How the ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ Cinematographer Captured a Sense of Moody Noir

You may have heard the expression “what I really want to do is direct” in regard to actors, but there’s a considerable history of award-winning cinematographers (Janusz Kaminski, Freddie Francis, Chris Menges) also making that leap. But for three-time Emmy winner Christian Sprenger (“Atlanta”), the journey was far more accidental. When he was tapped to direct an episode of Prime Video’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” a series based on the 2005 Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie spy movie now starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, he was already serving as cinematographer for four of the eight episodes in Season 1. 

“Donald was originally going to direct Episodes 4 and 8,” said Sprenger, who worked with “Mr.