---
name: "Dan Hennah"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/dan-hennah"
roles: ["Production designer"]
born: "1 January 1950"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-09-19T15:36:31.363595+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Dan Hennah

Production designer. Born 1 January 1950 in Hastings, New Zealand.

## Details

- **Work:** Production designer
- **Born:** 1 January 1950, Hastings, New Zealand
- **Active:** 2001–2017
- **Also known as:** Daniel Hennah
- **Frequently works with:** [Carolynne Cunningham](https://film.one/person/carolynne-cunningham.md), [Fran Walsh](https://film.one/person/fran-walsh.md), [Guillermo del Toro](https://film.one/person/guillermo-del-toro.md), [Ian McKellen](https://film.one/person/ian-mckellen.md), [Martin Freeman](https://film.one/person/martin-freeman.md), [Peter Jackson](https://film.one/person/peter-jackson.md), [Philippa Boyens](https://film.one/person/philippa-boyens.md), [Richard Armitage](https://film.one/person/richard-armitage.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 4 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 88 (3), 2010s 63 (4)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 74 to 74 across 7 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Action 7, Adventure 7, Fantasy 6, Comedy 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 19 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $6,707m across 7 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Hennah, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1159081, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377172/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1373

## Coming up

- *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum* (2027-12-15), Production Design

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug*](https://film.one/film/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug.md) (65), [*The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey*](https://film.one/film/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey.md) (60), [*The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies*](https://film.one/film/the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies.md) (54)
- **Disney+:** [*Thor: Ragnarok*](https://film.one/film/thor-ragnarok.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Dan Hennah is a New Zealand production designer. Born in Hastings, he studied architecture before moving into film work in the early 1980s.

He collaborated extensively with director Peter Jackson, serving as set decorator and supervising art director on *The Lord of the Rings* trilogy (2001–2003) and as production designer on *The Hobbit* trilogy (2012–2014). He won an Academy Award for best art direction for *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* (2003). Later credits as production designer include *Thor: Ragnarok* (2017), *Alice Through the Looking Glass* (2016) and *Mortal Engines* (2018).

Hennah has been married since 1973 to Chris Hennah, who worked as an art department manager on the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nzonscreen.com, imdb.com, the-numbers.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

- *Thor: Ragnarok* (2017), Fi1m 74, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/thor-ragnarok.md)
- *The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies* (2014), Fi1m 54, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies.md)
- *The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug* (2013), Fi1m 65, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug.md)
- *The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey* (2012), Fi1m 60, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey.md)
- *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* (2003), Fi1m 88, Set Decoration, Supervising Art Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-return-of-the-king.md)
- *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers* (2002), Fi1m 85, Set Decoration, Supervising Art Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-two-towers.md)
- *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* (2001), Fi1m 90, Set Decoration, Supervising Art Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring.md)

## Complete filmography (30)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum* (2027), Production Design
- *Percy Jackson and the Olympians* (2023), series, Production Design
- *Disenchanted* (2022), Production Design
- *Love and Monsters* (2020), Production Design
- *Dora and the Lost City of Gold* (2019), Production Design
- *Mortal Engines* (2018), Production Design
- *Blue Moon* (2018), Thanks
- *Thor: Ragnarok* (2017), Production Design — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/thor-ragnarok.md)
- *Team Thor: Part 2* (2017), Production Design
- *Team Thor* (2016), Production Design
- *Ice Fantasy* (2016), series, as Art Direction
- *Alice Through the Looking Glass* (2016), Production Design
- *The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies* (2014), Production Design — Fi1m 54, [page](https://film.one/film/the-hobbit-the-battle-of-the-five-armies.md)
- *The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug* (2013), Production Design — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug.md)
- *The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey* (2012), Production Design — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey.md)
- *The Warrior's Way* (2010), Production Design
- *Underworld: Rise of the Lycans* (2009), Production Design
- *The Water Horse* (2007), as Set Decoration · Supervising Art Director
- *King Kong* (2005), as Set Decoration · Supervising Art Director
- *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* (2003), as Set Decoration · Supervising Art Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-return-of-the-king.md)
- *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers* (2002), as Rohan Recruit (uncredited), Set Decoration · Supervising Art Director — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-two-towers.md)
- *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* (2001), Supervising Art Director, Set Decoration — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring.md)
- *The Rainbow Warrior* (1997), as Art Direction
- *The Frighteners* (1996), as Art Direction
- *Adrift* (1993), Production Design
- *White Water Summer* (1987), as Art Direction
- *Heart of the Country* (1987), series, as Art Direction
- *Mesmerized* (1985), as Art Direction
- *Nate and Hayes* (1983), as Art Direction
- *Amy John & Jiu Jitsu Dave*, Producer

## Gallery

- ![Dan Hennah](https://film.one/media/person/293552/gallery-099090aa09a7.jpg) Dan Hennah — Image via TMDB
- ![Dan Hennah](https://film.one/media/person/293552/gallery-b830e36bed72.jpg) Dan Hennah — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 4 nominated

- 2013: Best Production Design (nominated), for *The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey*
- 2006: Best Production Design (nominated), for *King Kong*
- 2004: Best Production Design (won), for *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*
- 2003: Best Production Design (nominated), for *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*
- 2002: Best Production Design (nominated), for *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*

### Other awards — 1 won, 2 nominated

- Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Art Direction 2013: Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Art Direction (nominated), for *The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug*
- Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Art Direction 2012: Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Art Direction (nominated), for *The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey*
- Satellite Award for Best Art Direction and Production Design 2004: Satellite Award for Best Art Direction and Production Design (won), for *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/dan-hennah