Inside Peter Greene’s Cause of Death, The Mask Star’s Best Roles, and the Fortune He Built
Hollywood is reeling after Peter Greene, the 90s screen menace and The Mask co-star, was found dead at 60 in his Lower East Side apartment on Friday afternoon; police say no foul play.
This one stings. Peter Greene — the guy who could walk into a scene and make the air change — has died. If you remember the 90s, you remember him: the smirk in The Mask, the nightmare in Pulp Fiction, the rattled soul in Clean, Shaven. He was 60.
What happened
Greene was found Friday afternoon in his Lower East Side apartment. Police say there was no sign of foul play; the medical examiner will determine the official cause of death. His longtime manager, Gregg Edwards, said Greene was discovered unresponsive around 3:25 p.m. and pronounced dead at the scene.
"He was a terrific guy. Truly one of the great actors of our generation. His heart was as big as there was. I am going to miss him. He was a great friend."
Greene was not coasting. He was gearing up to shoot an indie thriller called Mascots with Mickey Rourke in January. If you knew his work, that tracks. He was intense, precise, and allergic to phoning it in — the kind of actor who could be demanding because he was fully committed. Edwards put it plainly: Greene fought his demons and came out the other side. He also called Dorian Tyrell in The Mask arguably Greene's best performance.
The work that stuck
Greene built a career that avoided the obvious. He never chased star packaging; he chased parts with teeth. Early on he hit a run most actors would kill for: Zed in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, Dorian Tyrell opposite Jim Carrey in The Mask, Peter Winter in Clean, Shaven, and Redfoot in The Usual Suspects. He kept showing up in sharp, memorable supporting roles: Judgment Night, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Training Day, Blue Streak, The Bounty Hunter — always sharpening the edges of whatever he was in.
He carried that into TV too: The Black Donnellys, Justified, Chicago P.D., For Life, and most recently The Continental. Across film, television, and music videos, he racked up north of 90 credits. Not flashy — just relentless.
Money-wise, there were never public, verified numbers, but reports put his net worth around $1.5 million at the time of his death. Feels about right for someone who worked steadily and chose the work over the spotlight.
A quick scorecard from the filmography
- Pulp Fiction (1994) — $213.9M worldwide — 92% on Rotten Tomatoes
- The Mask (1994) — $352M worldwide — 81% on Rotten Tomatoes
- Training Day (2001) — $104.9M worldwide — 74% on Rotten Tomatoes
- Blue Streak (1999) — $117.8M worldwide — 35% on Rotten Tomatoes
The hard parts, the honesty
Greene's life was not cleanly drawn. In a 1996 interview, he talked about running away at 15, living on the streets of New York City, and sliding into drug use and dealing. That same March, he attempted suicide, got help, and later spoke openly about the damage addiction did to his health and career. He reportedly struggled with heroin and cocaine through the 90s, had drug-related arrests in 1998, and was arrested in 2007 for possessing crack cocaine.
And still, directors trusted him. Clean, Shaven remains one of the most unsettling, human portrayals of schizophrenia put on film. Even as his parts got smaller by the time he turned up in For Life and The Continental, the presence was the same: a guy who kept you leaning forward.
He kept working too. In 2012 he popped up in The Gentleman Bandit. He never stopped choosing the complicated roles over the comfortable ones. That was kind of the point with him.
Last thought
Greene leaves behind performances that still make your stomach drop. They demand attention. They do not let you look away. Do you think Hollywood gave Peter Greene enough space to survive, or just enough room to perform?
The Mask is currently streaming on Netflix.