Peter Sarsgaard

Acting

Peter Sarsgaard

Born 1971-03-07 · Belleville, Illinois, USA

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.

Acting credits

The Batman poster
7.7

In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.

The Batman

2022

The Magnificent Seven poster
6.5

Looking to mine for gold, greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue seizes control of the Old West town of Rose Creek. With their lives in jeopardy, Emma Cullen and other desperate residents turn to bounty hunter Sam Chisolm for help. Chisolm recruits an eclectic group of gunslingers to take on Bogue and his ruthless henchmen. With a deadly showdown on the horizon, the seven mercenaries soon find themselves fighting for more than just money once the bullets start to fly.

The Magnificent Seven

2016

The Bride! poster
6.1

A lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride is born. But what ensues is beyond what either of them imagined.

The Bride!

2026

Green Lantern poster
5.2

For centuries, a small but powerful force of warriors called the Green Lantern Corps has sworn to keep intergalactic order. Each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of the first human ever recruited.

Green Lantern

2011

The Lost Daughter poster
6.4

A woman's seaside vacation takes a dark turn when her obsession with a young mother forces her to confront secrets from her past.

The Lost Daughter

2021

Orphan poster
7.0

After losing their baby, a married couple adopt 9-year old Esther, who may not be as innocent as she seems.

Orphan

2009

Knight and Day poster
6.2

A fugitive couple goes on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.

Knight and Day

2010

Black Mass poster
6.5

The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

Black Mass

2015

The Man in the Iron Mask poster
6.7

Years have passed since the Three Musketeers, Aramis, Athos and Porthos, have fought together with their friend, D'Artagnan. But with the tyrannical King Louis using his power to wreak havoc in the kingdom while his twin brother, Philippe, remains imprisoned, the Musketeers reunite to abduct Louis and replace him with Philippe.

The Man in the Iron Mask

1998

Jarhead poster
6.7

Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action. Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.

Jarhead

2005

The Skeleton Key poster
6.6

A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.

The Skeleton Key

2005

The Guilty poster
6.4

A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.

The Guilty

2021

Flightplan poster
6.4

Flying at 40,000 feet in a state-of-the art aircraft that she helped design, Kyle Pratt's 6-year-old daughter Julia vanishes without a trace. Or did she? No one on the plane believes Julia was ever onboard. And now Kyle, desperate and alone, can only count on her own wits to unravel the mystery and save her daughter.

Flightplan

2005

The Cell poster
6.3

A psychotherapist journeys inside a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.

The Cell

2000

K-19: The Widowmaker poster
6.6

When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.

K-19: The Widowmaker

2002

Blue Jasmine poster
7.0

After experiencing a traumatic misfortune, Jasmine French, a wealthy woman from New York, moves to San Francisco to live with her foster sister Ginger and the firm purpose of getting a new life, but she will be haunted by anxiety and memories of the past.

Blue Jasmine

2013

Rendition poster
6.4

When an Egyptian terrorism suspect "disappears" on a flight from Africa to Washington DC, his American wife and a CIA analyst find themselves caught up in a struggle to secure his release from a secret detention facility somewhere outside the US.

Rendition

2007

September 5 poster
7.0

During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American sports broadcasting crew finds itself thrust into covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes.

September 5

2024

Coup! poster
6.4

A mysterious grifter appears on an isolated seaside estate claiming to be a wealthy family's new chef. When the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 descends on the island, the mischievous cook rouses his fellow staff to rebel and take over the mansion.

Coup!

2024

Lovelace poster
6.0

Story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.

Lovelace

2013

The Survivor poster
6.8

Harry Haft is a boxer who fought fellow prisoners in the concentration camps to survive. Haunted by the memories and his guilt, he attempts to use high-profile fights against boxing legends like Rocky Marciano as a way to find his first love again.

The Survivor

2022

Dead Man Walking poster
7.3

A death row inmate turns for spiritual guidance to a local nun in the days leading up to his scheduled execution for the murders of a young couple.

Dead Man Walking

1995

Loving Pablo poster
6.3

The film chronicles the rise and fall of the world's most feared drug lord Pablo Escobar and his volatile love affair with Colombia's most famous journalist Virginia Vallejo throughout a reign of terror that tore a country apart.

Loving Pablo

2017

Boys Don't Cry poster
7.4

A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.

Boys Don't Cry

1999