# Peter Greene
**Peter Greene** (born Peter Green; 1965 – December 12, 2025) was an American character actor known for playing villains, most memorably the security guard Zed in [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino)'s *Pulp Fiction* (1994) and the mobster Dorian Tyrell in *The Mask* (1994).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/235ddc56069924969588863114deaa4b) He died at his apartment in Manhattan at the age of 60.[2](https://apnews.com/article/235ddc56069924969588863114deaa4b)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Green, 1965, Montclair, New Jersey; added an extra "e" to his surname to distinguish himself from a namesake in the Screen Actors Guild[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) |
| Died | December 12, 2025, his apartment on Manhattan's Lower East Side, aged 60; ruled an accidental gunshot wound[2](https://apnews.com/article/235ddc56069924969588863114deaa4b) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction) |
| Signature roles | Zed in *Pulp Fiction* (1994) and Dorian Tyrell in *The Mask* (1994), both released the same year[2](https://apnews.com/article/235ddc56069924969588863114deaa4b) |
| Acclaimed lead | *Clean, Shaven* (1993), playing a man with schizophrenia searching for his daughter, shot for about $60,000 over two years[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) |
| Training | Method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York City in his 20s[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction) |
| Output | Nearly 100 television and film credits from 1990 to 2026, per IMDb[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction) |
## Early life
Greene was born in New Jersey as Peter Green and was educated at Montclair High School, dropping out before graduating.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) In a 1996 profile in *Premiere* magazine he said he had run away from home at 15 and lived on the streets of New York, where he drifted into drug use and then drug dealing.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/1033323-peter_greene) At one point his home was fire-bombed by fellow dealers to whom he owed money.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) During spells of homelessness he sometimes slept in theaters, and a chance meeting with the acting coach Penny Allen, who described him as "the kind of actor that will walk the edge", led him to audition for independent films.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) He studied [Method acting](https://www.edgepedia.org/method-acting) at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in his 20s.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction)
## Breakthrough in independent film
Greene's screen work began with television parts in the early 1990s.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction) His first starring feature role came in Nick Gomez's *Laws of Gravity* (1992), set among the petty thieves of [Greenpoint, Brooklyn](https://www.edgepedia.org/greenpoint-brooklyn), in which he appeared alongside the future *Sopranos* star [Edie Falco](https://www.edgepedia.org/edie-falco); the Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan later called the film "independent American filmmaking at its best".[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction)
**Clean, Shaven.** The performance critics most often singled out was in Lodge Kerrigan's *Clean, Shaven* (1993), an expressionistic drama in which Greene played a tormented man with schizophrenia searching for his estranged daughter. Kerrigan shot the film for about $60,000 over two years, halting production whenever money ran out; because it took so long to complete, *Laws of Gravity* reached cinemas first.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) Some viewers at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) reacted to shots of Greene seemingly cutting into his scalp or taking off one of his fingernails using a pen-knife by passing out or leaving the theater. The film was little seen but highly respected: the director [John Waters](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-waters) programmed it in a 2006 Here TV season called *Movies That Will Corrupt You*, and [Steven Soderbergh](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-soderbergh) observed of Greene's performance, "Even when he is in repose, there's an enormous amount going on."[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary)
## Villain roles of the 1990s
In 1994 Greene appeared in two of the year's most prominent films. In Tarantino's *Pulp Fiction* he played Zed, a depraved security guard who decides by "eeny-meeny-miny-moe" which of two captives, a gangster played by [Ving Rhames](https://www.edgepedia.org/ving-rhames) or a boxer played by [Bruce Willis](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-willis), to assault first; Willis's later line "Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead" became much quoted. Greene said he initially declined the role for fear of embarrassing his parents.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) In *The Mask*, released the same year, he played the nightclub-owning criminal Dorian Tyrell, antagonist to [Jim Carrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-carrey)'s Stanley Ipkiss, wearing the mask himself in the climax before being flushed away in an ornamental pond.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction) *The Mask* took more than $351 million, the fourth-highest-grossing release of 1994, and *Pulp Fiction* grossed $213 million worldwide.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary)
