Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams (birthname: Pharrell Lanscilo Williams) is one of his generation’s most influential musical voices, working widely across multiple media from recordings to movies, for which he made his first stamp as composer of the soundtracks for the Despicable Me franchise, including Despicable Me (2010), Despicable Me 2 (2013), Despicable Me 3 (2017) and Despicable Me 4 (2024).

Williams was co-composer of the music for Columbia-Sony and Marvel’s hit sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field, grossing $709 million globally. Williams served as both producer (earning an Oscar nomination for best picture) and soundtrack composer of the Space Race drama, Hidden Figures (2016), starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali and Glen Powell, and earning $236 million worldwide for 20^th Century Fox.

Pharrell Williams took on voice roles in animated features starting in 2018 as the narrator of Universal Pictures and Illumination’s $540-million-grossing The Grinch (2018), starring the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson, and Angela Lansbury, and then Williams voiced his first character role (as an ice cream-selling elephant!) in Universal Pictures/Illumination’s $408-million-grossing animated hit sequel, Sing 2 (2021), with the voice cast of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Nick Kroll, Bobby Cannavale, and Bono, underwriter Garth Jennings’ direction.

Williams was one of several producers of the little-seen biopic on pro skateboarder (and this film’s director) Mikey Alfred, North Hollywood (2020), with Ryder McLaughlin, Vince Vaughn, and Miranda Cosgrove. Williams’s most important film project to date was Morgan Neville’s autobiographical animated docu-portrait (animated with Lego minifigures) for Focus Features, Piece by Piece (2024), in which Williams played himself, and also produced and composed the soundtrack score, which featured several major pop artists including Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg.

Williams returned to his role as a film soundtrack composer (in a soundtrack shared with fellow composers Hans Zimmer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nicholas Britell and Mark Mancina) for the Barry Jenkins-directed animated Lion King adventure for Disney, Mufasa: The Lion King (2024), starring the voice cast of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., John Kani, Seth Rogan, Billy Eichner, Donald Glover, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton and Beyoncé. Williams was producer as well as composer of the soundtrack for the second feature in consecutive years about Williams’ life, the Michel Gondry-directed musical, Atlantis (2025), starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry, Quinta Brunson, Janelle Monae, Jaboukie Young-White, Tim Meadows, Anderson. Paak and Missy Elliott, released by Universal Pictures.