Peter Greene (né Green; October 8, 1965 – December 12, 2025) was an American actor. A character actor, he was generally known for portraying villains. He was best known for his roles in the 1994 films The Mask, in which he played the main antagonist Dorian Tyrell, and Pulp Fiction, where he portrayed Zed, a sadistic security guard.
Peter Greene | |
|---|---|
 Greene at the Chiller Theatre Expo in 2014 | |
| Born | Peter Green October 8, 1965 Montclair, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | December 12, 2025 (aged 60) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1990–2025 |
| Height | 6 ft 3+1⁄2 in (192 cm) |
| Children | 1[1] |
Greene's other credits included Laws of Gravity (1992), Judgment Night (1993), Clean, Shaven (1994), Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), and The Usual Suspects (1995). He later appeared in Kiss & Tell (1997), Blue Streak (1999), Training Day (2001), The Black Donnellys (2007), Life on Mars (2009), New York New York (2016), and The Continental (2023).
Early life
editPeter Green was born on October 8, 1965 in Montclair, New Jersey,[2] and was one of three siblings, with a brother and a sister.[3] He ran away from home at the age of 15 and was homeless for a few years.[4] He did not pursue a career in acting until his mid-20s.[5] He initially landed several roles in cinema and television in the early 1990s.[5]
Career
editGreene made his film debut in Laws of Gravity (1992).[6] He had roles in Pulp Fiction,[7] The Mask,[7] and The Usual Suspects[7] in 1994 and 1995. In Pulp Fiction, Greene appeared as Zed.[7] The Mask saw him play the villainous Dorian Tyrell.[7] The Usual Suspects saw him play the character of Redfoot.[7] He played the schizophrenic Peter Winter in Clean, Shaven (1993).[7] Greene often played villains, such as in Judgment Night (1993),[7] Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995),[7] The Rich Man's Wife (1996),[7] Training Day (2001)[7] (as a corrupt narcotics officer), and The Bounty Hunter (2010).[7]
Greene worked with director Jordan Alan twice: once on the film Kiss & Tell (1997),[7] a dark comic turn and then again four years later in The Gentleman Bandit (aka Gentleman B).[7] After Greene's arrests in 1998 for drug related crimes, Alan had to put the actor through rehab to get him through the second film and eventually, after coming upon Greene doing heroin with Mike Starr, he was forced to replace Greene's voice because of the vocal problems caused by drugs. Despite these problems, Alan vouched for Greene to producer Tobe Jaffe for the movie Blue Streak,[7] in which Greene played Martin Lawrence's nemesis.
Greene continued to work mostly as a character actor. He appeared in the short-lived television dramas The Black Donnellys[7] and Life on Mars (2009).[7] He also appeared as a policeman in Prodigy and Mobb Deep's video for "A,B,C's", as well as the focal character in House of Pain's video for "Fed Up".[7] Greene appeared in the opening scene of the premiere of the FX series Justified where he was characterized as a "thuggish Peter Weller lookalike" by reviewer Scott Tobias, writing for The A.V. Club.[8] His later roles included the film New York New York (2016)[7] and the miniseries The Continental (2023).[7] He appeared in two films by director Eric Brian Hughes: Turnabout (2016) and Exit 0 (2019). Greene appears in the digital series The Jersey Connection by filmmaker Tim Firtion.[7] Greene was featured in the 2020 TV series For Life in a small role as an Aryan Brother named "Wild Bill" Miller.[7]
By the time of his death, he had been given a role in an upcoming Mickey Rourke movie called Mascots, and was involved in at least two other projects.[9]
Personal life