He followed with the fence Redfoot in *The Usual Suspects* (1995), a terrorist in *Under Siege 2: Dark Territory* (1995), [Halle Berry](https://www.edgepedia.org/halle-berry)'s blackmailer in *The Rich Man's Wife* (1996), a dealer introducing [Ben Stiller](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-stiller)'s screenwriter to crack cocaine in *Permanent Midnight* (1998), and a diamond thief in the [Martin Lawrence](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-lawrence) comedy *Blue Streak* (1999).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/1033323-peter_greene) Christopher McQuarrie, who wrote *The Usual Suspects*, called him "a million-dollar day player" for his ability to spin gold out of the smallest role.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) Television work included *The Black Donnellys* (2007) and guest appearances in *Hawaii Five-O* and *Justified* (both 2010).[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0338886)
## Addiction and later career
Success overlapped with drug use. Mark Ebner, a journalist who had once worked as Greene's personal assistant, wrote in a 1996 *Premiere* piece, published with the actor's permission, that Greene frequently showed up to film sets "completely loaded on drugs and/or alcohol"; the article covered his efforts to obtain heroin in downtown Los Angeles and recorded that a crack pipe was discovered with him while he was working on *Judgment Night*.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) Greene admitted to a suicide attempt in March 1996 and sought treatment for his addictions shortly afterward.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/1033323-peter_greene)
He continued acting throughout his life, though he said the films became less interesting; one exception he valued was Michael Almereyda's unconventional biopic *Tesla* (2020), starring [Ethan Hawke](https://www.edgepedia.org/ethan-hawke) as [Nikola Tesla](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikola-tesla).[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary) At the time of his death he was working on two projects, including a documentary about the federal government's withdrawal of funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, and was slated to begin filming a thriller called *Mascots* alongside Mickey Rourke in January 2026.[2](https://apnews.com/article/235ddc56069924969588863114deaa4b) • [6](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/pulp-fiction-star-peter-greenes-shocking-cause-of-death-revealed/)
## Death
Police found Greene dead in his Lower East Side apartment on December 12, 2025, after neighbors reported hearing Christmas music playing for days and called for a wellness check; his manager, Gregg Edwards, confirmed the death and said no cause was immediately released.[2](https://apnews.com/article/235ddc56069924969588863114deaa4b) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction) In February 2026 the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death an accident, caused by a "gunshot wound of left axilla with injury of brachial artery", meaning he shot himself in the left underarm and injured a major artery running from the shoulder to the elbow.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction) He had been scheduled for a procedure to remove a benign tumor near his lung on the day he was found.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction) Edwards remembered him as "just a terrific guy" and "arguably one of the greatest character actors on the planet".[2](https://apnews.com/article/235ddc56069924969588863114deaa4b)
Greene is survived by a son, Ryder, a brother, John, and a sister, Mary-Anne.[1](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary)
## References
1. [Peter Greene obituary, The Guardian (17 December 2025)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/dec/17/peter-greene-obituary)
2. [Peter Greene, a character actor known for role as the villain Zed in 'Pulp Fiction,' has died, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/235ddc56069924969588863114deaa4b)
3. [Cause of death revealed for Peter Greene, the 'Pulp Fiction' actor best known as villain Zed, Los Angeles Times (19 February 2026)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2026-02-19/peter-greene-cause-of-death-pulp-fiction)
4. [Peter Greene Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/1033323-peter_greene)
5. [Peter Greene, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0338886)
6. ['Pulp Fiction' Star's Shocking Cause of Death Revealed, The Daily Beast (18 February 2026)](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/pulp-fiction-star-peter-greenes-shocking-cause-of-death-revealed/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Character actors, B-movie and genre-circuit performers › American performers, recent era*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license