Mike Stenson obit

Mike Stenson, Longtime President of Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Dies at 65 

Earlier, he spent eight years at Disney, where he nurtured movies including ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus,’ ‘Six Days, Seven Nights’ and ‘Rush Hour.’  

He was not on the list.

Mike Stenson, the longtime president of Jerry Bruckheimer Films who helped bring five Pirates of the Caribbean features, three Bad Boys movies and Top Gun: Maverick to the big screen, has died. He was 65.

Stenson died April 26 at his home in Manhattan Beach, a family spokesperson announced. No cause of death was revealed.

After eight years with Disney, the Boston native joined Bruckheimer Films as president of the company in 1998, and he supervised all aspects of development and production there for the next quarter-century through his retirement. At the helm of the operation, he spearheaded Bruckheimer’s plan to expand the firm’s film production schedule, which resulted in several blockbusters at the box office.

“Mike was one of the most brilliant individuals I’ve ever known or worked with,” Bruckheimer said in a statement. “His sense of story and complete knowledge of film production from development through filming and beyond was just amazing.

“Mike’s relationships with talent on both sides of the camera was legendary. I can’t express enough how much I will miss him and what a huge loss this is to me, everyone who worked with Mike through the years, and of course, his family.”

Stenson served as a producer on Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) and Bad Company (2002), then was an executive producer on films including Remember the Titans (2000), Coyote Ugly (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), Pearl Harbor (2001), Veronica Guerin (2003), Kangaroo Jack (2003), King Arthur (2004), National Treasure (2004) and its 2006 sequel, Glory Road (2006), Déjà Vu (2006), Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), G-Force (2009), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010), The Lone Ranger (2013), Deliver Us From Evil (2014), 12 Strong (2018) and Gemini Man (2019).

Along the way, he worked on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Dead Man’s Chest (2006), At World’s End (2007), On Stranger Tides (2011) and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017); Bad Boys II (2003), Bad Boys for Life (2020) and Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024); and, for his final film, Top Gun: Maverick (2022).

Born on April 29, 1960, in Boston and raised there, Stenson graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in economics and earned a master’s in business administration. In between, he began as a production assistant in New York and worked for two years in independent film and television as an assistant director and production manager before returning to Boston.

After completing business school, he moved to Los Angeles where he began at Walt Disney Studios in Special Projects for two years before moving into the production department at Hollywood Pictures as a creative executive.

Stenson was promoted to vice president and then executive vice president during his eight years with the company, overseeing development and production for Hollywood Pictures and Touchstone Pictures.

In addition to many Bruckheimer films, Stenson also developed several other movies and nurtured them through production, among them Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995), Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), Rush Hour (1998) and Instinct (1999).

He had many offers to leave Disney before exiting to join Bruckheimer.

Survivors include his brothers, John (and his wife, Mary), Tom (Mary), Robert (Kristin), and his nieces and nephews, Kaitlin, Christopher, Elizabeth, Jack, Grace, Aidan and Keira.

“As early as high school, Mike loved movies and knew he wanted to make them,” his brother Robert said. “While he achieved great personal success, he always shunned the spotlight, preferring to highlight the contributions of others. He remained down to earth with an intellect matched only by his generosity and rapier wit.”

A funeral mass will be held at 2 p.m. on May 20 at American Martyrs Catholic Church in Manhattan Beach, with a reception to follow.

Producer

The Wild Bunch

executive producer

Development Unknown

 

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

6.5

executive producer

2024

 

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Top Gun: Maverick

8.2

executive producer

2022

 

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys for Life (2020)

Bad Boys for Life

6.5

executive producer

2020

 

Will Smith and Victor Hugo in Gemini Man (2019)

Gemini Man

5.7

executive producer

2019

 

Thad Luckinbill, Lauren Chavez-Myers, Elsa Pataky, Michael Peña, Michael Shannon, Geoff Stults, Navid Negahban, Chris Hemsworth, Allison Gabriel, Kenneth Miller, Austin Stowell, Austin Hébert, and Trevante Rhodes in 12 Strong (2018)

12 Strong

6.6

executive producer

2018

 

Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Kaya Scodelario, Brenton Thwaites, Pablo, and Chiquita in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

6.5

executive producer

2017

 

Sean Harris and Olivia Horton in Deliver Us from Evil (2014)

Deliver Us from Evil

6.2

executive producer

2014

 

Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer in The Lone Ranger (2013)

The Lone Ranger

6.4

executive producer

2013

 

Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Gemma Ward, and Fileena Bahris in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

6.6

executive producer

2011

 

Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, and Teresa Palmer in The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

6.1

executive producer

2010

 

Ben Kingsley, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Gemma Arterton in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

6.5

executive producer

2010

 

Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Jon Favreau, and Tracy Morgan in G-Force (2009)

G-Force

5.1

executive producer

2009

 

Isla Fisher in Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

Confessions of a Shopaholic

5.9

executive producer

2009

 

Nicolas Cage in National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

6.5

executive producer

2007

 

Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

7.2

executive producer

2007

 

Denzel Washington and Paula Patton in Deja Vu (2006)

Deja Vu

7.1

executive producer

2006

 

Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

7.4

executive producer

2006

 

Glory Road (2006)

Glory Road

7.2

executive producer

2006

 

Nicolas Cage in National Treasure (2004)

National Treasure

6.9

executive producer

2004

 

Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley, and Clive Owen in King Arthur (2004)

King Arthur

6.3

executive producer

2004

 

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys II (2003)

Bad Boys II

6.6

executive producer

2003

 

Cate Blanchett in Veronica Guerin (2003)

Veronica Guerin

6.8

executive producer

2003

 

Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

8.1

executive producer

2003

 

Kangaroo Jack (2003)

Kangaroo Jack

4.5

executive producer

2003

 

Promotional Poster

Bad Company

5.6

producer

2002

 

Josh Hartnett in Black Hawk Down (2001)

Black Hawk Down

7.7

executive producer

2001

 

Publicity Poster

Pearl Harbor

6.3

executive producer

2001

 

Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans (2000)

Remember the Titans

7.8

executive producer

2000

 

Tyra Banks, Maria Bello, Izabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan, and Piper Perabo in Coyote Ugly (2000)

Coyote Ugly

5.8

executive producer

2000

 

Promo Poster

Gone in 60 Seconds

6.5

produced by

2000

 

Production Management

Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, and Ed Harris in The Rock (1996)

The Rock

7.4

executive in charge of production: Walt Disney Studios (uncredited)

1996

 

Michelle Pfeiffer, Ivan Sergei, Wade Dominguez, Paula Garcés, Marisela Gonzales, Bruklin Harris, Rahman Ibraheem, Renoly Santiago, and Marcello Thedford in Dangerous Minds (1995)

Dangerous Minds

6.5

executive in charge of production: Walt Disney Studios (uncredited)

1995

 

Self

NT2: Recreating Lincoln's Assassination

Video

Self

2008

 

NT2: Set in History (2008)

NT2: Set in History

Video

Self

2008

 

NT2: Evolution of a Golden City (2008)

NT2: Evolution of a Golden City

7.3

Video

Self

2008

 

NT2: Secrets of a Sequel (2008)

NT2: Secrets of a Sequel

Video

Self

2008

 

Déjà Vu: Double Take Behind the Scenes

Video

Self

2007

 

Déjà Vu: Surveillance Window

6.2

Video

Self

2007

 

According to Plan: The Making of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' (2006)

According to Plan: The Making of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'

8.2

Video

Self