Biography

Tony Spiridakis is an award-winning screenwriter, director, producer, and actor with nearly four decades in the film and television industry. His 2024 film "Ezra," a comedic drama which he wrote and produced alongside director Tony Goldwyn, stars Bobby Cannavale, Robert De Niro, Rose Byrne, and Whoopi Goldberg, and was released theatrically by Bleecker Street nationwide.

Spiridakis is a writer and consulting producer on the MGM+ apocalyptic drama series "Earth Abides." He is also adapting Sandy Greenberg's acclaimed memoir, "Hello Darkness, My Old Friend" for Wayfarer Studios. Set in the 1960s, the film tells the inspirational story of a Columbia College freshman (Greenberg) who goes blind, and his roommate (the musician Art Garfunkel), whose perseverance and friendship help Sandy rise above his painful circumstances, graduate and go on to do extraordinary things, like dedicating his life to finding a cure for blindness.

Other films include "Queens Logic," which he wrote, produced, and co-starred in with Kevin Bacon and John Malkovich; "Tinseltown," starring Ron Perlman and Joe Pantoliano; "Noise," which he directed, starring Ally Sheedy and John Slattery; and "If Lucy Fell," starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Ben Stiller. Spiridakis produced and directed "The Last Word" with Tim Hutton and Richard Dreyfuss, then wrote and co-starred in the award-winning post-9/11 drama "Ash Tuesday," alongside Giancarlo Esposito, Janeane Garofalo, and Tony Goldwyn.

Spiridakis' TV credits include co-creating and producing the Fox series "The Heights" with Academy Award-winning screenwriter Eric Roth ("Forrest Gump"), the CBS crime drama "Falcone" with Bob Moresco ("Crash"), and the Netflix legal drama "Justice" with Emmy-winning writer Bill Finkelstein ("East New York"). Spiridakis studied at the Yale School of Drama and has appeared in dozens of TV and films, including "House," "L.A. Law," "The Equalizer," "Bay City Blues," and "Death Wish." Additionally, he produced and acted in Academy and Tony Award-winning writer Doug Wright's play "Callbacks," and worked with Stanley Kubrick on the film "Full Metal Jacket."

Projects in development include "The Angry One," "Sospiro Di Vita" ("Breath of Life"), and "Mike's Place," the true story of a blues bar in Tel Aviv that survives the devastation of a suicide bombing, for director Todd Komarnicki, with Antoine Fuqua and Andrew Levitas producing.

A longtime educator who is passionate about working with emerging filmmakers, Spiridakis is the Founder and Executive Director of the North Fork Arts Center in Greenport, N.Y. In 2012 he co-founded the Manhattan Film Institute, an intensive film workshop and mentorship program that has produced nearly 300 short films and transformed the lives of many filmmakers.

Spiridakis is a father of two and a strong advocate for autism awareness. He supports a variety of autism-related schools and organizations, including The Help Group, The Center School, Birch Family Services, Exceptional Minds, and We've Got Friends.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous