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Peter Chelsom

Peter Chelsom

Director, actor and writer, also producer · Born April 20, 1956 (70) · Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Peter Chelsom (born April 20, 1956) is a British actor and film director. He has directed among others such films as Shall We Dance? and Hannah Montana: The Movie Chelsom was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, the son of antiques shop owners Kay and Reginald Chelsom. He studied at the Central School of Drama in London. He worked as an actor for the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as taking part in numerous film and television productions including A Woman of Substance which also included Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr. While acting he developed a growing interest in writing and directing. From 1985-1998 he ran the television film course at Central School of Drama and later taught at both the Actor's Institute and Cornell University. Description above from the Wikipedia article Peter Chelsom, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 20, 1956 (70)
From
Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK
Works as
Director, actor and writer, also producer
Titles
15 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Up 29% in 30 days

What are Peter Chelsom's films like?

Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy9 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 51st percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 69th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

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

share of theme weight
Bonds
47%
Self
33%
Society
9%
Ideas
5%
Power
3%
Morality
2%
Survival
2%
Romantic love4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 12 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 8 · Serious 4 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 9 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 9 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 10 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 11 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 11 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
8
Joyful
7
Warm
5
Melancholic
5
Romantic
5
Other
10

How their films linger

Hopeful9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy6
  • Bittersweet7

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 Peter Chelsom's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Peter Chelsom'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

25 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page.

  • A Sudden Case of Christmas(2024)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films

  • Security (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Director · Screenplay · Story

  • Berlin, I Love You(2019)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • The Space Between Us(2017)

    Director · as Centaur (voice)

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Hector and the Search for Happiness(2014)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Hannah Montana: The Movie(2009)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Psych(2006)

    Show 1 episode · as Actor

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Shall We Dance?(2004)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Serendipity(2001)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Town & Country(2001)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films

  • The Mighty(1998)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Funny Bones(1995)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Hear My Song(1991)

    Director · Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Treacle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Writer

  • Christmas Present (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    as Nigel Playfayre

  • Star Quality (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    as Bryan Snow

  • A Woman of Substance(1984)

    Show 3 episodes · as Edwin Fairley

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • Sorrell and Son (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Show 6 episodes · as Kit Sorrell

  • An Englishman Abroad(1983)

    as Giles

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Intensive Care (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    as Very Young Doctor

  • Cream in My Coffee (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    as Young Bernard

  • The American Success Company(1979)

    as Mitchell

    Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films

  • School Play (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    as Grunt

  • Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Show 1 episode · as Grunt

  • The Beauty of Sharks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 25 titles, 24 of them dated from 1974 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Shall We Dance? (2004)

$170M worldwide

Highest rated

The Mighty (1998)

Midcredits 88th

Most popular right now

The Space Between Us (2017)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting12 of 25: 11 only acting, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score74thDirecting14 of 25: 7 only directing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score54thWriting6 of 25: 0 only writing, 6 with another roleProducing1 of 25: 0 only producing, 1 with another role

25 titles, 7 with more than one role — directing and acting overlap on 1 of them.

By decade

1970s2 · acting1980s9 · 8 acting · 1 crew1990s3 · crew2000s5 · 1 acting · 4 crew2010s3 · 1 acting · 3 crew2020s2 · crew

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 Peter Chelsom's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 54th percentile, the median of all 13; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 58th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

58thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Approval · how many liked their films

67thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Reach · how many have seen their films

88thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Midcredits score across 15 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · director

Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)

86th percentile spread · 40% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

The Mighty (1998)

Midcredits 88th · 77% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 61/100 and the pacing 45/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

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 Peter Chelsom's work okay for kids?

Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore6 titles5–57 · median 16 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity8 titles23–49 · median 30 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity6 titles25–53 · median 36 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs6 titles10–39 · median 24 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense6 titles5–55 · median 25 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Peter Chelsom work with?

People who share at least 2 of Peter Chelsom's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Simon Fields shares the most, 6.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers