# Peter Macon
**Peter Macon** (Peter Jerrod Macon) is an American actor best known for playing Lieutenant Commander Bortus, a deadpan alien second officer, on [Seth MacFarlane](https://www.edgepedia.org/seth-macfarlane)'s science-fiction series *The Orville* (2017–2022, 36 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167), and for portraying the orangutan Raka in the film *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* (2024)[2](https://apnews.com/article/6fbd13196311d67812e5483a349869ac). He won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2002 for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance as narrator of HBO's *Animated Tales of the World*[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/peter-macon). Much of his best-known work has been performed under heavy prosthetics or behind motion-capture technology, so audiences often know his deep voice rather than his face[4](https://www.startribune.com/peter-macon-goes-from-north-high-school-to-emmy-award-to-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/600364200).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Peter Jerrod Macon, American actor[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167) |
| Signature role | Lt. Cmdr. Bortus on *The Orville*, 2017–2022, 36 episodes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167) |
| Emmy | Outstanding Voice-Over Performance (Narrator), 2002, for HBO's *Animated Tales of the World*[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/peter-macon) |
| Training | BFA, San Francisco Art Institute; MFA in acting, Yale School of Drama[5](https://www.osfashland.org/en/artist-biographies/acting-company/peter-macon.aspx) |
| Stage landmark | Title role in *Othello* at the Guthrie Theater, 2014[6](https://www.startribune.com/peter-macon-is-bigger-than-life-in-othello-at-guthrie/250210551) |
| Film breakthrough | Raka, the wise orangutan in *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes* (2024)[2](https://apnews.com/article/6fbd13196311d67812e5483a349869ac) |
| Other recurring work | Luther Winslow on *Shameless* (2016); Reverend Isiah Ott on *Bosch*; voice of Preston Lloyd on *Family Guy* (2021–2025)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167) |
## Early life and training
Macon grew up in north [Minneapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/minneapolis) and attended North Community High School, where he acted in school plays[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167). His mother was a teacher and his father was a truck driver[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167). He has said he decided on an acting career as a teenager, after seeing a production of *The Rainmaker* at the [Guthrie Theater](https://www.edgepedia.org/guthrie-theater) in which it rained onstage[7](https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/for-emmy-winner-peter-macon-shakespearean-themes-still-hold-true/).
As a young actor in the Twin Cities he performed at [Children's Theatre Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/childrens-theatre-company), Illusion, and Penumbra theaters[6](https://www.startribune.com/peter-macon-is-bigger-than-life-in-othello-at-guthrie/250210551). He later earned a BFA from the [San Francisco Art Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-art-institute) and a master's degree in acting from the [Yale School of Drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/yale-school-of-drama)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167). At Yale he took two years of clown class with the Minneapolis-born professional clown Chris Bayes, training he credits with honing his craft through what he calls "ultimate vulnerability"[4](https://www.startribune.com/peter-macon-goes-from-north-high-school-to-emmy-award-to-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/600364200).
## Stage career
Macon spent five seasons with the [Oregon Shakespeare Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/oregon-shakespeare-festival), where his roles included [Tom Robinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-robinson) in *To Kill a Mockingbird*, Macbeth in *Macbeth*, the Prince of Morocco in *The Merchant of Venice*, and Othello in *Othello*[5](https://www.osfashland.org/en/artist-biographies/acting-company/peter-macon.aspx). His regional credits include Oedipus at the Guthrie Theater, Malcolm in *Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella* at Yale Repertory Theatre, and Aaron in *Titus Andronicus* at The Shakespeare Theatre; on Broadway he appeared in *Drowning Crow* at the Manhattan Theatre Club and in *Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992* at Lincoln Center Theater[5](https://www.osfashland.org/en/artist-biographies/acting-company/peter-macon.aspx).
**Othello at the Guthrie.** In 2014 he returned to Minneapolis to play the title role in *Othello* at the Guthrie, directed by Marion McClinton, who had known Macon since Macon was 17 and first singled him out during a performance at Penumbra[6](https://www.startribune.com/peter-macon-is-bigger-than-life-in-othello-at-guthrie/250210551). His 2014 Guthrie performance impressed the theater's former artistic director Joe Dowling, who subsequently cast him in the role at the [Abbey Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/abbey-theatre) in Dublin; Macon knew the part well enough from earlier productions in Colorado and Oregon that he could skip a week of rehearsals while his wife awaited the birth of their first child[8](https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-actor-is-a-hit-on-fox-s-sci-fi-series-the-orville/507413402). He played Othello again at the 2015 Colorado Shakespeare Festival[7](https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/for-emmy-winner-peter-macon-shakespearean-themes-still-hold-true/).
## The Orville and Bortus
In 2017 Macon joined the cast of *The Orville*, Seth MacFarlane's science-fiction comedy-drama on Fox, as Bortus, the stern second officer from Moclus, a single-sex alien species[8](https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-actor-is-a-hit-on-fox-s-sci-fi-series-the-orville/507413402). He had struggled for work before landing the part; after quitting a Shakespeare theater job in southern Oregon he recalled being unable to book anything for eight months, and he auditioned for *The Orville* reluctantly while preparing to move to Botswana for another project[9](https://orville.fandom.com/wiki/Peter_Macon).
Playing Bortus meant working under heavy prosthetics. Macon described the makeup as taking about two hours to apply and his wearing it for fifteen to sixteen hours a day, and he estimated that the mask cost him about 30 percent of his hearing on set[10](https://theknockturnal.com/exclusive-peter-macon-talks-orville-foxs-new-hit-drama/). He treated the prosthetics like the mask work he had studied, letting the design carry the expression while he worked with minimal facial movement[10](https://theknockturnal.com/exclusive-peter-macon-talks-orville-foxs-new-hit-drama/).