editGreene had one son.[10] He struggled with heroin and cocaine addiction in the 1990s.[11] He was arrested for possessing crack cocaine in 2007.[11]
Death
editGreene was found dead in his Lower East Side apartment in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, on December 12, 2025. He was 60.[12] The neighbor who discovered Greene's body revealed to the New York Daily News that Greene was found "lying on the floor, face down, facial injury and blood".[9] A note was also confirmed to be found where Greene claimed "I'm still a Westie."[9]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Laws of Gravity | Jimmy | [6] |
| 1993 | Clean, Shaven | Peter Winter | [6] |
| Judgment Night | Sykes | [13] | |
| 1994 | Pulp Fiction | Zed | [6] |
| The Mask | Dorian Tyrell | [6] | |
| 1995 | The Usual Suspects | Redfoot The Fence | Uncredited[6] |
| Bang | Adam | [7] | |
| Under Siege 2: Dark Territory | Mercenary #1 | [7] | |
| 1996 | Lowball | John | |
| Coyote Run | Clifton Santier | ||
| The Rich Man's Wife | Cole Wilson | [7] | |
| Snakeland | Johnny | Short film | |
| 1997 | Trading Favors | Teddy | |
| Double Tap | Nash | [7] | |
| Kiss & Tell | Detective John Finnigan | [6] | |
| 1998 | Permanent Midnight | Gus | [7] |
| 1999 | Out in Fifty | Tony Grayson | [7] |
| Blue Streak | Deacon | [6] | |
| 2000 | Shadow Hours | Detective Steve Andrianson | [7] |
| 2001 | Nobody's Baby | Vern | [7] |
| Ticker | Detective Artie Pluchinsky | [7] | |
| Training Day | Detective Jeff | Uncredited[6] | |
| Scenes of the Crime | Rick | [7] | |
| Dead Dogs Lie | Marcus Devlin | ||
| 2002 | The Gentleman Bandit | Manny Breen | |
| Under the Influence | Stephen Tally | ||
| 2004 | Black Cloud | Norm Olsen | [7] |
| 2005 | Confession | Detective William Fletcher | |
| Brothers in Arms | Bert | ||
| 2006 | End Game | Jack Baldwin | Direct-to-video[6] |
| Love Hollywood Style | Theodor Caruso | [7] | |
| 2007 | Final Engagement | Priest | Direct-to-video |
| I'm Calling Frank | Bobby | ||
| 2008 | Clown | Clown | Short film |
| 2009 | Blue Knight | Sergeant Donato | |
| Forget Me Not | Boyfriend | ||
| Fist of the Warrior | John Lowe | Direct-to-video | |
| 2010 | Caller ID | Dean of Admissions | [7] |
| The Bounty Hunter | Earl Mahler | [6] | |
| Earthling | Swinnert | [7] | |
| Once Fallen | Sonny | [7] | |
| Once More | Jack | Short film | |
| 2011 | Keep Your Enemies Closer | Alex Decker | |
| A Pornstar Is Born | Ron Goldman | Direct-to-video[7] | |
| The Grasslands | Baby John | [7] | |
| Shanghai Hotel | Mr. Capuzzi | ||
| 2012 | The Shoemaker | Dutchie | Short film |
| Brutal | Carlo Morello | [7] | |
| The Kill Hole | Peter Krebbs | [7] | |
| The Child | Martin Engler | ||
| 2013 | Checkmate, Keep Your Enemies Closer | Alex Decker | Short film |
| 2015 | Sweet Lorraine | Marcus | [7] |
| 2016 | Turnabout | Leo | [7] |
| New York New York | Downey | [7] | |
| 2018 | City of Lies | Commander Fasulo | [7] |
| 2019 | Exit 0 | The Writer | [7] |
| Samir | Valentine | ||
| 2020 | Tesla | Nichols | [7] |
| Let's Get Lost | Ray | Short film | |
| Priceless | The Devil | ||
| 2021 | Body Brokers | Dr. Riner | [7] |
| Return to Danger | Gilbert | ||
| 2022 | The Crusaders | Hughie | Short film |
| Out of Exile | Whitman Rader | [7] | |
| The Mick and the Trick | Patrick Shannon | ||
| 2023 | Little Dixie | Karl Roach | [7] |
| Pet Shop Days | The Dealer | [14] | |
| 2025 | Beggarman | Vinny | |
| 2026 | Clika | Lieutenant Jones | Post-production; posthumous release[15] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Hardball | Unknown Role | Episode: "Prescription for Murder"[6] |
| 1992 | As the World Turns | Hitman | Episode: "Episode #1.9169" & "#1.9170"[7] |
