J. Michael Muro

James Michael Muro, Jr. (born October 12, 1964) is an American cinematographer and director. He is known primarily for his Steadicam work. In the late 1980s and 1990s, he was James Cameron's Steadicam operator of choice, working on the Cameron-directed films The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, and Titanic. Throughout his career, he has been credited as Jimmy Muro, James Muro, Jim Muro, and J. Michael Muro.

J. Michael Muro
Born	James Michael Muro, Jr. (1964-10-12) October 12, 1964 (age 60) Queens, New York, U.S.
Occupations	Cinematographer director camera operator
Years active	1982–present

Muro also did Steadicam and B-camera operating on Kevin Costner's Academy Award-winning epic Dances with Wolves, contributing to cinematographer Dean Semler's win of the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. He has also worked on Costner's Open Range, making his debut as a director of photography.^[1]

In 1987, Muro made his directorial debut with the horror film Street Trash. He has directed several episodes of the Warner Bros. Television series Southland.^[2]

Filmography

Cinematographer

Film

Year	Title	Director	Notes
2003	Open Range	Kevin Costner
2004	Crash	Paul Haggis
2005	Roll Bounce	Malcolm D. Lee
2006	Flicka	Michael Mayer
2007	Rush Hour 3	Brett Ratner
	The Last Mimzy	Robert Shaye
2008	Traitor	Jeffrey Nachmanoff
2009	Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant	Paul Weitz
2011	What's Your Number?	Mark Mylod
2013	Parker	Taylor Hackford
2016	The Book of Love	Bill Purple
2018	Billionaire Boys Club	James Cox
2024	Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1	Kevin Costner
	Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2

Television

Year	Title	Director	Notes
2007	The Black Donnellys	Paul Haggis	Episode "Pilot"
2009-2013	Southland	Christopher Chulack Nelson McCormick Félix Enríquez Alcalá Himself Allison Anders	28 episodes
2010	Detroit 1-8-7	Jeffrey Nachmanoff	Episode "Pilot"
2011	Shameless	Mark Mylod John Wells Stephen Hopkins	Episodes "Pilot", "Frank the Plank" and "Aunt Ginger"
2012-2017	Longmire		20 episodes
2015	The Brink		7 episodes
2017-2022	SEAL Team		47 episodes
2025	Dexter: Original Sin	Monica Raymund	Episodes "The Big Bad Body Problem" and "Business and Pleasure"

Director

Film

• Street Trash (1987)

Television

Year	Title	Episode(s)
2013	Shameless	"The Sins of My Caretaker"
2010-2013	Southland	"Maximum Deployment"
		"Cop or Not"
		"Failure Drill"
		"Legacy"
		"Risk"
		"Babel"
		"Heroes"
2012-2017	Longmire	"An Incredibly Beautiful Thing"
		"Tell It Slant"
		"Election Day"
		"Of Children and Travelers"
		"Harvest"
		"Help Wanted"
		"Shotgun"
		"Pure Peckinpah"
		"Continual Soiree"
		"Thank You, Victoria"
		"Opiates and Antibiotics"
2014	The Red Road	"The Wolf and the Dog"
		"The Woman Who Fell from the Sky"
2015	The Brink	"Swim, Shmuley, Swim"
2016	Rush Hour	"LA Real Estate Boom"
2017	Outsiders	"Unbroken Chain"
	Animal Kingdom	"Bleed for It"
	Power	"We're in This Together"
2018-2021	SEAL Team	"The Upside Down"
		"Never Get Out of the Boat"
		"Outside the Wire"
		"You Only Die Once"
		"Rules of Engagement"
		"Horror Has a Face"
		"Hollow at the Core"
		"Frog on the Tracks"
		"Man on Fire"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
1987	Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival	Silver Raven	Street Trash	Won
	Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival	Fear Section Award		Nominated
2004	BAFTA Awards	Best Cinematography	Crash	Nominated

Personal life

Muro's father was the owner of Statewide Auto Parts, a now-defunct junkyard located at 1256 Grand Street, Brooklyn, New York City.^[3]