Klaus Badelt, born on June 12, 1967, in Frankfurt, West Germany, is a renowned German composer, producer, and arranger known for his work in film scores. He began his career composing music for movies and commercials in Germany. In 1998, he was invited by the Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer to join Media Ventures (now Remote Control Productions) in Santa Monica, California. This collaboration led to contributions to scores for critically acclaimed films such as "The Thin Red Line," "The Prince of Egypt," and "Gladiator."

Badelt is perhaps best known for his independent work on the score for the 2003 blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." His contributions to Hollywood also include scores for films like "Equilibrium," "Catwoman," "K-19: The Widowmaker," "Basic," and "TMNT." He has also worked on international cinema, including French and Chinese films, and collaborated with directors such as Werner Herzog.

In 2004, Badelt founded Theme Park Studios in Santa Monica and continued to score films like "Constantine," "Poseidon," "Rescue Dawn," and "Premonition." His score for the Chinese film "The Promise" and DreamWorks' "The Time Machine" were critically acclaimed, with the latter earning him the Discovery of the Year Award at the World Soundtrack Awards in 2003.

Badelt also composed music for the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was commissioned to write an opera about China's First Emperor. Beyond film scoring, he founded the digital film distribution startup Filmhub, creating a platform for content creators to connect with global streaming services.