Peter and Michael Spierig were born on 29 April 1976 in Buchholz, Germany, to John and Marianne (née Nierle) Spierig. The identical twins were four years old when their parents moved to Sydney, Australia, where they spent their childhood. The family then moved to Brisbane in the late '80s, where the twins continued their high school and university education. Both Peter and Michael earned their Bachelor's Degree from Queensland College of Art (QCA) where Michael majored in Graphic design and Peter in film and television.
While working in the advertising industry, Peter and Michael continued to write and direct short films. Their final short film The Big Picture went on to screen and win awards at several prestigious national and international film festivals including Rotterdam International Film Festival. After making over fifteen short films and dozens of television commercials, the Spierig Brothers finally ventured into feature film production in early 2000.
Peter and Michael made their directing debut in 2003 with Undead and won a prize for Best Visual Effects at the Australian Film Institute Awards for their second film Daybreakers (2010) starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe. They write, direct and produce their films together, and are heavily involved in the editing, sound and visual effects of all their works.
Their second feature film Daybreakers starred two-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Claudia Karvan, Vince Colosimo, Michael Dorman, and Isabel Lucas. The film was released in the United States on 2,500 screens in January 2010, and has gone on to gross US$51.4 million worldwide.
The Spierig brothers's third film is the action sci-fi thriller Predestination based on the science fiction short story '"—All You Zombies—" by Robert A. Heinlein. The film stars Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook, and includes an appearance by Noah Taylor. The story recounts that of a detective from a covert government agency (Hawke) who embarks on an intricate series of time-travel journeys in order to catch a master Criminal and ensure his own existence. After its premiere at SXSW on 8 March 2014, the film received many positive reviews including Variety, The Guardian, and IGN Movies. The film was released later that year.
The two directed the eighth Saw film, Jigsaw, which was released on October 27, 2017. Their next film was Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built, a horror film about the Winchester Mystery House, starring Helen Mirren as heiress Sarah Winchester, and released on February 2, 2018.
