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Jonny Greenwood: Biography, Facts and Career

Who is Jonny Greenwood? An evergreen, sourced profile: biography, key facts and career.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team4 min read✓ Fact-checked
Jonny Greenwood
Zach Klein via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5

Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician who is the lead guitarist of the rock band Radiohead. He has also composed numerous film scores. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists by multiple publications. Greenwood formed Radiohead at school with his elder brother, Colin. Their debut single, "Creep" (1992), featured Greenwood's aggressive guitar work. He described his role in Radiohead as an arranger, helping transform Thom Yorke's demos into finished songs. Radiohead have sold more than 30 million albums, and Greenwood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band in 2019. Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist and a player of the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument. He uses electronic techniques such as programming, sampling and looping, and writes music software. The only classically trained member of Radiohead, Greenwood has composed for orchestras including the London Contemporary Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra, and his arrangements feature on Radiohead records. He has collaborated with Middle Eastern musicians including the Israeli songwriters Shye Ben Tzur and Dudu Tassa. In 2021, Greenwood debuted a new band, the Smile, with Yorke and the drummer Tom Skinner. Greenwood released his first solo work, the soundtrack for the film Bodysong, in 2003. In 2007, he scored There Will Be Blood, the first of several collaborations with the director Paul Thomas Anderson. In 2018, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his score for Anderson's Phantom Thread. He was nominated again for his score for The Power of the Dog (2021), directed by Jane Campion, and his score for Anderson's One Battle After Another (2025). Greenwood also scored the Lynne Ramsay films We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and You Were Never Really Here (2017).

Quick facts about Jonny Greenwood

  • Full name: Jonny Greenwood
  • Born: 1971-11-05
  • Nationality: United Kingdom
  • Known as: Actor
  • Wikidata ID: Q286410

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jonny Greenwood?

Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician who is the lead guitarist of the rock band Radiohead.

What nationality is Jonny Greenwood?

Jonny Greenwood is United Kingdom.

When was Jonny Greenwood born?

Jonny Greenwood was born on 1971-11-05.

Sources

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