Sponsored Ads
photo by: Schneider Filters
ROBERT MCLACHLAN
CINEMATOGRAPHER Game of Thrones, Landman, 1923, Ray Donovan
Story by: Lesley Diana
photo: Courtesy of Robert McLachlan photo: Courtesy of Robert McLachlan photo by: Michael Wrinch
Robert behind the scenes with
Jon Voight on Ray Donovan.
Little did Award-winning Cinematographer Robert McLachlan know that a walk in Whytecliff Park would change his career path forever, when he ran into his close friend Patrick Ramsay, who was shooting the pilot for Arrow with David Nutter directing. As he left, he yelled to Patrick, “Give David my best and tell him to get me on bloody Game of Thrones!” Two weeks later, David called. Robert flew to Ireland to work on Season 3 of the HBO hit. He almost didn’t do it, then he remembered the advice that legendary Canadian DP Richard Leiterman had given him: “Never get too comfortable.” David and Robert worked well together for multiple seasons. Some of Robert’s best work ever. Game of Thrones credits opened many doors. Suddenly, he didn’t need a demo reel or to prove himself—it was a passport to getting hired on any big show.
1. Robert with Anthony Hopkins; 2. With Bruno Gerussi and Jackson Davies on set of The Beachcombers; 3. Hanging out with Kiss.
Robert was recently in Vancouver to give a presentation to his fellow IATSE 669 camera members at the Rio Theatre, sharing the experiences that elevated him to work on some of the most-watched TV episodes ever produced. Joining him via Zoom were Billy Bob Thornton (Landman) and Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan), confirming that Robert is not only a great director of photography but also garners the trust of his actors, who are willing to give him their time on a weekend.
photo: Courtesy of Robert McLachlan
Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford – 1923
photo by: Emerson Miller / Paramont Press photo by: Trae Patton / Paramont Press
Billy Bob Thornton – Landman
Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly and Zoe Saldaña – Lioness
photo by: Christopher Saunders / Paramont Press photo by: Ryan Green / Paramont Press
Robert eats some lunch on the Iron
Robert McLachlan grew up in Vancouver, taking Fine Arts at UBC, and Film and Communications at Simon Fraser University. A Canadian Cycling Champion and a Canada Games cycling gold medalist, Robert left a promising sporting career to pursue filmmaking. While in college, he founded Omnifilm Productions, where he produced, directed and photographed numerous award-winning international documentaries and over 350 TV commercials. Robert worked on many Vancouver TV and film productions, including The Beachcombers, Millennium and MacGyver, to name a few.
Throne at the Game of Thrones set
He has demonstrated remarkable versatility as a cinematographer, moving with unusual ease between the best TV projects and theatrical films. He’s now photographed dozens of movies and hundreds of TV episodes, including arguably the most famous episode of TV ever, “The Red Wedding,” as well as one of the most expensive ever, “The Spoils of War”—both on Game of Thrones. All told, he earned two Emmy nominations during his time with that show.
Sponsored Ads
His technical and artistic mastery, combined with a deep well of experience and a collaborative nature, can be credited with his being described as a “director’s dream.” He is a member of the U.S. and Canadian camera guilds, DGA and DGC, with extensive time logged working overseas in the U.K., Ireland, Croatia, Morocco, New Zealand, Iceland, South Africa and Mexico.
“When you film most of the episodes of a TV series, you’re together every day and get to know each other well enough to know we are all swinging for the fence and not letting our work slip,” states Robert. “The cast on Game of Thrones was so diverse, and there were so many cinematographers working on a single season that the cinematographer/actor bond didn’t generally occur, so it was always very nice when you showed up on set and an actor said, ‘Thank goodness it’s you today.’ They knew they’d look good and that I work fast. Having an actor’s trust really makes your job easier. When I joined Lioness this season to shoot six of the eight episodes, the major pros in the cast, including Nicole Kidman, were pretty wary for the first few days till they saw that I was using every trick in the book to make them look as good as possible.”
photo by: Emerson Miller / Paramont Press
Billy Bob Thornton – Landman
“When you meet Rob as a DP, you know that he should be a director.
Rob provides a level of comfort that allows an actor to do his job.”
— Billy Bob Thornton
photo by: Bettina Strauss
Robert speaks to fellow filmmakers at Rio Theatre. Robert behind the scenes on 1923.
“The greatest pleasure of working on Taylor Sheridan’s shows Yellowstone, 1923 and Landman stems from working with great writing that’s brought to life by great actors,” Robert continues. “Taylor is an actor and writes very specifically to play to the actors’ strengths. It is especially nice to work on a hit. For my technical crew and me, it often goes beyond that, because if we’ve been given the licence and support to create truly accomplished visuals that enhance the show, the rewards are even greater, knowing that we did some work that day to be proud of.”
killer performance, totally elevating what we thought was on the page and making it look so damned easy.”
Robert has the actors’ eye and trust, which helps him move quickly through the scene with confidence. The highlights of shooting Landman and Lioness are working with his tried-and-true crew, knowing every day you’re crafting superior entertainment with incredible actors—Sam Elliott, Billy Bob Thornton, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Saldaña and Morgan Freeman. Having front row seats to watch them do their thing is priceless.
“Taylor Sheridan has a very specific way of shooting—one of the reasons I have fit in well there is that I didn’t tell them, ‘That’s not the right way to do this!’” he adds. “One secret to success for a DP is to read the room and adapt rather than bulldoze. Shooting 1923 in Montana, Cape Town and Malta, five cameras were the norm. Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren are such pros, which was enlightening. They never left the set—they’d sit there and rehearse while we set up and lit around them. They’d be kidding around until they heard ‘action,’ then give a
Billy Bob Thornton says, “I love working with Rob; he’s our safety net and understands the shot, the actors, the scene. When you meet Rob as a DP, you know that he should be a director. Rob provides a level of comfort that allows an actor to do his job.”
Robert encourages all of us to ask for what we want; you never know where it will lead. T
Robert McLachlan ASC, CSC mclachlan.camera
photo by: Abagail Durkan
