Ronald L. Nyswaner (born October 5, 1956) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

winner, and has been nominated for numerous awards including an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

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

, and two

Primetime Emmy Awards 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. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

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

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

'' (1993), '' The Painted Veil'' (2006), '' Freeheld'' (2015), and '' My Policeman'' (2022). He is also known as a writer and producer of the Showtime series ''

Ray Donovan ''Ray Donovan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The drama, starring Liev Schreiber in the title role, is set primarily in Los Angeles (during seasons 1–5) and in New York City (during seaso ...

'' (2013–2015), ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic 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 ethnic natio ...

'' (2017–2018), and the historical drama series '' Fellow Travelers'' (2023).

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 northeastern corner of Greene County at (39.974170, -80.044833), at the confluence of ...

. He later attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

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 is known for mixing comedy with drama and blending genres in her feature-film work. She is also notable for her art direction and pop-cultural refe ...

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 Kate Soffel, the warden's wife. ...

'', he gave his directorial debut with '' The Prince of Pennsylvania'' in 1988, a film with Keanu Reeves and Fred Ward. Nyswaner, who is openly gay and an activist for gay rights, has often worked on movies dealing with subjects such as homosexuality,

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

, 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, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...

. 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'', based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. He received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award 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 the first major harbinger of the film awards season that ...

in 2006. From 2015 to 2017, he was an executive producer for the Showtime TV series ''

''. In 2015, Nyswaner directed the documentary film ''She's the Best Thing in It'', featuring Mary Louise Wilson, which he coproduced along with Jeffrey Schwarz and Neda Armian. Nyswaner created the historical drama miniseries Fellow Travelers in 2023, which won a

at the 84th ceremony in 2024.

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyswaner, Ron 1956 births Living people American memoirists American male screenwriters American gay writers American LGBTQ film directors Gay memoirists LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania American LGBTQ screenwriters Columbia University alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni People from Greene County, Pennsylvania Film directors from Pennsylvania American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from Pennsylvania