Tommy Maddox-Upshaw ’00 grew up thinking he would likely become a stockbroker. That dream took a left turn the summer before he started at Holy Cross. His sister Kyla, knowing how much he loved movies, helped him land a job as a production assistant on the music video “Brokenhearted,” featuring Brandy and Wanya Morris. That experience turned his aspirations toward the world of cinematography.
Once on Mount St. James, Maddox-Upshaw pursued a major in studio visual arts. He found inspiration in campus architecture, using his family’s Canon AE-1 to capture still images of the O’Kane clock tower and Fenwick Hall on foggy evenings — photos that hang in his office today.
Now a renowned cinematographer, Maddox-Upshaw is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). In 2022, he won an ASC award for the TV series “Snowfall,” making history as the first Black cinematographer to win in that category.
In between shoots on “Iron Man 2” and “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” Maddox-Upshaw sat down with HCM to share what he’s watching and reading these days, his dream creative project and his hopes for the future of cinematography.
FIRST, A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU, TOMMY
Where did you grow up? Inner-city of Boston, in Mattapan.
What profession other than your own would you like to try? I’d love to combine my love of jazz and film history and become a jazz radio disc jockey. I actually had a jazz radio show with Alex French ’00 during our senior year.
Where is your favorite place to travel/visit? I love traveling to South Africa. I’ve worked there a few times.
Who or what inspires you? My parents, Tommy and Dorothy Upshaw, who never went to college, sent all of their children to college and/or grad school. Three of us went to Holy Cross, starting in 1985, to 2005. Also, daily life truly gives me inspiration — living daily … the good or the tough times.
Who or what gives you hope? My sophomore year, I was divinely connected with Brian Heller ’68, a cinematographer and entrepreneur. He has been a foundation to my success and still supports me to this day.
What has been the most pivotal moment of your life so far? Probably the birth of my only child, Gia.
What’s the last TV show/movie/book you recommended to a friend? The latest TV show would be “Adolescence.” Movie: “One Battle After Another.” Book: “The Creative Act: A Way of Being” by Rick Rubin.
What movie/TV show do you wish you could watch again for the first time? “Citizen Kane,” “The X-Files” and “Malcolm X.”
What is your favorite time of the day? When I wake up in the morning, around 5:30/6 a.m.
What is a secret talent of yours? I’d say my secret talent would be understanding my emotional response to material and the reason why. What are the layers to my understanding, and can I write it and verbalize it in a few different ways? Also, being honest when I don’t completely understand something anywhere along the process of the project.
If you were a ‘Jeopardy’ contestant, what category would you dominate? What category would you least like to see on the board? Black American history I’d do alright. Least I’d like to see? Astrophysics.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be? The ability to fly around at Mach 2 would be amazing.
What is your phone background? Why did you pick this image? My daughter is my phone background image because she is an amazing person.
ON YOUR CINEMATOGRAPHY/DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY CAREER
You first discovered cinematography while working as a production assistant for hiphop music videos at age 19. What was the moment you knew this was the career path you wanted to pursue? On my first job as a production assistant, on a music video “Brokenhearted” for Brandy and Wanya Morris, the team camaraderie made me realize this was something that I wanted to do.
How would you describe yourself as a creative? I’d say I’m a confused creative, wayward traveler in this creative space, trying to figure out if what I am creating makes any sense, and if my daughter will be proud of any of my work.
What have been your career highlights so far? Meeting my mentor of almost 30 years in cinematographer Brian Heller and what he did to get me started and believe in myself before I ever moved to Hollywood. Also, shooting “Snowfall.”
What do you love most about cinematography? The aspect of cinematography I love the most is the discovery of when things do and don’t work in a story or on set.
What is the most challenging part of your work? Being away from home is possibly the hardest part of my job. I love being on set daily and the challenge of figuring things out, but being away from the family is tough at times.
Which of your projects taught you the most as a creative? Being a camera operator on “Iron Man 2” and now shooting “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” have been two of my biggest learning curves ever on set.
