Trivia

Operates the camera himself, which is rare for British cinematographers.

Despite his reputation among cinematographers, he has never once shot a film with anamorphic lenses. When he shoots for 2.35:1, he either shoots with Super 35 film stock or crops it in post. This is because he prefers working with Spherical Lenses for the look of his films, and anamorphic lenses are slower with processing light, and can give unwanted blemishes such as lens flares.

Views 'cinematography as a collection of images, not individual images', according to Andrew Dominik.

Was tied with George J. Folsey for 13 Academy Award nominations for best achievement in cinematography without a win, but has since "lost" the record upon winning for Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

A collaborator of notable loyalty, his gaffer/lighting technician Bill O'Leary has been with him since their first joint venture on Sid & Nancy (1986). Irish gaffer John Higgins has also assisted Roger on several features from 1984 (1984) through 1917 (2019).

According to himself, from their very first encounter, him and the Coen brothers seemed to be on the same wavelength.

Is a staunch advocate of digital cinematography for its consistency in yielding instant and accurate results that need little or no treatment in post. Likes to create most of his imagery in-camera without using any filters or fill light.

Loves taking still photographs and fishing.

Is affected by the films of Jean-Pierre Melville, Andrei Tarkovsky, Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Luchino Visconti.

(March 4, 2018) During a post Oscar ceremonies interview, Deakins declared that he was especially delighted to have received his first Oscar alongside fellow Brit and first time Oscar winner Gary Oldman (for Les Heures sombres (2017)). Early in their careers Roger filmed Sid & Nancy (1986) in which Gary made his breakthrough performance. This was their only collaboration.

His artistically inclined mother was an actress and amateur painter.

Sometimes uses a specially modified lens, nicknamed a 'Deakinizer'. Notably used in L'Assassinat de Jesse James par le lâche Robert Ford (2007) and in a few shots of A Serious Man (2009).

Graduated from the United Kingdom's National Film and Television School.

As of 2015, he finds, among his work, The barber: l'homme qui n'était pas là (2001) is the most cohesive as a piece of visual interpretation.

Graduated from college with the idea of making documentaries.

His favorite films are La Horde sauvage (1969), Requiem pour un massacre (1985), La dolce vita (1960), Dr. Folamour ou : comment j'ai appris à ne plus m'en faire et à aimer la bombe (1964), Le Samouraï (1967), L'armée des ombres (1969), Il était une fois dans l'Ouest (1968), Rocco et ses frères (1960), Profession: reporter (1975) and Paris, Texas (1984).

As of 2024, he has contributed with the cinematography of eight films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Les Évadés (1994), Fargo (1996), Un homme d'exception (2001), No Country for Old Men (2007), The Reader (2008), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010) and 1917 (2019). Of those, Un homme d'exception (2001) and No Country for Old Men (2007) are winners in the category.

Is the most Oscar-snubbed cinematographer having been nominated 13 times (1995-2016) before finally winning the statuette for his 14th nomination for Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and again for his cinematic masterpiece 1917 (2019) . Curiously enough, composer Thomas Newman who, with Deakins, was first Oscar-nominated for Les Évadés (1994), but Newman has never landed the award despite being nominated 14 times through 2020.

First met his wife-to-be James Ellis Deakins on the set of Cœur de tonnerre (1992) where he was director of photography and she was a script supervisor.

Filmed anthropological documentaries in India and Sudan.

Member of the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) since 1986, and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 1994.

Received four American Society of Cinematographers Award nominations in the space of two years: for L'Assassinat de Jesse James par le lâche Robert Ford (2007) and No Country for Old Men (2007) in 2008, and for The Reader (2008) (shared with Chris Menges) and Les noces rebelles (2008) in 2009.

Intended to become a painter when he enrolled in the Bath Academy of Art.

When he attended Roger Mayne's -who was an English photographer- classes in the college, Mayne was a big influence on the way he started to see things.

He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours List before being awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Film. He is a Cinematographer.

Member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Cinematographers Branch) [2004-2007].