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Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste

Actor, composer and producer · Born November 11, 1986 (39) · Kenner, Louisiana, USA

Oscar winner · Golden Globe winner · BAFTA Award winner · 4 other major award bodies

Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Roy Hargrove, Juvenile, and Mavis Staples. Batiste, with his band Stay Human, appeared nightly as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022. Batiste also serves as the music director of The Atlantic and the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. In 2020, he co-composed the score for the Pixar animated film Soul, for which he received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA Film Award (all shared with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). Batiste has garnered 5 Grammy Awards from 14 nominations, including an Album of the Year win for his album We Are (2021). In 2023, Batiste featured in the documentary film American Symphony which records the process of Batiste composing his first symphony.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
November 11, 1986 (39)
From
Kenner, Louisiana, USA
Works as
Actor, composer and producer
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 44% in 30 days

What are Jon Batiste's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
31%
Survival
20%
Bonds
19%
Self
19%
Ideas
11%
Community4 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeParenthood2 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 2

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 6 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 2 · Intense 4

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 4 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 4

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 8 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
5
Warm
3
Tense
2
Joyful
3
Triumphant
3
Other
7

How their films linger

Hopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy5
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Jon Batiste's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Hulu (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Jon Batiste's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

19 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 33 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The Thomas Crown Affair (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

    Composer

  • If I Go Will They Miss Me(2026)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Devil Wears Prada 2(2026)

    as Jon Batiste

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Andrea Bocelli - The Celebration：30th Anniversary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Actor

  • Big Money: A Spiritual Manifesto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Composer · Producer · Actor

  • Saturday Night(2024)

    Composer · as Billy Preston

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • The Garfield Movie(2024)

    Songs

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • The Color Purple(2023)

    as Grady

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • American Symphony(2023)

    Composer · Executive Producer · Songs · as Self

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Jon Batiste @ Ground Control (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Author · Composer · Compositor · as Self : Guest

  • The First Wave(2021)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • WE ARE: A Visual Mission Statement from Jon Batiste (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Actor

  • Soul, Improvised (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Actor

  • Soul(2020)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • She Ball(2020)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films

  • Stephen Colbert's Live Election Night Democracy's Series Finale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Music Director · as Self - Band Leader

  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert(2015)

    Show 170 episodes · Producer · as Self · as Self - Guest · as Self - Musical Guest

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all shows

  • Red Hook Summer(2012)

    as Da Organist Tk Hazelton

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • Treme(2010)

    Show 1 episode · as Jon Batiste

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

Career shape

A full career of 19 titles, 18 of them dated from 2010 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Saturday Night (2024)

$10M worldwide

Highest rated

If I Go Will They Miss Me (2026)

Midcredits 88th

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting9 of 19: 7 only acting, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score75thWriting1 of 19: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing4 of 19: 2 only producing, 2 with another roleMusic8 of 19: 4 only music, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score75thOther crew4 of 19: 2 only other crew, 2 with another role

19 titles, 4 with more than one role — acting and music overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

2010s4 · 2 acting · 2 crew2020s14 · 7 acting · 9 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award and 9 other major awards from 32 major nominations, 2019–2026.

WinNomination
  1. 2026
    • Grammy Award, won · Best Americana Album
    • Grammy Award, nominated · Best American Roots Performance
    • Grammy Award, nominated · Best American Roots Song
  2. 2025
    • Grammy Award, won · Best Music Film
    • Grammy Award, won · Best Song Written for Visual Media
  3. 2024
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
    • +1 other major body · 6 nominations
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Album of the Year
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best American Roots Performance
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Jazz Performance
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Record of the Year
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Song of the Year
  4. 2022
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Variety Talk Series
    • +1 other major body · 5 wins and 6 nominations
      • Grammy Award, won · Album of the Year
      • Grammy Award, won · Best American Roots Performance
      • Grammy Award, won · Best American Roots Song
      • Grammy Award, won · Best Music Video
      • Grammy Award, won · Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Contemporary Classical Composition
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Improvised Jazz Solo
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Jazz Instrumental Album
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best R&B Album
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Traditional R&B Performance
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Record of the Year
  5. 2021
    • Oscar, won · Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Original Score - Motion Picture
    • BAFTA Award, won · Original Score
    • +2 other major bodies · 1 win and 2 nominations
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best New Age Album
      • Critics Choice Award, won · Best Score
  6. 2019
    • Grammy Award, nominated · Best American Roots Performance

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Jon Batiste's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 74th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 85th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

85thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

75thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 12 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser3
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · composer

She Ball (2020)

93rd percentile spread · 62% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · composer

Soul (2020)

Midcredits 99th · 90% liked

Reviewers score the acting 62/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 75, detractors 43. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Jon Batiste work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jon Batiste's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Matthew Heineman shares the most, 2.

Directors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers