Michael Andrews

Michael Andrews is an American composer, musician, and record producer best known for his film and television scores, most notably his work on Donnie Darko (2001). His haunting, minimalist arrangement of Tears for Fears’ «Mad World», performed with vocalist Gary Jules, became an unexpected worldwide hit after appearing in the film, eventually reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart during the Christmas season of 2003 — a striking example of a sparse cover eclipsing its energetic 1980s original.

Before his soundtrack career, Andrews was part of the Los Angeles alternative and lounge-pop scene, associated with the loose collective known as the Elephant 6-adjacent and Grandaddy circles, and he worked closely with musicians such as Elliott Smith, contributing keyboards and arrangements to Smith’s recordings. His own instrumental and song-based work blends melancholic pop songwriting with cinematic scoring sensibility, favoring warm analog textures, understated piano, and atmospheric production.

Andrews went on to score numerous other films and television series, building a reputation for emotionally restrained, character-driven music. His work on Donnie Darko remains his signature achievement, cementing «Mad World» as one of the most recognizable film-to-chart crossovers of the 2000s, and demonstrating his skill at reshaping existing material into something distinctly his own.