CR 082: Composer Jeff Toyne on His Swinging Score for ‘Palm Royale’

The Emmy Award-winner discusses his 25 years in the industry and the joys and challenges of scoring for a live orchestra.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Toyne

Over the past 25 years, Jeff Toyne has amassed an impressive list of credits in film, television, documentaries, and animation. As a composer, a few of his many projects include the police drama Rogue (starring Thandiwe Newton), the sitcom Hit the Road (starring Jason Alexander), and the coming-of-age film Dirty Girl (starring Juno Temple). He’s been the orchestrator on more than 100 Hollywood releases, including The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and did string arrangements for Fall Out Boy’s 2023 album So Much (for) Stardust.

And in 2024, he finally received long overdue recognition for his work, when he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for the Apple TV+ series Palm Royale. But the award was just a bonus on top of what he says has been an incredibly fulfilling career.

“It’s funny—I was asked to go back and talk to the students at USC,” Toyne says. “I’m an alumnus of the scoring for motion pictures and tel…