| 1998 | Black Cat Run | D.J. Wheeler | Television film[7] |
| 2001 | Law & Order | Francis "Taz" Partell | Episode: "Bronx Cheer"[7] |
| 2005 | H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds | Matt Herbert | Television film[7] |
| 2006 | Dead & Deader | Dr. Scott | |
| 2007 | The Black Donnellys | Derek Timothy "Dokey" Farrell | Main cast[6] |
| 2009 | Life on Mars | Jimmy McManus | Recurring cast[6] |
| 2010 | Justified | Thomas "Tommy Bucks" Buckley | Episode: "Fire in the Hole"[7] |
| 2012 | Hawaii Five-0 | Rick Peterson | Episode: "Mai Ka Wa Kahiko (Out of the Past)"[7] |
| 2016 | Chicago P.D. | Rory Jensen | Recurring cast: season 3[6] |
| 2017 | Still the King | Hank "The Shank" | Recurring cast: season 2[7] |
| 2020 | For Life | Bill "Wild Bill" Miller | Recurring cast: season 1[7] |
| 2021 | The Jersey Connection | Jordan Blaine [16] | Episode: "Prologue: Time Destroys Everything" |
| 2023 | The Continental: From the World of John Wick | Uncle Charlie | Episode: "Brothers in Arms"[6] |
Music videos
edit| Year | Artist | Song | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | House of Pain | "Fed Up" | Mechanic |
| 2008 | Prodigy | "ABC" | Detective |
| 2017 | Necro | "Dead Body Disposal" | Killer |
| 2019 | Jadakiss | "Me" | Bank Robber |
| 2022 | R.A. the Rugged Man | "Dragon Fire" | Big Boss [17] |
References
edit- ^ Robinson, KiMi (December 13, 2025). "Peter Greene, 'Pulp Fiction' actor known for villain roles, dies". USA Today. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- ^ Taylor, Derrick Bryson (December 13, 2025). "Peter Greene, 'Pulp Fiction' and 'The Mask' Actor, Dies at 60". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- ^ "Actor Peter Greene, known for villainous roles in 'Pulp Fiction' and 'The Mask,' dies at 60". Sky News. December 13, 2025. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
- ^ Young, Anna (December 12, 2025). "Pulp Fiction, The Mask actor Peter Greene found dead at 60 inside his NYC apartment". New York Post. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Franklin, McKinley; Lewis, Hilary (December 13, 2025). "Peter Greene, Actor in 'Pulp Fiction' and 'The Mask,' Dies at 60". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Andreeva, Nellie (December 13, 2025). "Peter Greene Dies: 'Pulp Fiction' & 'The Mask' Actor Was 60". Deadline. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf "Peter Greene Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ "Justified: Pilot". TV Club. March 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c Mixson, Colin; Burke, Kerry; Parascandola, Rocco (December 12, 2025). "Peter Greene, 60, actor in 'Pulp Fiction,' 'The Mask,' found dead in NYC apartment". New York Daily News.
- ^ Robinson, KiMi. "Peter Greene, 'Pulp Fiction' actor known for villain roles, dies". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ^ a b "'Pulp' actor's drug drama". New York Daily News. July 26, 2007.
- ^ Kottke, Joe; Helsel, Phil (December 13, 2025). "Peter Greene, actor known for 'Pulp Fiction' and 'The Mask,' dead at 60". NBC News. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
- ^ Blanchet, Ben (December 13, 2025). "Peter Greene, Actor in 'The Mask' and 'Pulp Fiction,' Dies at 60". Yahoo News. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
- ^ Grierson, Tim (September 3, 2023). "Pet Shop Days: Venice Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
- ^ "CLIKA | Sony Pictures Entertainment". Sony Pictures. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
- ^ "The 2019 New Jersey Web Festival". NewJerseyStage.com. September 12, 2019.
- ^ "Dragon Fire (Music Video 2022)". IMDb.
External links
edit- Peter Greene at IMDb
- Peter Greene discography at Discogs