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IMDbPro

Checco Varese

  • Cinematographer
  • Camera and Electrical Department
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Director of Photography Bio

Checco Varese, ASC recently wrapped It: Chapter Two for director Andy Muschietti, the sequel to last year's box office hit. He also shot the first season of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Amazon's new take on Tom Clancy's beloved fictional CIA agent, with John Krasinski starring in the titular role.

Previously, he shot the pilot for Fox's upcoming legal drama Proven Innocent and director Jeffrey Nachmanoff's sci-fi thriller, Replicas, with Keanu Reeves and Thomas Middleditch starring, in theaters January 11, 2019. Working with his longtime collaborator director Patricia Riggen, Varese lensed Miracles From Heaven, as well as Riggen's The 33, based on the extraordinary real-life story of 33 miners trapped in a Chilean mine. His other feature credits include Riggen's Girl in Progress, and second unit on Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim.

Thanks to his prolific body of work, Varese has established a reputation as the unofficial 'pilot guy.' He has lensed nearly two dozen season starters which, more often than not, go on to be picked up to series: FX's The Strain; A&E's The Returned; ABC Family's The Fosters; Melrose Place for the CW; and The Defenders for CBS. And who can forget the True Blood pilot? This iconic series went on for seven seasons.

In the mid-90s, Varese established himself as a leading director of photography, shooting hundreds of music videos, including Dave Matthew's Band's "Crash" and Prince's "Black Sweat," for which he was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.

Born in Peru, Varese began his career in the mid-1980's, spending nearly a decade shooting news coverage and documentaries in major zones of conflict: Latin America (Chiapas Uprising, Salvador and Nicaragua Wars, Panama Invasion, Colombia Drug War, Shining Path, Chile's Military Junta); The Caribbean (Haiti Crisis); Europe (Bosnia Crisis, Chechnya Crisis); the Middle East (Gulf War, West Bank and Gaza Strip Crisis) and Africa (South African Riots and the Rwanda Crisis).

Varese speaks six languages, lives in Los Angeles and is represented by DDA.
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels
  • Unlock contact info on IMDbPro
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
  • Won 1 Primetime Emmy
    • 3 wins & 5 nominations total

Photos

Patricia Riggen and Checco Varese

Known for

The Aura (2005)
The Aura
7.2
  • Cinematographer
  • 2005
Pacific Rim (2013)
Pacific Rim
6.9
  • Camera and Electrical Department(b camera)
  • 2013
Antonio Banderas and Lou Diamond Phillips in The 33 (2015)
The 33
6.9
  • Cinematographer
  • 2015
Bill Skarsgård in It Chapter Two (2019)
It Chapter Two
6.5
  • Cinematographer
  • 2019

Credits

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IMDbPro

Cinematographer

  • Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)
    Daisy Jones & The Six
    • Cinematographer
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2023
  • Unbroken
    • Cinematographer
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Alien (The Other)
    • Cinematographer
    • Short
    • 2022
  • Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, John Hoogenakker, Will Poulter, and Kaitlyn Dever in Dopesick (2021)
    Dopesick
    • Cinematographer
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2021
  • Them (2021)
    Them
    • Cinematographer
    • TV Series
    • 2021
  • Surveillance
    • Cinematographer
    • TV Movie
    • 2019
  • Bill Skarsgård in It Chapter Two (2019)
    It Chapter Two
    • director of photography
    • 2019
  • Kelsey Grammer, Russell Hornsby, and Rachelle Lefevre in Proven Innocent (2019)
    Proven Innocent
    • Cinematographer
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Keanu Reeves in Replicas (2018)
    Replicas
    • Cinematographer
    • 2018
  • John Krasinski in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018)
    Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
    • Cinematographer
    • TV Series
    • 2018
  • The Get
    • Cinematographer
    • TV Movie
    • 2017
  • Justin Gaston and Anthony Omari in Ice Scream (2016)
    Ice Scream
    • Cinematographer
    • 2016
  • Tori Anderson and Joshua Sasse in No Tomorrow (2016)
    No Tomorrow
    • Cinematographer
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Jennifer Garner and Kylie Rogers in Miracles from Heaven (2016)
    Miracles from Heaven
    • director of photography
    • 2016
  • Josh Holloway and Sarah Wayne Callies in Colony (2016)
    Colony
    • director of photography
    • TV Series
    • 2016

Camera and Electrical Department

  • The Strain (2014)
    The Strain
    • director of photography: Prologue
    • TV Series
    • 2015
  • Pacific Rim (2013)
    Pacific Rim
    • director of photography: b camera
    • 2013
  • The Aura (2005)
    The Aura
    • camera operator: "b" camera
    • 2005
  • One Man's Hero (1999)
    One Man's Hero
    • steadicam operator (as Francesco Varese)
    • 1999
  • The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: The Legend of Grimace Island (1999)
    The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: The Legend of Grimace Island
    • director of photography: live action
    • Video
    • 1999
  • The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Scared Silly (1998)
    The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Scared Silly
    • director of photography: live action
    • Video
    • 1998
  • Daniel Bernhardt in Perfect Target (1997)
    Perfect Target
    • Steadicam operator
    • director of photography: second unit
    • Video
    • 1997
  • Mario Van Peebles in Solo (1996)
    Solo
    • Steadicam operator
    • additional camera operator
    • cinematographer: aerial unit
    • 1996
  • The Arrival (1996)
    The Arrival
    • Steadicam operator: Mexico second unit (as Francesco 'Checco' Varese)
    • 1996
  • Rough Magic (1995)
    Rough Magic
    • Steadicam operator: Mexico (as Francesco Varese)
    • 1995
  • Cheech Marin and Jimmy Smits in The Cisco Kid (1994)
    The Cisco Kid
    • camera operator: "b" camera
    • gaffer (as Francesco 'Checco' Varese)
    • TV Movie
    • 1994
  • I Don't Want to Talk About It (1993)
    I Don't Want to Talk About It
    • Steadicam operator (as Checo Varese)
    • 1993

Producer

  • Kate del Castillo in Under the Same Moon (2007)
    Under the Same Moon
    • co-producer
    • 2007
  • National Geographic Specials (1965)
    National Geographic Specials
    • associate producer (as Francesco Varese)
    • TV Series
    • 1993

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Durable Goods
    • Official Site
  • Alternative names
    • Checo Varese
  • Born
    • Lima, Peru
  • Spouse
    • Patricia Riggen

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 2010.

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