Bill Roe, ASC
Biography

Bill Roe, ASC, literally grew up in the film industry. His father, Jack Roe, was a first AD and later a production manager, who often worked on independent films with the legendary producer/ director Herbert Ross. During his childhood, Roe was a frequent visitor on his father's sets, including a long stint when Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was filmed in Germany. Roe liked hanging out with the grips, but his father told him to forget that as a career path. If he was going to work in the film industry, he was going to be a cameraman.

Roe worked his way up through the ranks of the camera crew system beginning in 1978 as a loader with Owen Roizman, ASC on Sgt. Pepper's Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. He earned his first credit as a second assistant cameraman on Mr. Mom with Victor Kemper, ASC, who later moved him up to first assistant (Pee-wee's Big Adventure) and operator. Roe also worked on camera crews led by an all-star cast of cinematographers, including Bill Fraker, ASC, Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, Bill Butler, ASC, Michael Chapman, ASC, Adam Greenberg, ASC, Michael Watkins, ASC and TV commercial trailblazer Joe Pytka. He says every cameraman he worked with influenced his approach to cinematography in unique ways.

Watkins elevated Roe to cinematographer when he directed a 1997 telefilm called Detention: The Siege at Johnson High. The next year, when Watkins produced and directed a new TV series called Brooklyn South, he enlisted Roe to shoot it. In 1999, Roe took over cinematography of the hit TV series, The X Files, after it moved to Los Angeles. Roe lensed some 85 episodes of that series and he earned an unparalleled four consecutive nominations in the annual American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Award competition. Roe won in 1999 for his work on the episode "Drive" and he repeated in 2000 for "Agua Mala." He was nominated in 2001 for "Patience" and again in 2002 for "This is Not Happening." Roe was also nominated for Emmy awards in 1999 and 2001 for his work on The X Files. He is currently shooting the new series R.H.D./LA for Michael Mann.