Peter Greene ( Green; May 10, 1959 – December 12, 2025) was an American actor. A character actor, he was generally known for portraying villains, corrupt police officers, and criminals. He began his acting career in 1990, landing small roles in television and film with his film debut being Laws of Gravity. He had major roles in Pulp Fiction, The Mask, and The Usual Suspects in 1994 and 1995.
Greene's other credits included Judgment Night (1993), Clean, Shaven (1994), Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (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). He had over a hundred film and television credits throughout his career.
He had issues with drug addiction throughout his life. He died unexpectedly at age 66 from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Early life
Peter Green was born on May 10, 1959, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Peter Paul Green Jr. and Patricia Ann Fitzgerald. He was one of three siblings, with a brother and a sister. In his youth he was a choirboy at his local Catholic church. He was a student at Montclair High School. He had dropped out of high school and lived in New York working various odd jobs including as a busboy.
He did not pursue a career in acting until his mid-20s. It was then that he studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York City and studied method acting. Greene later made his film debut in Laws of Gravity (1992). During the production of the film Judgement Night, he was found with a crack pipe. He played the schizophrenic Peter Winter in Clean, Shaven (1993). In Pulp Fiction, Greene appeared as a security guard named Zed. The Mask was a film starring Jim Carrey, where Greene played the villainous Dorian Tyrell. Greene played the character for the majority of the film, however towards the end Tyrell himself puts on the magical mask that grants him magical abilities, where the character is then played alternatively by actor Garret T. Sato and stuntman Jeep Swenson. Greene often played villains, such as in Judgment Night (1993), His later roles included the film New York New York (2016) He was also working on and planned to narrate a documentary on USAID titled From the American People: The Withdrawal of USAID which had been funded via GoFundMe. He struggled with heroin and cocaine addiction in the 1990s and additionally he was arrested for possessing crack cocaine in 2007. He also attempted to take his own life in March 1996 which he revealed in an interview with Premier magazine. After the attempt, he successfully sought addiction treatment. Police were called to perform a wellness check after music had been playing for a full day in the apartment.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1992
| Laws of Gravity
| Jimmy
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1993
| Clean, Shaven
| Peter Winter
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1994
| Pulp Fiction
| Zed
|
|-
| 2025
| Beggarman
| Vinny
|
|-
| 2026
| Clika
| Lieutenant Jones
| Posthumous release
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1990
| Hardball
| Unknown Role
| Episode: "Prescription for Murder"
| Episode: "Prologue: Time Destroys Everything"
|-
| 2023
| The Continental: From the World of John Wick
| Uncle Charlie
| Episode: "Brothers in Arms"
|-
| 2022
| R.A. the Rugged Man
| "Dragon Fire"
| Big Boss
|}