Peter Spears
He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Overland Park, Kansas. 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.
Peter Spears

Maximilian Bühn · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Peter Spears
- Born
- 29 November 1965
- Birthplace
- Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Actor
- Spouse
- Brian Swardstrom
- Education
- Northwestern University
- Nationality
- United States
- Honours
- European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film · Academy Award for Best Picture
- Languages
- English
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He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Overland Park, Kansas. 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.
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Peter Spears • Born — 29 November 1965 • Birthplace — Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. • Occupation — * Actor • screenwriter • film director • film producer • Spouse — Brian Swardstrom • Education — Northwestern University • Years Active — 1991–present
Career
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. 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. Spears also produced the critically acclaimed 2017 film Call Me by Your Name, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. 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. 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. 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.
Personal life
Personal life
Spears is married to talent agent Brian Swardstrom, and the couple splits their time between upstate New York and California.
Television
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 director
As director
• Year — Title — Notes • 2002 — Ernest and Bertram — Short film directorial debut • 2007 — Careless
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Notes • 1992 — Nightmare Café — Co-developer Creative consultant Executive producer • 2007 — John from Cincinnati — Co-developer Creative consultant Executive producer
Identity
Identity
Peter Spears is recorded as having studied at Northwestern University and Shawnee Mission South High School.

Showing Call Me By Your Name @Berlin Film Festival 2017
Franz Richter (User:FRZ) · Own work (taken with Nikon D60 SLR)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
2000
Peter Spears born at Kansas City.
As writer
• Year — Title — Notes • 2002 — Ernest and Bertram — Short film also director
Film
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 — Also producer • 2020 — Nomadland — Peter — Also producer • 2020 — Sublet — David
Film
Film
• Year — Title — Notes • 1996 — Scream, Teen, Scream! — Short film • 2014 — Until We Could — Short film • 2017 — Call Me by Your Name — Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture • 2020 — Nomadland — Academy Award for Best Picture • 2022 — Bones and All • 2023 — Drift • 2024 — Queer — Executive producer • 2024 — On Swift Horses
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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