Who

With Michael Barker, Bernard is co-president of the indie film studio Sony Pictures Classics.

Backstory

Jersey native Bernard went to college at the University of Maryland, where he partnered with college pal Michael Barker to run an on-campus film series. In 1981, the duo set up their first indie specialty unit with United Artists Classics; two years later, they created a similar arrangement at Orion, starting up Orion Classics and shepherding foreign movies like Wings of Desire and Europa Europa to U.S. screens. In 1992, they migrated to Sony, striking a deal that's rarely extended in the increasingly corporate business of moviemaking: Sony finances and distributes their films at Sony Pictures Classics, but Bernard and Barker have complete autonomy when it comes to choosing which films to back.

Of note

SPC has had a solid run over the past 15 years, producing critically acclaimed indie fare like Pollock, Waiting for Guffman, Todd Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse, Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother and Talk to Her, Bennett Miller's Capote, and one accidental blockbuster, Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. At SPC, Bernard is known as the marketing/business expert, while Barker is regarded as the creative guy. But Bernard and Barker—who both keep fairly low profiles—have maintain an equal partnership. Their contract with Sony (which they recently renewed) stipulates not only that their headquarters remain in New York, but that they each inhabit identical offices, down to matching furniture.

Personal

Bernard lives with his wife, Mercedes Danevic, in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. They also have an apartment near Gramercy Park and a home in Rhode Island, not far from where Michael and Betsy Barker keep a place.

Family ties

Tom's brother is director Paul Bernard, who has worked on films such as Trust the Man and Godzilla.