He is best known as the composer of the music for the film La La Land (2016). He also scored four other Damien Chazelle films - Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009), Obsession (2014), Man in the Moon (2018) and Babylon (2022).

For La La Land, Hurwitz won a Golden Globe Award for Best Film Score and Best Song for "City of Stars", a BAFTA Award for Best Film Score, and an Academy Award for Best Film Music and Best Song. best song ("City of Stars"; and another nomination for "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)").