Peter Berg (born March 11, 1964) is an American film and television director, producer, writer, and actor. Films he has directed include the black comedy Very Bad Things (1998), the action comedy The Rundown (2003), the sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004), the action thriller The Kingdom (2007), the superhero comedy-drama Hancock (2008), and the military science fiction war film Battleship (2012), one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time.
These were followed by five films starring his friend Mark Wahlberg: the war film Lone Survivor (2013), the disaster drama Deepwater Horizon (2016), the Boston Marathon bombing drama Patriots Day (2016), the action thriller Mile 22 (2018), and the action comedy Spenser Confidential (2020).
Berg created the ABC series Wonderland (2000), and developed the NBC series Friday Night Lights (2006–11), adapted from the film, earning two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
As an actor, he’s best known for his role as Dr. Billy Kronk on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope (1995–99).
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Early life
Berg was born on March 11, 1964 in New York City, the son of Laurence "Larry" Berg, a US Marine, and Sally (née Winkler) Berg. Berg's father was Jewish, as was his maternal grandfather. His mother was Christian.
Through his mother, Berg is a second cousin of writer H. G. Bissinger, whose book Friday Night Lights provided the basis for Berg's film and TV series of the same name. His mother co-founded a nonprofit directory of youth-focused charities named Catalog for Giving, and worked at a psychiatric hospital when Berg was growing up. He has a younger sister, Mary.
Peter was a student in the Chappaqua School System. After graduating from The Taft School in 1980, Berg attended Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he majored in theater arts and theater history and graduated in 1984. Berg later moved to Los Angeles to pursue his film career.
Career
In his early days in Los Angeles, Berg worked such jobs as a prop assistant and a driver. Berg acted in 21 Jump Street and later in Never on Tuesday, Miracle Mile, Race For Glory, Shocker, Heart of Dixie, Tale of Two Sisters and Going Overboard in 1989. He acted in Genuine Risk in 1990 and in Late for Dinner and Crooked Hearts in 1991. In the early 1990s, he appeared in Fire in the Sky Aspen Extreme, Across the Moon and F.T.W..
In 1992, Berg played a World War II soldier in the film A Midnight Clear. In 1996, Berg performed in The 24th Day, with Noah Wylie, at the Coronet Theater in Los Angeles. In 1998, Berg made his feature directorial debut with Very Bad Things, a black comedy starring Jon Favreau, Christian Slater, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, and Leland Orser. The film, which was shown at the Toronto and San Sebastian Film Festivals, received mixed reviews.
In 2000, he created ABC’s Wonderland, dramatic television series set in a psychiatric emergency room. The show failed to deliver ratings and was canceled after the second episode had aired.
In 2003, Berg directed the action comedy The Rundown. Starring Dwayne Johnson and Seann William Scott, the film received mixed reviews from critics and disappointed at the box office, only grossing $80 million of its reported $85 million budget.
In 2004, Berg directed Friday Night Lights, a football film based on The New York Times bestseller written by Buzz Bissinger.
In 2006, Berg was an executive producer of NBC's Peabody and Emmy Award-winning drama Friday Night Lights, which takes inspiration from the book and Berg's film of the same name, but features an original storyline and new characters.
Berg appeared alongside Tom Cruise in the Robert Redford directed war film Lions for Lambs (2007) as Lt. Colonel Falco. Berg followed up in 2007 with directing The Kingdom, a Michael Mann-produced action-political thriller set in Saudi Arabia, starring Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper, also with Jennifer Garner whom Berg met when he appeared on the television series Alias.
Personal life
In 1993, Berg was married to Elizabeth Rogers; they have one child and divorced in 1998.
In July 2015, Berg criticized ESPN's decision to honor Caitlyn Jenner with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award by sharing his opinion on Instagram, where he posted a Facebook photo of Army veteran and double amputee Gregory D. Gadson alongside one of Jenner. The meme's caption said: "One man traded 2 legs for the freedom of the other to trade 2 balls for 2 boobs. Guess which man made the cover of Vanity Fair, was praised for his courage by President Obama, and is to be honored with the 'Arthur Ashe Courage Award' by ESPN?" After being criticized for the meme, Berg later said: "I have the utmost respect for Caitlyn Jenner and I am a strong supporter of equality and the rights of trans people everywhere. I also believe that we don’t give enough attention to our courageous returning war veterans, many of whom have sacrificed their bodies and mental health for our country and our principals [sic]--principals [sic] that include the freedom to live the life you want to live without persecution or abuse."
Filmography
Film
Acting roles
Television
Acting roles
