---
name: "Nick McLean"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/nick-mclean"
fi1m_id: "nick-mclean"
imdb_id: "nm0572622"
tmdb_id: 14642
wikidata_id: "Q17517414"
roles: ["Camera operator"]
born: "29 May 1941"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 12
average_fi1m_score: 63
average_over: 11
updated: "2026-10-04T18:40:17.709683+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."
---

# Nick McLean

## Identity

Nick McLean

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/nick-mclean
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** nick-mclean
- **IMDb ID:** nm0572622
- **TMDB ID:** 14642
- **Wikidata ID:** Q17517414
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_McLean, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17517414, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0572622/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14642

Camera operator. Born 29 May 1941 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Camera operator
- **Born:** 29 May 1941, Santa Monica, California, USA
- **Active:** 1971–1994
- **Also known as:**  George Nicholas McLean
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 12: 1 acting, 11 crew
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 76 (6), 1980s 47 (5), 1990s 78 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 67 to 64 across 9 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 5 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 6, Comedy 5, Fantasy 2, Romance 2, Science Fiction 2, Sport 2
- **Screen time:** 20 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $782m across 10 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_McLean, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17517414, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0572622/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14642

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Friends*](https://film.one/tv/friends.md) (78)
- **Peacock:** [*The Goonies*](https://film.one/film/the-goonies.md) (76)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Cannonball Run II*](https://film.one/film/cannonball-run-ii.md) (35)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Mac and Me*](https://film.one/film/mac-and-me.md) (30)

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

## Biography

Nick McLean, also credited as George Nicholas McLean, is an American cinematographer. Born on 29 May 1941 in Santa Monica, California, he began his career in the camera department in the 1960s, working as a clapper loader and later as a camera operator on films including *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), *The Deer Hunter* (1978) and *Being There* (1979).

McLean became a director of photography in the early 1980s. His credits include *Stroker Ace* (1983), *The Goonies* (1985), *Short Circuit* (1986) and *Spaceballs* (1987). He later worked extensively in television, serving as director of photography on *Evening Shade* and *Friends* (for which he received Emmy nominations). His family has ties to the film industry; his stepfather, Fred Jackman Jr., was a cinematographer.

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

## On Fi1m (12)

### Performed in (1)

- *The Goonies* (1985), Fi1m 76, as Mouth's Father — [page](https://film.one/film/the-goonies.md)

### Crew (11) — the average rests on these

- *Friends* (1994), Fi1m 78, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/tv/friends.md)
- *Mac and Me* (1988), Fi1m 30, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/mac-and-me.md)
- *Cannonball Run II* (1984), Fi1m 35, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/cannonball-run-ii.md)
- *Staying Alive* (1983), Fi1m 38, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/staying-alive.md)
- *The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas* (1982), Fi1m 55, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/the-best-little-whorehouse-in-texas.md)
- *Being There* (1979), Fi1m 84, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/being-there.md)
- *Heaven Can Wait* (1978), Fi1m 74, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/heaven-can-wait.md)
- *The Deer Hunter* (1978), Fi1m 84, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/the-deer-hunter.md)
- *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), Fi1m 85, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md)
- *Exorcist II: The Heretic* (1977), Fi1m 38, Camera Operator — [page](https://film.one/film/exorcist-ii-the-heretic.md)
- *McCabe & Mrs. Miller* (1971), Fi1m 90, First Assistant Camera — [page](https://film.one/film/mccabe-and-mrs-miller.md)

## Complete filmography (29)

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

- *The Last Producer* (2000), Director of Photography
- *The Maddening* (1995), Director of Photography
- *Friends* (1994), series, Director of Photography — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/friends.md)
- *The Man from Left Field* (1993), Director of Photography
- *Mac and Me* (1988), Director of Photography — Fi1m 30, [page](https://film.one/film/mac-and-me.md)
- *Spaceballs* (1987), Director of Photography
- *Cobra* (1986), Additional Photography
- *Short Circuit* (1986), Director of Photography
- *Twice in a Lifetime* (1985), Director of Photography
- *The Goonies* (1985), as Mouth's Father · Director of Photography — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/the-goonies.md)
- *Stick* (1985), Director of Photography
- *City Heat* (1984), Director of Photography
- *Cannonball Run II* (1984), Director of Photography — Fi1m 35, [page](https://film.one/film/cannonball-run-ii.md)
- *Staying Alive* (1983), Director of Photography — Fi1m 38, [page](https://film.one/film/staying-alive.md)
- *Stroker Ace* (1983), as Waiter (uncredited) · Director of Photography
- *The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas* (1982), Camera Operator — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/the-best-little-whorehouse-in-texas.md)
- *Cheech & Chong's Next Movie* (1980), Camera Operator
- *Being There* (1979), Camera Operator — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/being-there.md)
- *The Deer Hunter* (1978), Camera Operator — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-deer-hunter.md)
- *And I Alone Survived* (1978), Camera Operator
- *Heaven Can Wait* (1978), Camera Operator — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/heaven-can-wait.md)
- *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), Camera Operator — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md)
- *Looking for Mr. Goodbar* (1977), Camera Operator
- *Exorcist II: The Heretic* (1977), Camera Operator — Fi1m 38, [page](https://film.one/film/exorcist-ii-the-heretic.md)
- *Obsession* (1976), First Assistant Camera
- *The Sugarland Express* (1974), First Assistant Camera
- *Cinderella Liberty* (1973), First Assistant Camera
- *The Touch of Satan* (1971), Assistant Camera
- *McCabe & Mrs. Miller* (1971), First Assistant Camera — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/mccabe-and-mrs-miller.md)

---
© 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/nick-mclean