Peter Spears

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]

BornNovember 29, 1965 (age 60)^[1]^[2]

Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.

AlmamaterNorthwestern University^[3]

Occupations

Actor
screenwriter
film director
film producer

Yearsactive1991–present

Quick facts Born, Alma mater ...

Peter Spears

Born	(1965-11-29) November 29, 1965 (age 60)^[1]^[2] Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Alma mater	Northwestern University^[3]
Occupations	Actor screenwriter film director film producer
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Brian Swardstrom^[4]

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Career

In 2020, Spears founded his own production company, Cor Cordium. The company has multiple projects in development across film and television. Recent films include Queer and Bones and All, directed by Luca Guadagnino, and Drift, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Upcoming work includes On Swift Horses, directed by Daniel Minahan and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Diego Calva, Will Poulter and Sasha Calle, which will be released April 25, 2025 by Sony Pictures Classics.^[6]^[7]

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]^[8] 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.^[9]^[10]

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]}

Personal life

Spears is married to talent agent Brian Swardstrom, and the couple splits their time between upstate New York and California.^[11]^[12]