Matthew Shear, ‘Fantasy Life’ Filmmaker,’ Signs With Gersh

EXCLUSIVE: Actor, writer, and director Matthew Shear has signed with Gersh for representation in all areas.

Shear is coming off of his directorial debut with Fantasy Life, an indie comedy he also wrote, where he stars opposite Amanda Peet, Alessandro Nivola, Bob Balaban, Judd Hirsch, and Andrea Martin. The winner of the marquee Narrative Feature Audience Award at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, Fantasy Life follows a 30-something paralegal in New York who, after getting laid off, starts babysitting his psychiatrist’s three granddaughters and falls for their mother, an actress in a rocky marriage. Peet was also recognized for her work on the film at SXSW, earning a Special Jury Award for her performance.

In his review of the film out of SXSW, Deadline’s Pete Hammond suggested that the project establishes Shear as “a triple-threat filmmaker” to watch.

A frequent on-screen collaborator of Noah Baumbach, Shear starred opposite Greta Gerwig in Mistress America, and has also appeared in several of the director’s other films, including The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story at Netflix.

Other notable credits include M. Night Shyamalan’s Old, The Boy Downstairs, Between the Temples, and the TNT series The Alienist.

Shear continues to be represented by Ayala Cohen Management and Granderson Des Rochers.