Sam McCurdy, ASC, BSC, is a British director of photography. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, McCurdy studied fine art and photography before being drawn to motion pictures, initially shooting short films and music videos during his college years and working his way up through the camera ranks at Pinewood Studios and beyond. His early collaborations with director Neil Marshall on genre projects such as Killing Time (1998), Combat (1999), Dog Soldiers (2002), The Descent (2005) and Doomsday (2008). McCurdy's work in television began in the early 2000s and includes contributions to British series such as Wire in the Blood (2006–2008), Merlin (2011–2012), Last Tango in Halifax (2012) and Fresh Meat (2012). He gained wider international recognition with his cinematography on the Game of Thrones (2011) episode "Blackwater," which earned him nominations from the British Society of Cinematographers and the Best Cinematography Award for Television Drama, as well as recognition from the Online Film & Television Association alongside his fellow cinematographers on the series. Throughout the late 2010s and into the 2020s, McCurdy contributed significantly to high‑profile television productions, including Lost in Space (2018–2021), for which he shot the pilot and many subsequent episodes, Into the Badlands (2015–2019), Pennyworth (2019), Carnival Row (2019, 2023) and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023). His work on the critically acclaimed FX/Hulu series Shōgun (2024) was particularly celebrated; McCurdy shot multiple episodes including "Crimson Sky," and received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour), the American Society of Cinematographers' Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in an Episode of a One‑Hour Series, and nominations from the British Society of Cinematographers for his camera work on that episode. In addition to his television work, McCurdy's feature film cinematography encompasses projects such as A United Kingdom (2016) and a range of genre films, including The Legend of Hercules (2014) and Knights of Badassdom (2013). He has also worked on documentary and special-format projects, including Le Mans: 3D (2017) and the miniseries Le Mans: Racing Is Everything (2017). He has been a member of the British Society of Cinematographers since 2009 and of the American Society of Cinematographers since his invitation to join. In his professional pursuits, McCurdy has discussed the role of the cinematographer as shaping visual storytelling through lighting, camera movement and collaboration with directors and crews, drawing on a broad range of influences and experiences across the mediums of film and television.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- Cinematographer
- 35 on MovieCove · 45 credits in all
What are Sam McCurdy's films like?
Across their 24 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.
Genres
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
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 3 · Earnest 15
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 3 · Dark 10
A split, not a type: Grounded 9 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 5
Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 13
Steady 6 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 3
Straight-faced 11 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 3
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 7
Casual 7 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 3
A split, not a type: Easy watch 5 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 7
Resolved 16 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet12
- Tragic2
- Ambiguous4
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 Sam McCurdy's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 29 of their 35 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (14).
- Merlin (2008) · cinematographer · free
- The Descent (2005) · cinematographer · free
- Fresh Meat (2011) · cinematographer · free
- The Devil's Double (2011) · cinematographer · free
- Preaching to the Perverted (1997) · cinematographer · free
- StreetDance 3D (2010) · cinematographer · free
- StreetDance 2 (2012) · cinematographer · free
- Knights of Badassdom (2013) · cinematographer · free
- Dread (2009) · cinematographer · free
- Outlaw (2007) · cinematographer · free
- The Descent: Part 2 (2009) · cinematographer · free
- The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007) · cinematographer · free
- +2 more
- Merlin (2008) · cinematographer
- Timeless (2016) · cinematographer
- Dog Soldiers (2002) · cinematographer
- Le Mans: Racing Is Everything (2017) · cinematographer
- Centurion (2010) · cinematographer
- StreetDance 3D (2010) · cinematographer · free
- StreetDance 2 (2012) · cinematographer
- Dread (2009) · cinematographer
- Outlaw (2007) · cinematographer
- The Descent: Part 2 (2009) · cinematographer
- Killing Time (1998) · cinematographer
- The Interceptor (2015) · cinematographer
- +1 more
- BritBox
- MovieSphere+, show their 4 titles on MovieSphere+
- BFI Player, show their 2 titles on BFI Player
- Howdy, show their 2 titles on Howdy
- Lionsgate+, show their 2 titles on Lionsgate+
- Shout! TV, show their 2 titles on Shout! TV
- ViX, show their 2 titles on ViX
- Magnolia Selects, show their title on Magnolia Selects
- Screambox, show their title on Screambox
- Warriors & Gangsters, show their title on Warriors & Gangsters
Subscription and free streaming for Sam McCurdy'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
45 credits, 35 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Man of Tomorrow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)
Smoke(2025)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all shows
Shōgun(2024)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows
Peacemaker(2022)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Dark Heart(2016)
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all shows
