The Walking Dead - Interview with Composer Bear McCreary

Richard Gibbs asked you to work on the “Battlestar” miniseries. Then, after he decided not to join the actual series, you became the lead composer. You sort of got drawn into that universe and have since done a number of sci-fi-esque shows. Were you a sci-fan before “Battlestar”?
Bear McCreary: Absolutely! I grew up on sci-fi, horror movies and TV shows and comic books and novels. My passion for music definitely started was in that genre, so it has been very exciting to be able to give back to a genre that gave so much to me.

Is there a particular score that you remember from your childhood that you found to be particularly inspiring or captivating?
McCreary: I probably couldn’t narrow it down to just one; there were so many scores that really opened my ears to what was possible at a very young age. Among those, I remember “Back to the Future” by Alan Silvestri, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” by Danny Elfman, and then a little bit later “Beetlejuice. Also “Conan the Barbarian” by Basil Poledouris was a big one; “The Empire Strikes Back” by John Williams, too.
There were so many great scores coming out in the early and mid-80s that you couldn’t go see a movie without hearing fantastic music. It was a very exciting time for me to be just discovering this art form.

Source: Full interview @ death + taxes