Companion:
Estrella Warren, Companion, ```..dating as of January 2003
Biography:A handsome, athletic performer turned writer-director, Peter Berg put his acting aspirations on hold when he first arrived in Los Angeles, CA, choosing instead to learn about the film business as a production assistant. He finally made his screen debut in a 1986 episode of CBS' "The Equalizer" and later appeared on "21 Jump Street" (Fox) and "O'Hara" (ABC). Following his feature debut in a bit part in "Miracle Mile" (1988), he landed in four 1989 features, including the high-profile dud from horror veteran Wes Craven, "Shocker,” in which he co-starred as the intended victim of a Freddie Krueger wannabe. Berg fared better in subsequent films like "Late for Dinner" (1991), playing a man trying to resume his life after being frozen for 29 years, and the gem-like World War II drama "A Midnight Clear,” adapted from a William Wharton novel. One of his platoon-mates in the latter exercise was Gary Sinise, whose quote regarding scripts ("For me it all comes down to: is it a good yarn?") resonated with Berg as he began his journey as a fledgling writer.
After first-rate starring performances as a suspicious attorney in "A Case for Murder" (USA Network, 1993) and a pro football player overcoming paralysis in "Rise & Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story" (Fox, 1994), Berg received his best exposure yet as Linda Fiorentino's hapless boy toy and fall guy in John Dahl's outstanding modern noir "The Last Seduction" (1994), a great education in what can be accomplished approaching a project from the standpoint of low commercial expectations. He joined the cast of the medical drama "Chicago Hope" (CBS, 1994-2000) in the recurring role of hair-trigger Billy Kronk, who became a regular cast member from the 1995-96 season. Simultaneously, his writing career began taking off with his one-act play "Miles and Mickey" debuted in Los Angeles, followed by his first screenplay sale, "Furious George" (co-written with his neighbor Michael Schiffer). He also wrote two episodes of "Chicago Hope" his first year as a regular and would get his feet wet as a director before leaving the series at the end of the 1998-99 season, describing the opportunity as "like getting paid to go to film school."
Berg played a sexual deviant in Spike Lee's "Girl 6" and a former fighter lured out of retirement in "The Great White Hype" (both 1996), while also shining in a strong supporting turn as the macho cop married to Annabella Sciorra in James Mangold's "Cop Land" (1997). Remaining true to his mantra "death before boredom,” he delivered a blistering debut as the writer-director of "Very Bad Things" (1998), a pitch-black comedy about a Las Vegas bachelor party that goes terribly awry. Star power like Christian Slater and Cameron Diaz enabled him to make the corpse-strewn scenario, which masqueraded as a sitcom until morphing into a nightmarish morality play. Berg then returned to series TV, this time on the other side of the camera as executive producer and creator of ABC's "Wonderland" (1999-2000), set in a mental hospital modeled closely on NYC's Bellevue. When ABC executives viewed the pilot, written and directed by Berg, they could not articulate what they liked or why they liked it, but felt the show was authentic on some level, offering a commitment to air the series as a midseason replacement.
Shifting to a big screen project, Berg the director had a substantial hit on his hands with the fun, very capably helmed action-comedy buddy flick "The Rundown" (2003), which helped further establish Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a leading man (and one with a sense of humor), and developed Seann William Scott's breakout potential. Hot off of that film's success, Berg teamed with his cousin, author Buzz Bissinger, to bring Bissinger's 1990 novel about a football-obsessed West Texas town's championship season, "Friday Night Lights" (2004) to the big screen. A self-proclaimed addict of Texan high school football, Berg poured his passion into the film – the result was a compelling look at both the pluses and minuses of a small town's complete absorption in the sport, to the point where winning is the only option.
Off the surprising success of the feature, Berg compelled NBC to turn the film into a television series, which began airing during the 2006-07 season. Almost from the start, however, “Friday Night Lights” faced an uphill battle with executives – though considered by fans and critics to be one of the best shows that debuted in the fall of 2006, NBC had trouble reconciling the consistently mediocre ratings. A seesaw battle between fans, critics, network and creatives ensued, leaving the show in constant limbo over whether or not it would return. All doubt was erased in the summer of 2007 when NBC included a second season for “Friday Night Lights” on its 2007-08 schedule, much to the delight of the show’s diehard fans. Meanwhile, the series earned a couple of Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Berg.
Milestones:
2007 Co-starred in the action-comedy "Smokin' Aces" starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeremy Piven
2007 Helmed "The Kingdom," starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as U.S. government agents, sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in Saudi Arabia; also co-wrote screenpla
2007 Co-starred in Robert Redford's "Lions for Lambs"
2006 Executive-produced, wrote and directed the pilot for "Friday Night Lights" (NBC), based on the feature he also directed; earned an Emmy nomination for directing the pilot episode
2005 His production company Film 44, scored a first-look deal with Universal Pictures
2004 Played a cop in the thriller "Collateral," starring Tom Cruise
2004 Directed "Friday Night Lights" based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the heroic high school football team of Odessa, Texas
2003 Directed "The Rundown" starring The Rock and Seann William Scott
2002 Guest starred as SD-6 Agent Noah Hicks on the Fox drama "Alias"
2001 Had featured role in the comedy "Corky Romano"
2000 Executive produced and created ABC series "Wonderland", set in a mental hospital modeled closely on NYC's Bellevue; wrote and directed pilot episode
2000 One-act play "Miles and Niki" opened in Santa Monica
1998 Feature directorial debut, "Very Bad Things"; also scripted and co-wrote the song "Walls Come Down"; Schiffer served as producer; Christian Slater starred and executive produced
1997 Portrayed tempermental macho man cop Joey Randone in James Mangold's "Cop Land"
1996 Played a sexual deviant travelling around the desert calling from his car in Spike Lee's "Girl 6"
1996 Cast as a punch-drunk former pugilist dragged out of retirement by Samuel L Jackson in "The Great White Hype"
1995 Authored "Miles and Mickey", a one-act play which debuted in Los Angeles
1995 Debut as co-screenwriter (with Michael Schiffer), "Furious George"; script sold but still in development as of March 2000
1995 Joined the cast of the CBS medical drama "Chicago Hope" as a recurring character; became a regular for the 1995-1996 season and remained through 1998-1999; also wrote two episodes (1995-1996) and dire
1994 Portrayed paralyzed pro football player Dennis Byrd in "Rise & Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story" (Fox)
1994 Breakthrough screen role as the hapless victim of femme fatale Linda Fiorintino in "The Last Seduction"; aired initially on HBO before its theatrical release
1993 First TV-movie lead, "A Case for Murder" (USA Network)
1992 Appeared as a platoon-mate of Ethan Hawke in "A Midnight Clear"
1989 First film lead, Wes Craven's "Shocker"
1988 TV-movie acting debut, "Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story" (CBS)
1988 Feature debut as a stand-in and in a bit part in "Miracle Mile"
1986 TV acting debut, guest shot on the crime drama "The Equalizer" (CBS)
1985 Moved to Los Angeles and got a job as a production assistant for Trans World International, a producer of made-for-television sports shows like "The Superstars" and "Battle of the Network Stars"; fire
Raised in Chappaqua, New York
Appeared in local theater productions after attending college in Minnesota
Employed as a dock worker
SometimesCreditedAs:
Pete Berg
Peter W Berg
The Taft School Watertown, Connecticut
Macalester College St Paul, Minnesota theater arts and theater history 1984
Actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, model, production assistant, property assistant, stand-in, dock worker, pizza deliveryman
1 win
&
6 nominations