Peter Gallagher
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Biography
An accomplished stage and screen performer, with piercing blue eyes, thick black hair and strong, handsome features, dominated by full, pouty lips, Peter Gallagher received his training at Tufts University and apprenticed at the Boston Shakespeare Company. After appearing in the touring company of "Grease" and subsequently in the Broadway production, he went on to rack up numerous stage credits, including the American premiere of "Another Country" (1982), the short-lived musical "A Doll's Life" (also 1982) and a small role as Glenn Close's lover in Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing" (1984). He won praise and a Tony nomination as Edmund Tyrone (alongside Jack Lemmon and Kevin Spacey) in Jonathan Miller's controversial production of "Long Day's Journey Into Night," presented in 1987 on Broadway, London's West End and cable TV. In 1992, he triumphed as Sky Masterson in the successful revival of "Guys and Dolls." More recently, he made a memorable Joey opposite Patti LuPone in the four-day run of City Center Encores' "Pal Joey" in 1995. He and LuPone also reteamed for a one-night only benefit staging of "Annie Get Your Gun" (1998).
Gallagher made his film debut as a Fabian-like singer in "The Idolmaker" (1980) and followed with Randal Kleiser's menage-a-trois romance "Summer Lovers" (1981). He began to play ne'er-do-wells in "Dreamchild" (1985), cast as a reporter who hustles the elderly inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice and his breakthrough came as the arrogant, adulterous yuppie lawyer in Steven Soderbergh's "sex, lies and videotape" (1989). Gallagher displayed his aptitude for comedy as aggressive Hollywood executive Larry Levy in Robert Altman's "The Player" and a vacuous news anchor in Tim Robbins' "Bob Roberts" (both 1992) before returning to presumptuous lawyer mode with a supporting role in Harold Becker's thriller, "Malice" (1993). Altman featured him in "Short Cuts" (also 1993) as a helicopter pilot who extracts revenge on his cheating wife. The actor has remained a fixture in films, alternating between supporting roles in mainstream fare (e.g., the comatose yuppie in 1995's "While You Were Sleeping," the arrogant attorney in 1996's "Last Dance") and leads in smaller, independent features (especially Soderbergh's underrated 1995 noir thriller "The Underneath" and 1996's "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday").
On the small screen, Gallagher has generally been associated with quality productions debuting as Karl Malden's medical student son in the TV-movie and short-lived spin-off series "Skag" (NBC, 1980). Other notable roles include a supporting role to Art Carney and James Cagney in "Terrible Joe Moran" (CBS, 1984), the accused murderer Leo Frank in "The Murder of Mary Phagan" (NBC, 1988), as one of the navy officers in Altman's TV remake of "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" (CBS, 1988), and as the prime suspect in a murder case who is romanced by a female undercover cop (Mare Winningham) in the superior "True Betrayal" (ABC, 1990). In 1993, Gallagher was featured in two short films made for the Showtime network's "Fallen Angels" anthology series: Tom Cruise's "The Frightening Frammis" and Steven Soderbergh's "The Quiet Room." He also scored as an ambitious advertising executive with a conscience in the drama "White Mile" (HBO, 1994). More recently, he co-starred as a fictitious passenger on the doomed liner in the CBS miniseries "Titanic" (1996), an overworked FBI agent investigating a terrorist incident in "Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing" (HBO, 1997) and was featured in the NBC remake of "Brave New World" (1998).
In 1998, Gallagher returned to series TV as a businessman in the throes of a divorce in the short-lived ABC sitcom "The Secret Lives of Men." That series' failure to find an audience was certainly levened by the success of Gallagher's next project, director Sam Mendes' powerful and affecting comedy-drama "American Beauty" (1999), in which the actor was particularly effective in a prominent supporting role as Annette Bening's employer and idol (and eventual lover), the smarmy realtor Buddy "The King" Kane. His next project, a modern remake of the cult horror classic "The House on Haunted Hill" (1999), was less impressive, but that same year he earned critical praise for his turn in the TV movie "Brotherhood of Murder" for his role as a volatile white supremist--he would reunite with co-star Steven Baldwin in 2001 for the B-grade thriller "Protection." Gallagher next appeared in several little-seen or forgettable features, indies and telepics--including a turn as an aging choreographer in director Nicholas Hytner's ill-received dancer drama "Center Stage" (2000)--including before resurfacing in Showtime's major television miniseries, an adaptation of novelist Anne Rice's "Feast of All Saints" (2001) as Philippe Ferronaire, and as scheming my corporate CEO Chuck Cedar opposite sweet-natured small town guy Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler) in "Mr. Deeds," a 2002 remake of "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town." Gallagher next appeared as Mandy Moore's romantically challenged father in the teen romance "How to Deal" (2003) before making another foray into series television as Sandy Cohren, the patriarch of a Newport Beach clan, on the WB youth drama "The O.C." (2003 - ).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1977
Signed to co-star in the Broadway revival of "Hair" but was released from his contract when cast in the lead of the touring production of "Grease"
1978
Broadway acting debut as Danny Zuko in "Grease"
1980
Feature film debut as a singer in "The Idolmaker"
1980
TV-movie debut, "Skag" (NBC), also regular on the short-lived series
1982
First film in a lead role, "Summer Lovers"
1982
Co-starred in short-lived Broadway musical, "A Doll's Life"
1984
Had small supporting role in the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing"
1987
Reprised stage role of Edmund Tyrone in Showtime production of "Long Day's Journey Into Night"
1988
Co-starred in the CBS remake of "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial", directed by Robert Altman
1988
Portrayed Leo Frank in the NBC miniseries "The Murder of Mary Phagan"
1989
Breakthrough film role in "sex, lies, videotape", directed by Steven Soderbergh
1990
Offered a chilling turn as a murder suspect in the ABC movie "True Betrayal"
1992
Starred as the ambitious studio executive Larry Levy in "The Player", directed by Altman
1992
Played Sky Masterson in successful Broadway revival of "Guys and Dolls"
1993
Co-starred in Altman's "Short Cuts"
1995
Reteamed with Soderbergh for "The Underneath"
1996
Had featured role in the CBS miniseries "Titanic"
1996
Starred a widower still mourning for his dead wife in "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday"
1998
Appeared in the NBC miniseries "Brave New World"
1998
Co-starred in the ABC sitcom "The Secret Lives of Men"
1999
Played an odious real estate agent in "American Beauty"
1999
Appeared in the Showtime original "Brotherhood of Murder"
2000
Played an imperious dance teacher in "Center Stage"
2000
Had leading role in Showtime original movie "The Last Debate"
2001
Starred on Broadway in the revival of "Noises Off"
2003
Cast as Mandy Moore's dad in "How To Deal"
2003
Cast as attorney Sandy Cohn, on the Fox drama "The O.C."
2009
Joined the cast of Showtime's "Californication" as a university dean
2009
Co-starred opposite Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne in the drama "Adam"
2010
Guest-starred as a priest counseling Denis Leary's character on FX's "Rescue Me"
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