Steven Richard Davis

Also known as Steve Davis. Not to be confused with Steve Davis, the English snooker player.

Steven Richard Davis (born October 11, 1982), also credited as Steve Davis, is an American composer, producer, and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. He is the founder of SRD Music, a Los Angeles-based composing and production company. While composing for his own film and game projects, he has also served as additional music composer, synth programmer, or arranger on more than one hundred films, television series, and video games, with credited work on theatrical features whose combined worldwide box office exceeds eight billion U.S. dollars.

Davis is credited on major studio features including Top Gun: Maverick (2022, $1.49 billion worldwide), Captain Marvel (2019, $1.13 billion worldwide), Thor: The Dark World (2013, $644 million), Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (2023, $571 million), Despicable Me (2010, $544 million), Venom: The Last Dance (2024, $479 million), Bad Boys for Life (2020, $426 million), Black Adam (2022, $393 million), Black Widow (2021, $379 million), and Alien: Romulus (2024, $351 million). He has worked alongside leading film composers including Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Lorne Balfe, Pinar Toprak, Benjamin Wallfisch, Brian Tyler, Trevor Morris, Steve Jablonsky, Christopher Young, and Heitor Pereira.

His most recent television credit is the HBO documentary series The Man Will Burn (2026), co-composed with his wife, composer Tori Letzler, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival.^[1] On cable and broadcast television, Davis has contributed additional music to the History Channel flagship Vikings (2013–2019), CBS’s Hawaii Five-0 (2013–2018), and Showtime’s The Borgias (2011–2013). His streaming credits include the Netflix espionage drama In from the Cold (2022), co-scored with Letzler; Vikings: Valhalla (2022–2024); Marvel’s Iron Fist (2017); and Castlevania (2017).

His video game contributions include additional music for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (2013), Warframe (2013), Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014), and Fortnite (2017).

His song production work includes a cover of Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” for the In from the Cold soundtrack (2022), produced during the same period he was co-scoring the series with Letzler, featuring vocals by Pussy Riot member Nadya Tolokonnikova. In 2020 he wrote and performed three original songs for the soundtrack of CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077, released under three separate in-game band aliases (“Run” as Kings of Collapse, “With Her” as Ego Affliction, and “Never Stop Me” as Den of Degenerates).

Early life and education

Davis was born on October 11, 1982, in California and grew up in Temecula. He began studying percussion at age nine and, at twelve, founded the band Lamoor, serving as lead vocalist and guitarist. He attended Temecula Valley High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis in recording arts and production from California State University, San Marcos, where he minored in Sociology.

Career

The Man Will Burn

Davis and his wife, composer Tori Letzler, co-composed the score for the four-part HBO documentary series The Man Will Burn (2026), directed by Jehane Noujaim and Vikram Gandhi. The series traces the evolution of Burning Man from its 1980s San Francisco countercultural origins to the contemporary 80,000-person desert gathering. The Man Will Burn had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on June 9, 2026, where episodes 1 and 2 were screened followed by a conversation with the directors and additional participants.^[1][2][3]

Top Gun: Maverick

Davis is on-screen credited as an additional composer on the Harold Faltermeyer/Hans Zimmer/Lorne Balfe/Lady Gaga score for Top Gun: Maverick (2022), where his contributions included reworked treatments of Hans Zimmer’s themes from the 1986 original. Top Gun: Maverick grossed approximately $1.49 billion U.S. dollars worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2022.

Captain Marvel

On Pinar Toprak’s score for Captain Marvel(2019), Davis is credited as a music arranger and synth programmer. Film-music critic Jonathan Broxton observed that the score’s electronic sound design was something “Toprak worked on … with Letzler and her husband Steven Davis.” The film grossed approximately $1.13 billion U.S. dollars worldwide.

Alien: Romulus

On Benjamin Wallfisch’s score for Alien: Romulus (2024), Davis is credited as an additional music composer. The film grossed approximately $351 million U.S. dollars worldwide and became one of the most successful entries in the Alien franchise in years.

Other major feature credits

Davis is among the recurring additional music team on scores by Lorne Balfe, including Bad Boys for Life (2020), The Tomorrow War (2021), Black Widow (2021), Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), Black Adam (2022), Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024), and Kraven the Hunter (2024). Additional theatrical credits include Despicable Me (2010), Immortals (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Olympus Has Fallen (2013), Ad Astra (2019), Haunted Mansion (2023), The Beekeeper (2024), Argylle (2024), A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), Borderlands (2024), and Venom: The Last Dance (2024).

Early collaborations

After discovering that he preferred studio composition to touring, Davis was inspired by the film Amadeus (1984) to pursue a career writing music for picture. He relocated to Los Angeles in 2006 to study film composition at UCLA, where he connected with working composers in the film industry. Over the following years, Davis contributed to scores as an additional composer, programmer, arranger, and music department member for a number of established composers including Hans Zimmer (Top Gun: Maverick), Danny Elfman (Justice League), Lorne Balfe (Top Gun: Maverick, Bad Boys for Life, The Tomorrow War, Black Widow, Black Adam, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F), Brian Tyler, Christopher Young, Trevor Morris, Benjamin Wallfisch, Steve Jablonsky, and Heitor Pereira.

SRD Music

Davis is the founder and owner of SRD Music, a Los Angeles-based composing and production company providing original music for film, television, video games, and commercials. Through SRD Music he has delivered scores and additional music for feature films, streaming series, and AAA video game titles. In addition to his film and television work, Davis contributed three original songs to the soundtrack of the 2020 video game Cyberpunk 2077, recorded under the fictional in-game band names Kings of Collapse ("Run"), Ego Affliction ("With Her"), and Den of Degenerates ("Never Stop Me").

Cyberpunk 2077

In 2020, Davis contributed three original songs to the in-game radio of CD Projekt Red’s video game Cyberpunk 2077. The tracks — “Run”, “With Her”, and “Never Stop Me” — were released under the fictional band aliases Kings of Collapse, Ego Affliction, and Den of Degenerates respectively. Each track was written and performed by Davis.

Personal life

Davis is married to composer and vocalist Tori Letzler. The couple is based in the Los Angeles area.

Filmography

The following lists select credits as a composer, additional composer, programmer, arranger, or music department contributor.

Film

Television

Video games

Discography

Songs

Notable collaborators

• Christopher Young
• Lorne Balfe
• Brian Tyler
• Danny Elfman
• Hans Zimmer
• Benjamin Wallfisch
• Steve Jablonsky
• Heitor Pereira

References

1. “The Man Will Burn — 2026 Tribeca Festival”. Tribeca Festival. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
2. “Tribeca Festival Announces 2026 TV and Podcast Lineup”. Variety. April 21, 2026.
3. “Tribeca Festival Reveals 2026 TV and Podcast Lineups”. IndieWire. April 21, 2026.

External links

• Official website
• Steven Richard Davis at IMDb
• Steven Richard Davis on Spotify