Lost in Space(2018)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows
A United Kingdom(2016)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Timeless(2016)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows
Rise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Into the Badlands(2015)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
The Interceptor(2015)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all shows
The Bastard Executioner(2015)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all shows
The Game(2014)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
Knights of Badassdom(2013)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
The Legend of Hercules(2014)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Crossing Lines(2013)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows
The Collection(2012)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Last Tango in Halifax(2012)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
The Halloween Kid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
The Devil's Dosh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
StreetDance 2(2012)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Fresh Meat(2011)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows
Horrid Henry: The Movie(2011)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Game of Thrones(2011)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
The Devil's Double(2011)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Macbeth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
StreetDance 3D(2010)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Centurion(2010)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
The Descent: Part 2(2009)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Dread(2009)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Merlin(2008)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
The Sickhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Doomsday(2008)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
The Hills Have Eyes 2(2007)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Outlaw(2007)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
The Descent(2005)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Cold & Dark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Dog Soldiers(2002)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Revelation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Nasty Neighbours (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Combat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Killing Time(1998)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 43 titles, 42 of them dated from 1997 to 2025.
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.
Awards
Won a Primetime Emmy in 2024, Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour).
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Sam McCurdy's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 38th percentile, the median of all 18; across their 18 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 38th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up12
- 50th to 74th7
- 25th to 49th10
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
14 of their 35 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved6
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser11
- Broadly Agreed3
- Mixed14
Reviewers score the cinematography 56/100 in their films, across 16 reviewed titles; fans 67, detractors 41. 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 Sam McCurdy's work okay for kids?
Across up to 17 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
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 Sam McCurdy work with?
People who share at least 2 of Sam McCurdy's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Neil Marshall shares the most, 6.
Directors
- Neil MarshallShared titles: Centurion (2010), The Descent: Part 2 (2009), Doomsday (2008), The Descent (2005), Dog Soldiers (2002), Killing Time (1998)See all 6 shared titles with Neil Marshall
- Kari SkoglandShared titles: Smoke (2025), The Bastard Executioner (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Kari Skogland
- Dania PasquiniShared titles: StreetDance 2 (2012), StreetDance 3D (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Dania Pasquini
- Max GiwaShared titles: StreetDance 2 (2012), StreetDance 3D (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Max Giwa
Actors
- George SampsonShared titles: StreetDance 2 (2012), StreetDance 3D (2010)See all 2 shared titles with George Sampson
- Liam CunninghamShared titles: Centurion (2010), Dog Soldiers (2002)See all 2 shared titles with Liam Cunningham
- Natalie MendozaShared titles: The Descent: Part 2 (2009), The Descent (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Natalie Mendoza
- Saskia MulderShared titles: The Descent: Part 2 (2009), The Descent (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Saskia Mulder
Composers and editors
- David JulyanShared titles: The Descent: Part 2 (2009), Outlaw (2007), The Descent (2005)See all 3 shared titles with David Julyan
- Tim MurrellShared titles: StreetDance 2 (2012), StreetDance 3D (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Tim Murrell
- Jon HarrisShared titles: The Descent: Part 2 (2009), The Descent (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Jon Harris
Producers
- Cameron McCrackenShared titles: A United Kingdom (2016), Centurion (2010), The Descent: Part 2 (2009), Outlaw (2007)See all 4 shared titles with Cameron McCracken
- Allan NibloShared titles: StreetDance 2 (2012), Horrid Henry: The Movie (2011), StreetDance 3D (2010), Outlaw (2007)See all 4 shared titles with Allan Niblo
- James RichardsonShared titles: StreetDance 2 (2012), Horrid Henry: The Movie (2011), StreetDance 3D (2010), Outlaw (2007)See all 4 shared titles with James Richardson
- Christian ColsonShared titles: Centurion (2010), The Descent: Part 2 (2009), The Descent (2005)See all 3 shared titles with Christian Colson
