Peter Greene — Acting | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Peter Greene (born Peter Green; October 8, 1965 – December 12, 2025) was an American character actor 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.

He did not pursue a career in acting until his mid 20s. He initially landed several roles in cinema and television in the early 1990s. His breakthrough came in 1994-1995 with roles in Pulp Fiction, The Mask, Clean, Shaven, and The Usual Suspects. He often played villains such as in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Training Day, and martial arts/crime film Fist of the Warrior.

He struggled with heroin and cocaine addiction in the 1990s. He was arrested for drug-related crimes multiple times.

He worked with director Jordan Alan twice. Once on the film Kiss and Tell, a dark comic turn for the actor and then again 4 years later in The Gentleman Bandit (aka Gentleman B). After Greene's arrests in 1998 for drug-related crimes, Alan put the actor through rehab to get him through the second film and eventually, after coming upon Greene doing heroine with Mike Starr, he was forced to replace Greene's voice because of the vocal problems caused by drugs. Despite these problems, Mr. Alan vouched for Greene to producer Tobe Jaffe for the movie Blue Streak, in which he played Martin Lawrence's nemesis.

He continued to mostly work as a character actor. He appeared in the short-lived television drama The Black Donnellys and in the opening scene of the premier of the FX series Justified. He also appeared as a policeman in Prodigy of Mobb Deep's video for "A,B,C's", as well as the focal character in House of Pain's video for "Fed Up".

He died at his Lower East Side apartment in Manhattan, New York City, on December 12, 2025, at the age of 66. In February 2026, the cause of death was declared an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to the left axilla causing injury of the brachial artery.

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