Peter Greene is dead. The actor known from “Pulp Fiction” and “The Mask” was found dead in his apartment in New York
Peter Greene, an actor best known for his negative, villainous and criminal roles, including his portrayal of Zed in “Pulp Fiction,” died Friday at his home in New York, his manager confirmed. He was 60 years old, writes NBC News.
Greene was found dead in his apartment in the Lower East Side, said his manager, Gregg Edwards, writes News.ro. He did not disclose the cause of death. He said he was told that music had been playing in the apartment for over 24 hours, prompting a medical check. Edwards claims he last spoke with Greene earlier this week.
According to Marca, he was working at a fast pace and had up to three films pending for 2026: Cliko, Mascots with Mickey Rourke and a documentary he was narrating, about USAID, a subject he was passionate about.
“He was passionate about bringing to light all the deaths that occurred around the world as a result of USAID being dismantled in the United States,” the actor's representative said.
Peter Greene, known for negative roles
Peter Greene played Zed, a sadistic and rapist security guard, in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction, and was also known for playing the villain Dorian in Jim Carrey's 1994 film The Mask.
“No one played a villain better than Peter,” Edwards said. “But he also had a soft side that most people didn't see, and a heart as big as gold,” added his manager.
In addition to supporting roles, Greene starred in the 1993 film Clean, Shaven, in which he played a schizophrenic man who is suspected of murder and who sometimes self-mutilates.
The review in The New York Times appreciated that Greene's performance transformed the role he played “into a convincingly tormented and unstable character, someone who didn't even have to cut himself to get the audience's attention.”
Greene also had roles in The Usual Suspects and Training Day, among others.
Peter Greene started acting at the age of 20
Greene played the role of Redfoot in “The Usual Suspects”, who informs the gang of criminals about an opportunity to rob a jeweler and ends up being killed during the robbery.
In “Training Day”, Greene played the role of Jeff, a detective who is shot by Alonzo Harris – played by the famous Denzel Washington – while the corrupt group tries to make up a story to cover the cold-blooded murder of a former narcotics officer.
After Harris kills the former narcotics officer in his home, Greene, playing the detective, agrees to be shot in his bulletproof vest to make it look like the police fired first.
“Kiss me, baby,” Greene says in a memorable line before Harris, played by Washington, shoots him twice.
Greene was born in Montclair, New Jersey on October 8, 1965. He began acting in films at the age of 20 while living in New York, according to his IMDB bio.
Greene, who struggled with heroin and cocaine addiction in the 90s, had no children and was never married. He leaves behind a sister and a brother.
