Bob Odenkirk in Better Call Saul (2015)
      Better Call Saul
      9.0
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2015–2022
    • What We See (2021)
      What We See
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2021
    • Aaron Paul in El Camino (2019)
      El Camino
      7.3
      • Composer
      • 2019
    • Preacher (2016)
      Preacher
      7.9
      TV Series
      • music by
      • 2016–2019
    • Chasing Classic Cars (2008)
      Chasing Classic Cars
      7.3
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2008–2018
    • James Franco, Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, and Dave Franco in The Disaster Artist (2017)
      The Disaster Artist
      7.3
      • Composer
      • 2017
    • Famke Janssen, Edi Gathegi, and Ryan Eggold in The Blacklist: Redemption (2017)
      The Blacklist: Redemption
      7.0
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2017
    • Vince Vaughn and Hailee Steinfeld in Term Life (2016)
      Term Life
      5.6
      • Composer
      • 2016

    Music Department



    • Rhea Seehorn in Pluribus (2025)
      Pluribus
      8.5
      TV Series
      • scoring mixer
      • 2025
    • Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez in Alert: Missing Persons Unit (2023)
      Alert: Missing Persons Unit
      6.0
      TV Series
      • theme music composer
      • theme by
      • 2023–2025
    • When a Stranger's Here (2016)
      When a Stranger's Here
      Short
      • composer: additional music
      • 2016
    • Logan Marshall-Green in Quarry (2016)
      Quarry
      8.0
      TV Series
      • music consultant (as David Porter)
      • 2016
    • Be Water (2020)
      30 for 30
      8.8
      TV Series
      • composer: additional music
      • 2016
    • When You're Not Alone (2015)
      When You're Not Alone
      • composer: additional music
      • 2015
    • Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010)
      Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead
      7.5
      • composer: opening titles
      • 2010
    • Vacancy (2007)
      Vacancy
      6.2
      • composer: additional music
      • 2007
    • The Oh in Ohio (2006)
      The Oh in Ohio
      5.5
      • composer: additional music
      • 2006
    • Milla Jovovich in Ultraviolet (2006)
      Ultraviolet
      4.4
      • composer: additional music (as David Porter)
      • 2006
    • The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005)
      The Matrix: Path of Neo
      7.5
      Video Game
      • composer additional music
      • 2005

    Actor



    • Breaking Bad: The Music of Breaking Bad (2010)
      Breaking Bad: The Music of Breaking Bad
      7.3
      Video
      • Dave Porter
      • 2010

    Videos4

    Gray Matter
    Clip 2:02
    Gray Matter
    Crazy Handful of Nothing
    Clip 2:06
    Crazy Handful of Nothing
    Crazy Handful of Nothing
    Clip 2:06
    Crazy Handful of Nothing
    ... And the Bag's In the River
    Clip 1:35
    ... And the Bag's In the River
    Cat's In the Bag
    Clip 1:58
    Cat's In the Bag

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official site
      • Official Site
    • Alternative name
      • David Porter

    FAQ

    Powered by Alexa
    • What is Dave Porter known for?
      Breaking Bad, The Blacklist, Better Call Saul, and The Brothers Grimsby
    • How many awards has Dave Porter won?
      4 awards
    • How many award nominations has Dave Porter received?
      8 nominations

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