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Simon Duggan

Simon Duggan

Cinematographer · Born May 13, 1959 (67) · Wellington, New Zealand

Simon Duggan, ASC, ACS, is a New Zealand-Australian cinematographer. His body of work includes collaborations with directors like Baz Luhrmann, Alex Proyas, Mel Gibson, Greg McLean, and George Miller. He has won the AACTA Award for Best Cinematography twice, for The Great Gatsby (2013) and Hacksaw Ridge (2016). Duggan started his career off in Australia at Ross Wood Film Studios. His first feature film was 1998's The Interview, starring Hugo Weaving. Duggan frequently worked with Alex Proyas and Len Wiseman, acting as cinematographer on their films Garage Days, I, Robot, Underworld: Evolution, Live Free or Die Hard, and Knowing. Other credits include The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Killer Elite. Duggan was director of photography on Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. This was Luhrmann's first experience filming with 3D. After The Great Gatsby, Duggan worked on 300: Rise of an Empire, Duncan Jones' Warcraft, and Hacksaw Ridge, which marked Mel Gibson's return to directing after 2006's Apocalypto. Duggan was invited as a member to the Australian Cinematographers Society in 1989 and the American Society of Cinematographers in 2022. Description above from the Wikipedia article Simon Duggan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 13, 1959 (67)
From
Wellington, New Zealand
Works as
Cinematographer
Titles
19 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 87% in 30 days

What are Simon Duggan's films like?

Across their 16 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.

Genres

Action7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 65th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 42nd percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 66th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
25%
Power
21%
Morality
19%
Survival
18%
Self
12%
Society
4%
Ideas
2%
Family bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themePower3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeWar2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 15 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 4 · Dark 9

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 7

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 12

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 2 · Shifting 10 · Whiplash 3

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 2

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 4

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 3

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 11 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
12
Melancholic
8
Thrilling
6
Dread
4
Hopeful
5
Other
12

How their films linger

Hopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 6 with a twist

  • Happy7
  • Bittersweet7
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Simon Duggan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 19 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Simon Duggan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

21 credits, 19 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Practical Magic 2(2026)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Territory(2024)

    Show 6 episodes · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows

  • The Exorcism(2024)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films

  • Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga(2024)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Disenchanted(2022)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Isn't It Romantic(2019)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films

  • The Lego Ninjago Movie(2017)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Hacksaw Ridge(2016)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Warcraft(2016)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • 300: Rise of an Empire(2014)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • The Great Gatsby(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Killer Elite(2011)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Knowing(2009)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Restraint(2008)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor(2008)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • Live Free or Die Hard(2007)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Underworld: Evolution(2006)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • I, Robot(2004)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Garage Days(2002)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Risk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Cinematographer

  • The Interview (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Cinematographer

Career shape

A full career of 21 titles from 1998 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Warcraft (2016)

$439M worldwide

Highest rated

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Practical Magic 2 (2026)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Cinematography21 of 21: 21 only cinematography, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score48th

By decade

1990s1 · crew2000s8 · crew2010s7 · crew2020s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Simon Duggan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 49th percentile, the median of all 18; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 45th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

45thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Approval · how many liked their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Reach · how many have seen their films

98thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Midcredits score across 19 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th9
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

None of their 19 titles divides audiences: 7 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Universally Panned1
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Broadly Agreed5
  • Mixed4

Most loved · cinematographer

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 63/100 in their films, across 15 reviewed titles; fans 71, detractors 48. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Simon Duggan's work okay for kids?

Across up to 16 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore15 titles32–96 · median 68 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity16 titles17–70 · median 34 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity15 titles27–76 · median 44 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs15 titles11–57 · median 35 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense15 titles34–85 · median 61 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Simon Duggan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Simon Duggan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Marco Beltrami shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers