Peter Sarsgaard
Known for: Acting
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
Series
Law & Order
Josh Strand
1990
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self
2014
Series
The Daily Show
Self
1996
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self
2015
Series
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self
2014
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Cameo (uncredited)
1975
Series
Conan
Self
2010
Series
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
1993
Film
The Batman
District Attorney Gil Colson
2022
Film
The Bride!
Jake Wiles
2026
Series
The Killing
Ray Seward
2011
Series
DTF St. Louis
'Modern Love' / Christopher Spurce
2026
Series
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
Self
2009
Series
Presumed Innocent
Tommasino 'Tommy' Molto
2024
Film
The Magnificent Seven
Bartholomew Bogue
2016
Series
Dopesick
Rick Mountcastle
2021
Series
This Week
1981
Series
Interrogation
David Russell
2020
Film
Orphan
John
2009
Film
Green Lantern
Hector Hammond
2011
Film
Knight and Day
Fitzgerald
2010
Series
The Slap
Hector
2015
Series
Cracker
1997
Film
Jarhead
Alan Troy
2005
Film
The Guilty
Henry Fisher (voice)
2021
Film
Lovelace
Chuck Traynor
2013
Film
The Man in the Iron Mask
Raoul
1998
Film
Flightplan
Carson
2005
Series
Indie Sex
Self
2007
Series
Homemade
Frank
2020
Series
Wormwood
Frank Olson
2017
Film
Black Mass
Brian Halloran
2015
Film
The Skeleton Key
Luke Marshall
2005
Film
Rendition
Alan Smith
2007
Film
Jackie
Robert Kennedy
2016
Film
The Cell
Julia Hickson's Fiancee (uncredited)
2000
Film
Shattered Glass
Charles 'Chuck' Lane
2003
Film
Dead Man Walking
Walter Delacroix
1995
Film
Elegy
Kenneth Kepesh
2008
Film
Blue Jasmine
Dwight
2013
Series
The Looming Tower
Martin Schmidt
2018
Film
Garden State
Mark
2004
Film
K-19: The Widowmaker
Vadim Radtchinko
2002
Series
America Divided
Self
2016
Film
The Survivor
Emory Anderson
2022
Film
An Education
David Goldman
2009
Film
Memory
Saul
2023
Film
The Lost Daughter
Professor Hardy
2021
Film
Unconditional Love
Window Washer
2002
Film
The Lie
Jay Logan
2018
Film
September 5
Roone Arledge
2024
Film
Mr. Jones
Walter Duranty
2019
Film
Robot & Frank
Robot (voice)
2012
Series
Neuromancer
John Ashpool
Film
In the Electric Mist
Elrod Sykes
2009
Film
Coup!
Floyd Monk
2024
Film
Experimenter
Stanley Milgram
2015
Film
Pawn Sacrifice
Father Bill Lombardy
2015
Film
Boys Don't Cry
John Lotter
1999
Film
Kinsey
Clyde Martin
2004
Film
Empire
Jack
2002
Film
Loving Pablo
Shepard
2017
Film
Subway Stories
Boy No. 1 (segment "Underground")
1997
Film
Human Capital
Quint Manning
2020
Film
High Falls
Pedro
2007
Film
Very Good Girls
Fitzsimmons
2013
Film
The Salton Sea
Jimmy the Finn
2002
Film
Night Moves
Harmon
2014
Film
Pet Shop Days
2025
Film
Starring Austin Pendleton
Self
2016
Film
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Cleveland Arning
2008
Film
The Center of the World
Richard Longman
2001
Film
Jake Gyllenhaal Challenges the Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
Alan Troy (archive footage)
2010
Film
Year of the Dog
Newt
2007
Film
Another Day in Paradise
Ty
1998
Film
Desert Blue
Billy Baxter
1999
Film
Death of a Dynasty
Brendon III
2003
Film
Wormwood
Frank Olson
2017
Film
The Sound of Silence
Peter Lucian
2019
Zero K
Film
The Dying Gaul
Robert Sandrich
2005
Film
Ladygrey
Samuel
2015
Road House 2
Film
Housebound
Mignon
2000
Film
Valley Uprising
Self - Narrator (voice)
2014
Film
Mama's Little Devils: Bad Seeds and Evil Children
Self
2009
Film
Best Summer Ever
Camera Man
2020
Film
Freak City
Cal Jackson
1999
Film
Indie Sex: Teens
2008
The Damning of a Country Merchant
"Jarhead" Diaries
Self
Erosion
Christian Andersen