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Peter Chelsom (born 20 April 1956) is a British film director, writer, and actor. He has directed such films as Hector and the Search for Happiness, Serendipity, and Shall We Dance? Peter Chelsom is a member of the British Academy, the American Academy, The Directors Guild of America, and The Writers Guild of America.
While acting, Chelsom developed a growing interest in writing and directing. His directorial debut, Treacle, won a BAFTA nomination and invitations to festivals all over the world.
From 1985 to 1998 he ran the film course at the Central School of Drama and later taught at both the Actors' Institute and Cornell University.
His first full-length feature was the 1991 romantic comedy, Hear My Song. The film was inspired by the life of the Irish tenor, Josef Locke, played in the film by Ned Beatty. The Evening Standard British Film Awards named Chelsom Best Newcomer for his work on the film. Roger Ebert complimented it as "the very soul of a great small film."
Chelsom's second feature, Funny Bones (1995), is a film about comedy. Starring Oliver Platt, Jerry Lewis, Leslie Caron, Freddie Davies, and Lee Evans, it tells the story of two half brothers, one American and the other British, who will stop at nothing to get a laugh... even murder. Funny Bones won Best Picture at five European film festivals, and the "Peter Sellers Award for Comedy" at the Evening Standard British Film Awards.
His third feature, The Mighty (1998) , was based on the best-selling book Freak the Mighty. The film stars Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson, Gena Rowlands, and Harry Dean Stanton. It received two Golden Globe Nominations. He followed this with Town and Country in 2001, starring Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Garry Shandling. That same year he directed Serendipity, with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, which grossed $50 million.
His next film in 2004 was a remake of the 1996 film, Shall We Dance? The American version starred Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon, and Stanley Tucci. The film grossed $170 million worldwide.
In 2009, Chelsom directed for Disney. The film broke box office records when it opened in the US to a figure of $32 million on its first weekend.
In 2014, Chelsom directed Hector and the Search for Happiness, starring Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgard, and Jean Reno. The film had its US Premiere in a special presentation at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It tells the story of a disillusioned psychiatrist travelling the world, researching what makes people happy. Monte Carlo Film Festival named Chelsom Best Director for this film.
Chelsom directed the science fiction romance The Space Between Us (2017), starring Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, and Carla Gugino.
| 1987 | Treacle |
Feature film
| 1991 | Hear My Song | ||
| 1995 | Funny Bones | ||
| 1998 | The Mighty | ||
| 2001 | Town & Country | ||
| Serendipity | |||
| 2004 | Shall We Dance? | ||
| 2009 | |||
| 2014 | Hector and the Search for Happiness | ||
| 2017 | The Space Between Us | ||
| 2021 | Security | ||
| 2024 | A Sudden Case of Christmas |
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