Ronald L. Nyswaner (born October 5, 1956) is an American screenwriter and film director. He has been nominated for numerous awards including a Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He is known for his screenplays Smithereens (1982), Philadelphia (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 (2013–2015) and Homeland (2017–2018). Description above from the Wikipedia article Ron Nyswaner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- October 5, 1956 (70)
- Clarksville, Pennsylvania, USA
- Writer, producer and director, also actor
- 19 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
What are Ron Nyswaner's films like?
Across their 17 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 15
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 6 · Dark 7
Grounded 15 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 2 · Charged 11 · Intense 3
A split, not a type: Steady 9 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 3
Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 2
A split, not a type: Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 1
Casual 6 · Engaged 10 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 9
Resolved 14 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet9
- Tragic3
- Ambiguous1
- Other1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ron Nyswaner's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 19 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
Subscription and free streaming for Ron Nyswaner's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
23 credits, 19 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Fellow Travelers(2023)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Loan Wolves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
My Policeman(2022)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Murder on Middle Beach(2020)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Freeheld(2015)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Ray Donovan(2013)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Why Stop Now?(2012)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Homeland(2011)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all showsFilthy Gorgeous (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Casting Pearls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
The Painted Veil(2006)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Soldier's Girl(2003)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Star Maps(1997)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Philadelphia(1993)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Love Hurts(1990)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Gross Anatomy(1989)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Mrs. Soffel(1984)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Swing Shift(1984)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Smithereens(1982)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all filmsAmerican Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 23 titles, 22 of them dated from 1982 to 2026.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Ron Nyswaner's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 69th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 72nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th6
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 19 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved6
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the dialogue 54/100 and the plot and story 48/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Ron Nyswaner's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Ron Nyswaner work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ron Nyswaner's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jeffrey Schwarz shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Jeffrey SchwarzShared titles: Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders (2026), Commitment to Life (2023), She's the Best Thing in It (2015), People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia' (2003)See all 4 shared titles with Jeffrey Schwarz
- Jonathan DemmeShared titles: People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia' (2003), Philadelphia (1993), Swing Shift (1984)See all 3 shared titles with Jonathan Demme
Actors
- Antonio BanderasShared titles: People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia' (2003), Philadelphia (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Antonio Banderas
- Tom HanksShared titles: People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia' (2003), Philadelphia (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Tom Hanks
- Christine LahtiShared titles: Gross Anatomy (1989), Swing Shift (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Christine Lahti
- Matthew ModineShared titles: Gross Anatomy (1989), Mrs. Soffel (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Matthew Modine
Cinematographers and editors
- Tyler HubbyShared titles: She's the Best Thing in It (2015), People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia' (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Tyler Hubby
- Craig McKayShared titles: Philadelphia (1993), Swing Shift (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Craig McKay
- Tak FujimotoShared titles: Philadelphia (1993), Swing Shift (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Tak Fujimoto
Producers
- Neda ArmianShared titles: Murder on Middle Beach (2020), She's the Best Thing in It (2015), Why Stop Now? (2012)See all 3 shared titles with Neda Armian
- Aimée FlahertyShared titles: Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders (2026), Commitment to Life (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Aimée Flaherty
- Robbie RogersShared titles: Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders (2026), My Policeman (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Robbie Rogers
- Doro BachrachShared titles: Soldier's Girl (2003), Love Hurts (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Doro Bachrach
Mixed roles
- Bud S. SmithShared titles: Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders (2026), Gross Anatomy (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Bud S. Smith
- Howard RosenmanShared titles: Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders (2026), Gross Anatomy (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Howard Rosenman
- Edward SaxonShared titles: People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia' (2003), Philadelphia (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Edward Saxon