What would be your dream creative project? My dream project would be to do a political or musical biopic feature film and, selfishly, to touch that Black Panther franchise would be fun.
What is one item that you must have on you at all times on set? My lens charts to keep track of all my lenses, along with my Gaffers glass and my Odyssey7Q exposure meter.
Who were your most influential cinematographers? Ernest Dickerson, ASC; Brian Heller; Malik Sayeed; Robert Richardson, ASC.; Bill Dill, ASC; Johnny Simmons, ASC; Amelia Vincent, ASC; and Matthew Libatique, ASC. All for different reasons and skill sets.
In 2020, you were invited to become a member of the ASC in recognition of your body of work. In 2022, you won an ASC award for “Snowfall” and were nominated for a Camerimage Golden Frog award for “The Man Who Fell To Earth.” What did these recognitions mean to you? The recognition by the ASC was amazing. I became the first Black cinematographer to ever win that award, which meant the world to me. And the Camerimage nomination was a surprise and a full-circle moment.
You have been a champion of inclusion and representation in your field and have even explored a return to your hometown — to bring one of the country’s few Black-owned film studios to Boston. What would it mean to you to see that dream come to life? I wish that studio gained more traction within the politics of Boston. It would be a dream to give back to Boston. After my experience with Brian giving so much to me, amongst others, I make it my mission to spread love and support for this crazy dream of filmmaking.
When you look back on your career so far, what makes you the most proud? Watching my daughter pick up a camera and having a little interest in photography makes me smile, along with the few lives and careers of friends who have elevated in this dream of Hollywood.
ON HOLY CROSS
What made you choose Holy Cross? My older sister Crystal went to Holy Cross in 1985 and was the first of three of us to go there. I also wanted to play a little college football.
We read that you used to take pictures around the Holy Cross campus as a first-year student, using your family’s Canon AE-1. What were your favorite subjects to capture? The O’Kane clock tower and Fenwick Hall on a foggy night were my favorite things to shoot. I still have those photos in my office.
How do you think you are different because of your education from Holy Cross? I feel Holy Cross helped me be a thinker over the years with the growth of my career.
What Holy Cross course had the greatest impact on you and who taught it? Narrative of Art and Film by Virginia Raguin. That class taught me so much about breaking down story and connecting art and cinema.
What Holy Cross experience had the greatest impact and why? I shot my first short film at Holy Cross with Neil Hopkins ’99, called “Duke Fontaine.” It was a great, fun experience that we had to figure out on our own.
What was your favorite spot on campus? In Worcester? The photo lab on campus and the warehouse we shot at for “Duke Fontaine.” It was my first set as a DP (director of photography).
What is something you learned at Holy Cross that you use today? Connecting fine art and other art forms with cinema.
What was your educational/professional path after Holy Cross? How did the College launch you on that journey? Brian Heller was a major piece during and after my Holy Cross experience. He was the owner and partner in two companies where I interned (Boston Camera) and worked (High Output Lighting). He even helped get me into the union, IATSE Local 481, after college to work as a grip electric on feature films.
AND FINALLY…
What are your hopes for the future of cinematography? My hopes and dreams for cinematography are that we can keep up with the changing technology of AI and virtual production. I also hope we can drive home the importance of visual storytelling.
What would you like your legacy to be? I would love my legacy to be that I made the best of this life I had and that I enjoyed every day.
What moment of your life do you wish you could relive? The first day I ever met my daughter — the day she was born.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? To live in this dream space of this life and career that I love daily.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? To respect your own race, journey or path.
What advice do you wish you could go back and give to your younger self? Don’t be scared to take more chances or make mistakes, and remember to create a big network at grad school.
What cinematographer, alive or dead, would you want to tell your life story? My friend Bruce Cole because of the beauty and honesty of his work.
What is your idea of happiness? Being around people and trying to understand their moment in life or their past and just finding a common ground of being human.
