Seale was born in Warwick, Queensland, Australia, to Marjorie Lyndon (née Pool) and Eric Clement Seale. He received Oscar nominations for his work on Witness, Rain Man, and Cold Mountain, and won for The English Patient. Seale directed one film, Till There Was You, in 1990. He is a four-time Oscar nominee, five-time BAFTA nominee, and four-time ASC Award nominee.