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Atli Örvarsson

Icelandic composer

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Atli Örvarsson (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈaʰtlɪ ˈœrvar̥sɔn]) is an Icelandic-American film score composer. Atli's credits include composing and orchestrating music for some of Hollywood's biggest projects, including the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Angels & Demons, The Holiday, The Eagle, Vantage Point, Babylon A.D., Thick as Thieves, The Fourth Kind, and Season of the Witch. Atli's most recent credits include Apple TV's Silo and Defending Jacob, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, A Single Shot, NBC series Chicago Fire, and together with Hans Zimmer contributed music to the Zack Snyder Superman reinstallment Man of Steel.

Originally from the small town of Akureyri, Atli became established in the local music scene at a young age. He earned three platinum and two gold records as a member of the Icelandic band Sálin hans Jóns míns before studying film composing at Berklee College of Music and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He excelled in composing and was awarded the Pete Carpenter Fellowship, which brought him to Los Angeles. He began working alongside TV veteran Mike Post on NYPD Blue and three Law & Order brands. Atli soon caught the attention of composer Hans Zimmer, who extended an invitation to join his team at Remote Control Productions.

01Filmography

Film

Television

Year Title Network Notes
2002, 2005 Law & Order: Criminal Intent NBC Co-composed with Mike Post
2003-2004 L.A. Dragnet ABC
2006 Six Degrees Co-composed with Michael Giacchino & Adam Cohen
2010 Law & Order: Los Angeles NBC Theme music composed by Mike Post
2012-present Chicago Fire
2014-present Chicago P.D.
2015-present Chicago Med
2017 Chicago Justice
2019-present FBI CBS
2020-present FBI: Most Wanted
2020 Defending Jacob Apple TV+ Theme music composed by Ólafur Arnalds
2022 Unprecedented Discovery+
2023-present Silo Apple TV+
2025 On Call Prime Video
Watch videos about Atli ÖrvarssonExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

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