Peter Killian Gallagher was born on August 19, 1955 in New York, USA. He is a Golden Globe-winning American actor.

The segue from stage to film began in 1980 with Gallagher's feature film debut in Taylor Hackford's The Idolmaker. Many film roles have followed including; Dreamchild, Bob Roberts, Watch It, The Hudsucker Proxy, the comedy hit While You Were Sleeping, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, Cafe Society, Johnny Skidmarks, and The Man Who Knew Too Little. Gallagher was also seen in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty and Sony Picture's Center Stage, directed by Nicholas Hytner.

Having enjoyed extensive film work with directors/producers/writers Robert Altman and Steven Soderbergh, Gallagher was featured in Altman's highly acclaimed film, The Player, followed by Short Cuts and Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, features that were directed and produced respectively by Mr. Altman.

Gallagher's most recent work with Soderbergh is the neo-noir film The Underneath. Their teaming on the 1989 feature, Sex, Lies and Videotape earned Gallagher international critical acclaim. Six years later, Soderbergh expressly wrote the lead role in The Underneath for Gallagher.

In November 2001, Gallagher starred in the Showtime mini-series, Feast of All Saints, based on the novel by Anne Rice. It is set in nineteenth-century New Orleans and depicts the story of the Free People of Colour, a dazzling yet damned class caught between the world of white privilege and black oppression. Gallagher most recently co-starred with Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder in Columbia Pictures/New Line Cinema's Mr. Deeds for director Steve Brill.

He stars in Alliance Atlantis' Protection, opposite Stephen Baldwin, which tells the story of a Mafia hit man from New York who is forced into the witness protection program after giving up his boss to the Feds. He also stars in Perfume for Lions Gate along with Jeff Goldblum, Omar Epps, Paul Sorvino, and Rita Wilson.

On television, Gallagher most recently starred in the highly rated CBS/Hallmark Hall of Fame Special, Cupid & Cate. Gallagher's other credits include the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning miniseries The Murder of Mary Phagan, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial which was Gallagher's first experience working with Robert Altman, Brave New World and the series The Secret Lives of Men. For PBS, Gallagher starred in both Cliff Odets' production of The Big Knife and Peter Sellars' silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez.

Filmography

• Center Stage 2 (2008)
• Adam (2008)
• The War Boys (2008)
• "Shark" (1 episode, 2008)
• "The Gathering" (2007) (mini) TV mini-series
• "The O.C." (92 episodes, 2003-2007)
• "Robot Chicken" (2 episodes, 2006)
• Double Bill (2003) (TV)
• How to Deal (2003)
• The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina (2002) (V) (voice)
• Mr. Deeds (2002)
• Feast of All Saints (2001) (TV)
• Protection (2001)
• "Family Guy" (1 episode, 2001)
• Perfume (2001)
• The Last Debate (2000) (TV)
• Center Stage (2000)
• Cupid & Cate (2000) (TV)
• Other Voices (2000)
• "The American Experience" (1 episode, 2000)
• Brotherhood of Murder (1999) (TV)
• House on Haunted Hill (1999)
• American Beauty (1999)
• "The Secret Lives of Men" (1998) TV series
• "Superman" (1 episode, 1998)
• Brave New World (1998) (TV)
• Host (1998) (TV)
• Johnny Skidmarks (1998)
• "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1 episode, 1998)
• The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
• Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing. (1997) (TV)
• Titanic (1996) (TV)
• To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996)
• Last Dance (1996)
• Underneath (1995)
• While You Were Sleeping (1995)
• Cafe Society (1995)
• Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
• White Mile (1994) (TV)
• Mother's Boys (1994)
• The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
• Malice (1993)
• "Fallen Angels" (2 episodes, 1993)
• Short Cuts (1993)
• Watch It (1993)
• Bob Roberts (1992)
• The Player (1992)
• Late for Dinner (1991)
• The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez (1991)
• An Inconvenient Woman (1991) (TV)
• Milena (1991)
• Tune in Tomorrow... (1990)
• Love and Lies (1990) (TV)
• Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
• I'll Be Home for Christmas (1988) (TV)
• High Spirits (1988)
• The Big Knife (1988) (TV)
• The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) (TV)
• The Murder of Mary Phagan (1988) (TV)
• My Little Girl (1987)
• Long Day's Journey Into Night (1987) (TV)
• Dreamchild (1985)
• Terrible Joe Moran (1984) (TV)
• "ABC Weekend Specials" (1 episode, 1984)
• Summer Lovers (1982)
• Private Contentment (1982) (TV)
• The Idolmaker (1980)
• Skag (1980) (TV)
• "Skag" (1980) TV series
• "The Guiding Light" TV series (1979)

Awards

• Online Film Critics Society Award Best Ensemble "American Beauty" 1999
• The Actor Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture "American Beauty" 1999
• Clarence Derwent Award "The Real Thing" 1984
• Theatre World Award "A Doll's Life" 1983