Anecdotes

He is known for being able to compose a full film score in a short time.

Started playing piano at the age of 5.

In his early teens, he started collecting soundtrack albums. He became acquainted with the music of several composers including Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Maurice Jarre, and Georges Delerue.

His Greek mother and French father met in the US while attending university. After the marriage, they moved to France where Desplat was born.

One of 115 peopled invited to join AMPAS in 2007.

Was nominated for Film Composer of the Year by the International Film Music Critics Association in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. He only won the award in 2007.

First met his wife, Dominique LeMonnier, while working on his first film score in 1986.

He has provided the score for 3 films that have won the Oscar for Best Picture: Le Discours d'un roi (2010), Argo (2012), and La Forme de l'eau (2017).

Father of Antonia Desplat and Ninon Desplat with wife Dominique Lemonnier.

As of 2022, he has composed the music of twelve films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Queen (2006), L'Étrange Histoire de Benjamin Button (2008), The Tree of Life (2011), Le Discours d'un roi (2010), Extrêmement fort & incroyablement près (2011), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Argo (2012), Philomena (2013), Imitation Game (2014), The Grand Budapest hotel (2014), La Forme de l'eau (2017) and Les Filles du docteur March (2019). Of those, Le Discours d'un roi (2010), Argo (2012) and La Forme de l'eau (2017) are winners in the category.

Second winner of the Life Achievement Kilar Award, of FMF Krakow Film Music Festival, named after late composer Wojciech Kilar, in 2016.

Graduated from Royal College of Music.

Although he was born on August 23rd, both his Sun and ascendant/rising signs are in Leo.