Peter_Spears
Peter Spears
American actor and filmmaker (born 1965)
Peter Spears (born November 29, 1965) is an American actor and filmmaker. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Overland Park, Kansas.[1] Spears is best known for winning an Oscar for producing Nomadland (2020), and for producing film Call Me by Your Name (2017). He directed the underground cult-favorite short film Ernest and Bertram, which portrayed Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie as gay lovers, and developed the television series Nightmare Cafe and John from Cincinnati.[5]
Peter Spears | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1965-11-29) November 29, 1965 (age 58)[1][2] Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University[3] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse | Brian Swardstrom[4] |
In 2020, Spears founded his own production company, Cor Cordium. The company has multiple projects in development across film and television. Recent films include Bones and All, directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Timothée Chalamet, and Drift, starring Cynthia Erivo, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. On Swift Horses, directed by Daniel Minahan and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Diego Calva, Will Poulter and Sasha Calle, will be released in 2024.[citation needed] [6]
Spears's most successful production is Nomadland, which won an Oscar at the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony in 2021. The film also won the BAFTA, Golden Globe, PGA Award, and the Golden Lion at the 2021 Venice Film Festival.[citation needed] Spears also produced the critically acclaimed 2017 film Call Me by Your Name, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.[1][7] He directed the underground cult-favorite short film Ernest and Bertram, which portrayed Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie as gay lovers in a loose parody of Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour.[8][9]
In addition to his career as a film director and producer, Spears is also an actor, appearing in films such as Call Me By Your Name, Something's Gotta Give, The Opposite of Sex, and Father of the Bride Part II, as well as several television series, including Friends and E.R. He was most recently seen in the film Sublet.[citation needed]
Spears also co-founded OutSet: The Young Filmmakers Project, a collaboration between the Outfest Film Festival and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The 6-month film lab selects a group of diverse 16-to-24-year-old emerging filmmakers to share their stories through film, by embarking on courses in screenwriting, pre-production, production and post-production, mentored by industry experts. The program culminates in the filmmakers' final thesis projects presented at the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival.[citation needed]
Spears is married to talent agent Brian Swardstrom, and the couple splits their time between upstate New York and California.[10]
As actor
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Father of the Bride Part II | Dr. Wagner | — |
| 1998 | The Opposite of Sex | Dr. Allen | — |
| 2003 | Something's Gotta Give | Danny Benjamin | — |
| 2017 | Call Me by Your Name | Isaac[11][12][13] | Also producer |
| 2020 | Nomadland | Peter | Also producer |
| 2020 | Sublet | David |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Pink Lightning | Greg | TV movie |
| 1992 | Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story | Student Proctor | TV movie |
| 1992 | Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story | Peter | TV movie |
| 1993 | Quantum Leap | Doug Bridges / Reiser | Episode: "Dr. Ruth" |
| 1993 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Robert Benchley | Episode: "Young Indiana Jones and the Scandal of 1920" |
| 1993 | Café Americain | Mark Durgin | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1994 | Matlock | Barry Feldman | Two episodes |
| 1994 | Cries from the Heart | Jeff | TV movie |
| 1996 | ER | — | Episode: "Baby Shower" |
| 1996 | Friends | Joel | Episode: "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding" |
| 1997 | The Love Bug | Young Dr. Stumpfel | TV movie |
| 1999 | Love Boat: The Next Wave | Jeff Blessing | Episode: "Blind Love" |
| 2001 | Some of My Best Friends | Terry | Two episodes |
| 2004 | CSI: Miami | Josh Dalton | Episode: "Deadline" |
As writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ernest and Bertram | Short film also director[14] |
As director
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ernest and Bertram | Short film directorial debut |
| 2007 | Careless | — |
As producer
Film
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Scream, Teen, Scream! | Short film |
| 2014 | Until We Could | Short film |
| 2017 | Call Me by Your Name | Won - Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay / Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture |
| 2020 | Nomadland | Won – Academy Award for Best Picture[15] |
| 2022 | Bones and All | |
| 2023 | Drift | |
| TBA | On Swift Horses |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Nightmare Café | Co-developer Creative consultant Executive producer |
| 2007 | John from Cincinnati | Co-developer Creative consultant Executive producer |
- "Movie generating Oscar buzz was produced by Shawnee Mission South grad". The Kansas City Star. January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- "Brian Swardstrom post". November 29, 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. [brianswardstrom "Happy birthday to my hubby, @pjspears. Peter, You have added so much depth, humor, fulfillment and joy to my life, I can't imagine it without you. Here's to your 50th birthday and to many more. I love you."]
- "American Music Theatre Project Premiers Hilarious Rock Musical". Northwestern University. Retrieved 15 August 2016
- Vivarelli, Nick (February 13, 2017). "Berlinale: Luca Guadagnino on Why 'Call Me by Your Name' Strikes Such Deep Chords". Variety. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
- "Produced By: New York". Producers Guild of America. October 28, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- "On Swift Horses" (Press release).
- "These are the Oscar best-picture nominees that got the biggest bump at the box office". Business Insider. January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- "Sesame Street legal: Furore over Bert and Ernie gay flick". Guardian.co.uk. Apr 10, 2002. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- Goodridge, Michael (July 23, 2002). "The best films you can't see: Ernest & Bertram is the latest in a series of acclaimed queer films banned from public view because their makers stepped on some famous toes". The Advocate.
- Siegel, Tatiana (2021-02-22). "Making of 'Nomadland': How Frances McDormand and Chloe Zhao Created a Story That "Crossed Cultural and Generational Lines"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- Smith, Bonne. "Mongrel Presents: Call Me by Your Name" (PDF) (Press release). Toronto, Ontario: Mongrel Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- "'Call Me by Your Name' Author Opens Up About the Film Adaptation". Graduate Center. City University of New York. November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
- Ford, Rebecca (November 10, 2017). "Oscars: Best Picture Contenders on Staging Car Chases and How to Pivot When Plans Go Awry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- "20 Banned Movies: Ernest and Bertram (2002)". Complex. 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- N'Duka, Amanda (February 12, 2019). "Chloé Zhao's 'Nomadland' Starring Frances McDormand Lands At Fox Searchlight". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- Peter Spears at IMDb