Oscar-nominated Hollywood film editor Elliot Graham, whose work helped shape movies including Milk, X2, Captain Marvel and the James Bond blockbuster No Time to Die, has died at 50.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined Graham’s manner of death was suicide, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He died in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Graham was born June 8, 1976, in Claremont, California, and went on to build a career behind some of Hollywood’s biggest films.
One of his earliest major credits was the 2003 superhero sequel X2, followed by Superman Returns in 2006.
But one of the defining moments of his career came with Gus Van Sant’s 2008 drama Milk.
Graham’s editing work on the film earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing.
Milk received eight Oscar nominations overall and won two — Best Actor for Sean Penn and Best Original Screenplay for Dustin Lance Black.
That nomination cemented Graham’s reputation as one of Hollywood’s most respected editors.
He continued working on high-profile projects over the following years, moving easily between intimate dramas and massive studio productions.
His credits included Restless, Steve Jobs, Molly’s Game, Captain Marvel and No Time to Die.
The James Bond movie brought him another major honor.
Graham and fellow editor Tom Cross won the 2022 BAFTA Award for Best Editing for No Time to Die.
BAFTA records also show Graham discussing the challenge of balancing the action and emotion of Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film, saying he and Cross felt a responsibility to give Craig a sendoff worthy of his time in the role.
Graham’s career also included work on The Greatest Game Ever Played and 21.
Across nearly two decades, his editing helped shape superhero films, biographical dramas, prestige projects and major international franchises.
Following news of Graham’s death, Milk producer Dan Jinks shared an emotional tribute.
Jinks said the movie would not have come together the way it did without Graham’s work.
He remembered the editor as a “sweet, kind and quirky man” and ended his message by saying, “rest in peace Elliot.”
Although editors rarely receive the same public attention as the actors and directors whose names appear above the title, their work is critical to how audiences experience a movie.
They help determine pacing, emotion, tension and how individual performances ultimately fit together on screen.
Graham’s career included some of the most recognizable movies of the past two decades, and his work earned recognition from both the Academy Awards and BAFTA.