The role carried substantial dramatic weight. Episode three of the first season introduced Topa, the genetic daughter of Bortus and his mate Klyden ([Chad L. Coleman](https://www.edgepedia.org/chad-l-coleman)), whose birth is seen as a disgrace by Moclan standards, and the third season's "A Tale of Two Topas" continued that storyline through issues of gender and parenting[11](https://courageousnerd.com/2022/07/20/peter-macon-interview/).
## Television and voice work
Macon's screen career spans more than two decades of guest and recurring parts. He appeared in *Dexter*, *The Shield*, *Supernatural*, *Without a Trace*, *Law & Order*, *NCIS*, *[Criminal Minds](https://www.edgepedia.org/criminal-minds-franchise): Beyond Borders*, *SEAL Team* (as Master Chief Wilke), and *How to Get Away with Murder*, and had recurring roles as Luther Winslow on *Shameless* and as Reverend Isiah Ott on *Bosch*[5](https://www.osfashland.org/en/artist-biographies/acting-company/peter-macon.aspx) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167). As a voice actor he played Preston Lloyd on *Family Guy* from 2021 to 2025[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167), with earlier voice roles in video-game franchises including *Twisted Metal*, *Cool Boarders*, and *Wolfenstein*[9](https://orville.fandom.com/wiki/Peter_Macon). His Emmy came in 2002 for narrating HBO's *Animated Tales of the World*[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/peter-macon).
He appeared in the 2023 film *Shelter in Solitude* as Jackson, a death-row prisoner who forms a bond with a prison guard[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167).
## Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
In *Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes*, released in American theaters on May 10, 2024, Macon played Raka, a kindly, book-loving orangutan who preaches Caesar's gospel and becomes a mentor to the young chimpanzee hero Noa ([Owen Teague](https://www.edgepedia.org/owen-teague))[2](https://apnews.com/article/6fbd13196311d67812e5483a349869ac) • [12](https://time.com/6976758/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-franchise/). The character was created with motion-capture technology, so Macon's face never appears on screen; he prepared by visiting a zoo in Sydney, Australia, where a zookeeper's warning to keep back from a silverback gorilla showed him how much apes communicate with their eyes, and he worked through how an ape expresses anxiety, joy, lethargy, anger, and fear[4](https://www.startribune.com/peter-macon-goes-from-north-high-school-to-emmy-award-to-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/600364200). The Associated Press review praised him for adding "a jolt of gleeful electricity" to the film[2](https://apnews.com/article/6fbd13196311d67812e5483a349869ac), and the Minnesota Star Tribune wrote that he gave the orange-furred Raka "gravitas and dignity"[13](https://www.startribune.com/review-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-is-a-winner-with-tons-of-thrilling-action/600364490).
## Personal life
Macon married the actress Lucia Brawley, whom he met at Yale, in 2005, with former New York City mayor [David Dinkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-dinkins) officiating; the marriage ended in divorce, and he married Jacquelyn Woods in 2018[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167). He has kept close ties with Minneapolis, where he is remembered for his Guthrie roles; he notes that his combination of voice and physicality is what wins him parts as aliens and apes, and that commercial work never fit: "No one's going to buy toothpaste from me and I've made peace with that"[4](https://www.startribune.com/peter-macon-goes-from-north-high-school-to-emmy-award-to-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/600364200).
## References
1. [Peter Macon, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534167)
2. [Movie Review: 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' finds a new hero and will blow your mind, Associated Press (May 8, 2024)](https://apnews.com/article/6fbd13196311d67812e5483a349869ac)
3. [Peter Macon, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/peter-macon)
4. [Peter Macon goes from North High School to Emmy Award to 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes', The Minnesota Star Tribune (May 7, 2024)](https://www.startribune.com/peter-macon-goes-from-north-high-school-to-emmy-award-to-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/600364200)
5. [Acting Company: Peter Macon, Oregon Shakespeare Festival](https://www.osfashland.org/en/artist-biographies/acting-company/peter-macon.aspx)
6. [Peter Macon is bigger than life in 'Othello' at Guthrie, Star Tribune (March 13, 2014)](https://www.startribune.com/peter-macon-is-bigger-than-life-in-othello-at-guthrie/250210551)
7. [For Emmy Winner Peter Macon, Shakespearean Themes Still Hold True, Colorado Public Radio (June 24, 2015)](https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/for-emmy-winner-peter-macon-shakespearean-themes-still-hold-true/)
8. [Minneapolis actor is a hit on Fox's sci-fi series 'The Orville', Star Tribune (April 8, 2019)](https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-actor-is-a-hit-on-fox-s-sci-fi-series-the-orville/507413402)
9. [Peter Macon, The Orville Wiki](https://orville.fandom.com/wiki/Peter_Macon)
10. [EXCLUSIVE: Peter Macon Talks 'THE ORVILLE,' Fox's New Hit Drama, The Knockturnal (September 26, 2017)](https://theknockturnal.com/exclusive-peter-macon-talks-orville-foxs-new-hit-drama/)
11. [Peter Macon Interview: The Orville: New Horizons, Courageous Nerd (July 20, 2022)](https://courageousnerd.com/2022/07/20/peter-macon-interview/)
12. ['Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' Rules Because It's a Different Type of Sequel, TIME (May 10, 2024)](https://time.com/6976758/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-franchise/)
13. [Review: 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' is a winner, with tons of thrilling action, The Minnesota Star Tribune (May 10, 2024)](https://www.startribune.com/review-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-is-a-winner-with-tons-of-thrilling-action/600364490)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames M to Ma*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 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