---
name: "John Charles"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-charles"
fi1m_id: "john-charles"
imdb_id: "nm0153064"
tmdb_id: 64101
wikidata_id: "Q67868986"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "4 November 1940"
died: "7 May 2024"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-26T01:12:35.848980+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."
---

# John Charles

## Identity

John Charles

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-charles
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-charles
- **IMDb ID:** nm0153064
- **TMDB ID:** 64101
- **Wikidata ID:** Q67868986
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles_(composer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q67868986, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153064/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/64101

Composer. Born 4 November 1940 in Wellington, New Zealand. Died 7 May 2024.

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 4 November 1940, Wellington, New Zealand
- **Died:** 7 May 2024
- **Active:** 1983–1985
- **Also known as:** Jon Charles
- **Frequently works with:** [Anzac Wallace](https://film.one/person/anzac-wallace.md), [Bruno Lawrence](https://film.one/person/bruno-lawrence.md), [Geoff Murphy](https://film.one/person/geoff-murphy.md)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles_(composer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q67868986, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153064/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/64101

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Quiet Earth*](https://film.one/film/the-quiet-earth.md) (78)

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

## Biography

John Charles (also credited as Jon Charles) was a New Zealand composer, conductor, pianist and orchestrator. Born in Wellington, he studied at Victoria University of Wellington before working in journalism and television production and direction for the New Zealand Broadcasting Service. He later moved to Australia, where he composed for television and served as composer-in-residence at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.

Charles composed scores for several New Zealand feature films, notably *Goodbye Pork Pie* (1980), *Utu* (1983) and *The Quiet Earth* (1985), often in collaboration with director Geoff Murphy. His other film credits include *A Soldier's Tale* (1989) and *Spooked* (2004). He received nominations at the New Zealand Film and Television Awards.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nzonscreen.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Quiet Earth* (1985), Fi1m 78, Original Music Composer, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/the-quiet-earth.md)
- *Utu* (1983), Fi1m 74, Music — [page](https://film.one/film/utu.md)

## Complete filmography (11)

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

- *Killers* (2010), as Model chris (uncredited)
- *Spooked* (2004), Original Music Composer
- *The Last Tattoo* (1994), Original Music Composer
- *Bread & Roses* (1993), Original Music Composer
- *A Soldier's Tale* (1988), Original Music Composer
- *Zombie Brigade* (1988), Music
- *The Perfectionist* (1985), Original Music Composer
- *The Quiet Earth* (1985), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/the-quiet-earth.md)
- *Constance* (1985), Original Music Composer
- *Utu* (1983), Music — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/utu.md)
- *Goodbye Pork Pie* (1981), Original Music Composer

---
© 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/john-charles