Ronald L. Nyswaner (born October 5, 1956) is an American screenwriter and film director. He has been nominated for numerous awards including an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

, and a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

. He is known for his screenplays '' Smithereens'' (1982), ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

'' (1993), '' The Painted Veil'' (2006), ''

Freeheld ''Freeheld'' is a 2015 American drama film directed by Peter Sollett and written by Ron Nyswaner. The film stars Julianne Moore, Elliot Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carell, and Luke Grimes. It is based on the 2007 documentary short film of the ...

'' (2015), '' My Policeman'' (2022),. He is also known as a writer and producer of the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series ''

Ray Donovan ''Ray Donovan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The twelve-episode first season premiered on June 30, 2013. The pilot episode broke viewership records, becoming the biggest premiere of all t ...

'' (2013-2015), ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

'' (2017-2018), and the upcoming series ''

Fellow Travelers The term ''fellow traveller'' (also ''fellow traveler'') identifies a person who is intellectually sympathetic to the ideology of a political organization, and who co-operates in the organization's politics, without being a formal member of that o ...

''.

Early life and education

Nyswaner was born in

Clarksville, Pennsylvania Clarksville is a borough in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 194 at the 2020 census. Geography Clarksville is located in the northeast corner of Greene County at (39.974170, -80.044833), at the confluence of Tenmi ...

Career

Nyswaner wrote his first screenplay for the

Susan Seidelman Susan Seidelman (Born December 11, 1952) is an American film director, producer, and writer. She first came to notice with '' Smithereens'' (1982), the earliest American independent feature to be screened in Competition at the Cannes Film Festiva ...

film ''Smithereens''. After two other notable screenplays for '' Swing Shift'' and ''

Mrs. Soffel ''Mrs. Soffel'' is a 1984 American drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong, starring Diane Keaton and Mel Gibson and based on the story of condemned brothers Jack and Ed Biddle, who escaped prison with the aid of the warden's wife, Kate Soffel. ...

'', he gave his directorial debut with ''

The Prince of Pennsylvania ''The Prince of Pennsylvania'' is a 1988 comedy drama film written and directed by Ron Nyswaner. It stars Fred Ward, Keanu Reeves, Bonnie Bedelia and Amy Madigan. It premiered at the 1988 Toronto International Film Festival (then the Toronto Fe ...

'' in 1988, a film with

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

and

Fred Ward Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American actor and producer. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as '' Escape from Alcatraz'', ''Southern Comfort'', '' The R ...

. Nyswaner, who is openly gay and an activist for gay rights, has often worked on movies with the subjects homosexuality,

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

, and AIDS. In 1993, he came to worldwide prominence for his screenplay to the

-winning movie ''

'', directed by

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film ''Caged Heat'', before ...

. It earned him nominations at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes, and the BAFTAs. After several years of working for television, he wrote the screenplay for the 2006 film '' The Painted Veil'' which is based on the novel by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

. He received a nomination for the

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

and won the award of the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

in 2006. From 2015 to 2017, he was an executive producer for the

TV series, ''

''. In 2015, Nyswaner directed a documentary film, ''She's the Best Thing In It'', featuring

Mary Louise Wilson Mary Louise Wilson (born November 12, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. In a career that has spanned more than 50 years, she has appeared in a number of plays, films and television shows. Wilson's most notable work includes a ...

, which he coproduced along with

Jeffrey Schwarz Jeffrey Schwarz is an American Emmy Awards, Emmy Award-winning film producer, director, and editor. He is known for an extensive body of documentary work including ''Boulevard! A Hollywood Story'', ''The Fabulous Allan Carr'', ''Tab Hunter Confi ...

and Neda Armian.

Filmography

Film

As a Director As a Writer

Television

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

In 2004, he published ''Blue Days, Black Nights: A Memoir'', which chronicles his relationship with alcohol, drugs, and hustlers.

References

External links

*
Yahoo UK Movies

Ron Nyswaner at College University
1956 births Living people American memoirists American male screenwriters American gay writers LGBT film directors LGBT memoirists LGBT people from Pennsylvania LGBT screenwriters University of Pittsburgh alumni People from Greene County, Pennsylvania Film directors from Pennsylvania American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from Pennsylvania {{US-film-bio-stub