Fabian Wagner DOP of Sherlock, Game of Thrones, Justice League and more

The Irish Photography Podcast

As I began my interview with Fabian Wagner DOP, he sits there totally relaxed and easygoing. Describing himself as just an ordinary guy, I quickly becomes clear that my conversation was going to be a very relaxed affair, without pretences and totally open to all questions I threw at him.

From starting out with his friends filming while still at school Fabian's passion for film seems embedded within and pushed him to learn his craft by attending Film College not only in Denmark but also in the UK.

Fabian explains how meeting many people throughout his career has helped him become the success he is now, additionally, it is all about luck and timing. From using cameras at weekends from a company he worked for making corporate videos he suddenly had equipment to use to make music videos and got his name around as someone who was good at his craft.

Starting with 2nd unit on film sets, to getting roles with the BBC with various series, Life Spooks, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes are some of his titles and even got the opportunity to work on the crown with his friend, which was a great moment.

It was then after working on Sherlock that he got his first Emmy Nomination, After receiving this Fabian says he didn’t know where it had come from and upon receiving the call at the time he didn’t realise how big of a career-changing moment it would end up being. He was just happy working and doing the job he loved. It was then that he was able to make a call to his mom and tell her the news, this made her extremely proud plus she was able to go to L.A. with her son for the Emmy event.

Joining Game Of Thrones in season 4 he worked with the show runners and many directors to produce some of the best cinematography which was recognised by earning him his second Emmy nomination.

Fabian was responsible for the now infamous scene " Battle of the Bastards" and how he describes how this was put together it struck me that he is an incredibly down-to-earth guy.

We discuss his approach to filming, his mindset, his blockbuster titles like Justice League and how he is now giving back to the community with his first steps cinematography initiative.

An incredible conversation overall which shows that it is possible for anyone to be successful once they have the passion and drive to succeed.