Peter Sarsgaard
Born: 1971-03-07 in Belleville, Illinois, USA
Known For: Acting
Biography
John Peter Sarsgaard (born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. His first feature role was in Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), playing Raoul, the ill-fated son of Athos. Sarsgaard later achieved critical recognition when he was cast in Boys Don't Cry (1999) as John Lotter. He landed his first leading role in the 2001 film The Center of the World. The following year, he played supporting roles in Empire, The Salton Sea, and K-19: The Widowmaker. For his portrayal of Charles Lane in Shattered Glass, Sarsgaard won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for the 2004 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sarsgaard has appeared in an eclectic range of films, including the 2004 comedy-drama Garden State, the biographical film Kinsey (2004), the drama The Dying Gaul (2005), and big-budget films such as Flightplan (2005), Jarhead (2005), The Skeleton Key (2005), Orphan (2009), An Education (2009), Knight and Day (2010), Green Lantern (2011), Lovelace (2013), Kelly Reichardt's Night Moves (2013), Blue Jasmine (2013), Black Mass (2015), and The Magnificent Seven (2016). Sarsgaard also appeared in the American TV series The Killing (2013) as a man on death row perhaps wrongfully convicted for the brutal murder of his wife—a performance which he says included "some of the best acting I have ever done in my life." In 2021, he had a recurring role on the Hulu miniseries Dopesick. Sarsgaard has appeared in Off-Broadway productions including Kingdom of Earth, Laura Dennis, Burn This, and Uncle Vanya. In September 2008, he made his Broadway debut as Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin in The Seagull. He is married to actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Filmography
2026
2025
2024
- Presumed Innocent as Tommasino 'Tommy' Molto
- Coup! as Floyd Monk
- September 5 as Roone Arledge
2023
- Memory as Saul
2022
- The Batman as District Attorney Gil Colson
- The Survivor as Emory Anderson
2021
- The Lost Daughter as Professor Hardy
- Dopesick as Rick Mountcastle
- The Guilty as Henry Fisher (voice)
2020
- Human Capital as Quint Manning
- Interrogation as David Russell
- Best Summer Ever as Camera Man
- Homemade as Frank
2019
- The Sound of Silence as Peter Lucian
- Mr. Jones as Walter Duranty
2018
- The Lie as Jay Logan
- The Looming Tower as Martin Schmidt
2017
- Loving Pablo as Shepard
- Wormwood as Frank Olson
- Wormwood as Frank Olson
2016
- The Magnificent Seven as Bartholomew Bogue
- Jackie as Robert Kennedy
- America Divided as Self
- Starring Austin Pendleton as Self
2015
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- Experimenter as Stanley Milgram
- Black Mass as Brian Halloran
- The Slap as Hector
- Pawn Sacrifice as Father Bill Lombardy
- Ladygrey as Samuel
2014
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- Valley Uprising as Narrator (Voice)
- Night Moves as Harmon
2013
- Lovelace as Chuck Traynor
- Blue Jasmine as Dwight
- Very Good Girls as Fitzsimmons
2012
- Robot & Frank as Robot (voice)
2011
- The Killing as Ray Seward
- Green Lantern as Hector Hammond
2010
- Conan as Self
- Knight and Day as Fitzgerald
- Jake Gyllenhaal Challenges the Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize as Alan Troy (archive footage)
2009
- Orphan as John
- The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien as Self
- In the Electric Mist as Elrod Sykes
- Mama's Little Devils: Bad Seeds and Evil Children as Self
- An Education as David Goldman
2008
- Elegy as Kenneth Kepesh
- The Mysteries of Pittsburgh as Cleveland Arning
- Indie Sex: Teens
2007
- Rendition as Alan Smith
- High Falls as Pedro
- Year of the Dog as Newt
- Indie Sex as Self
2005
- Flightplan as Carson
- Jarhead as Alan Troy
- The Skeleton Key as Luke Marshall
- The Dying Gaul as Robert Sandrich
2004
- Kinsey as Clyde Martin
- Garden State as Mark
2003
- Death of a Dynasty as Brendon III
- Shattered Glass as Charles 'Chuck' Lane
2002
- Empire as Jack
- K-19: The Widowmaker as Vadim Radtchinko
- Unconditional Love as Window Washer
- The Salton Sea as Jimmy the Finn
2001
- The Center of the World as Richard Longman
2000
- The Cell as Julia Hickson's Fiancee (uncredited)
- Housebound as Mignon
1999
- Desert Blue as Billy Baxter
- Freak City as Cal Jackson
- Boys Don't Cry as John Lotter
1998
- The Man in the Iron Mask as Raoul
- Another Day in Paradise as Ty
1997
- Subway Stories as Boy No. 1 (segment "Underground")
- Cracker
1996
- The Daily Show as Self
1995
- Dead Man Walking as Walter Delacroix
1993
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
1990
- Law & Order as Josh Strand
1981
1975
- Saturday Night Live as Self - Host