Peter Berg is an American actor, film director, producer, and writer. He is known for directing
films such as Very Bad Things, The Rundown, Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, Hancock,
Battleship, and Lone Survivor. He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights,
which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor he is best known for his role
as Dr. Billy Kronk on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope.
Early life Berg was born in New York City, New York.
He is the son of Sally and Laurence "Larry" Berg. Berg's father was Jewish and his mother
Christian. He is the cousin of writer H. G. Bissinger, whose book Friday Night Lights
provided the basis for the film and TV series of the same name. His mother co-founded a
youth group named Catalog for Giving and worked at a psychiatric hospital when Berg was growing
up. He has a younger sister, Mary. 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. He graduated in 1984, and in 1985 moved to Los Angeles to pursue his film career.
Career Berg put his acting aspirations on hold when
he first arrived in Los Angeles, choosing instead to learn about the film business as
a production assistant. In 1992, Berg gained recognition for playing a World War II soldier
in the film A Midnight Clear. 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 critical reception. In 2000, he created Wonderland, an edgy dramatic television
series set in an asylum. While the ABC show received rave reviews and garnered a cult
following, it failed to deliver ratings and was quickly canceled.
Berg in 2003 directed The Rundown. Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Seann William
Scott, the Berg-helmed action comedy received mixed reviews from critics and disappointed
at the box office, only grossing 80 million of its reported 85 million budget. In 2004,
Berg began work on his third directorial effort, Friday Night Lights, a football film based
on the New York Times bestseller written by Buzz Bissinger.
In 2006, Berg developed and became executive producer of NBC’s Peabody and Emmy Award-winning
drama Friday Night Lights, based on the novel and film of the same name.
Berg followed up in 2007 with The Kingdom, a Michael Mann-produced political thriller
set in Saudi Arabia, starring Academy Award winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper, also
with Jennifer Garner whom Berg met when he appeared in a two-part episode of Alias where
he played Garner's ex-boyfriend. Berg’s film Hancock, starring Will Smith, Charlize
Theron and Jason Bateman, was one of the biggest grossing films of 2008.
Berg directed the Hulu.com commercial featuring Alec Baldwin, which both The New York Times
and Time magazine named best spot of Super Bowl XLIII. In 2009, Berg directed a two-hour
pilot movie for a Fox television series Virtuality. Even though the show was not picked up for
a full season, the pilot was released on DVD exclusively through Best Buy. Berg also directed
the ESPN documentary "Kings Ransom" in 2009. Berg also wrote the 2010 film The Losers.
Berg also directed the 2012 science-fiction/action film Battleship and the 2013 film Lone Survivor,
an adaptation of Marcus Lutrell's book of the same name. Variety writer Justin Chang
said Berg delivered "his most serious-minded work to date with Lone Survivor." Berg is
developing a sequel to Hancock and producing a live-action version of the graphic novel
Hercules: The Thracian Wars. In 2013, Berg created the opening animation
sequence for ESPN's Monday Night Football. The 80-second graphic featured Darth Vader,
Pac-Man, President Ronald Reagan and some highlights of MNF games from 1970-2012.
In 2014 Peter Berg directed HBO's The Leftovers. Personal life
On August 28, 1993, Berg married long-time girlfriend Elizabeth Rogers; they divorced
in 1998. Berg has a son, Emmett, who was born December 1999. He has been the partner of
comedian Whitney Cummings since 2013. Filmography
Director Chicago Hope
Very Bad Things Wonderland
The Rundown Addicted
Friday Night Lights Friday Night Lights
The Kingdom Keeps Gettin' Better
Hancock 30 for 30
Virtuality Prime Suspect
Battleship One More Night
Lone Survivor Maps
The Leftovers Writer
Chicago Hope Very Bad Things
Wonderland Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights The Losers
Lone Survivor Producer
Wonderland Pu-239
Friday Night Lights Lars and the Real Girl
Trauma 30 for 30
Virtuality The Losers
Prime Suspect Battleship
Lone Survivor The Leftovers
Actor 21 Jump Street Jerome Sawyer in "Champagne
High" Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story
Bobby Never on Tuesday Eddie
Miracle Mile Band Member Race For Glory Chris Washburn
Shocker Jonathan Parker Heart of Dixie Jenks
Tale of Two Sisters Gardener Going Overboard Mort Ginsberg
Genuine Risk Henry Forradalom után
Late for Dinner Frank Lovegren Crooked Hearts Tom
A Midnight Clear Bud Miller A Case for Murder Jack Hemmet
Fire in the Sky David Whitlock Aspen Extreme Dexter Rutecki
Across the Moon Lyle Uneviled Drug Dealer
F.T.W. aka The Last Ride Clem Stuart The Last Seduction Mike Swale
Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story Dennis Byrd
Fallen Angels 2 episodes Chicago Hope Dr. Billy Kronk in 106 episodes
The Great White Hype Terry Conklin Girl 6 Caller No 1—Bob
The Naked Truth 1 episode Cop Land Joey Randone
Very Bad Things Doctor Dill Scallion Nate Clumson
Corky Romano Paulie Romano The King of Queens Lil' Eddie in "Kirbed Enthusiasm"
Alias - Agent Noah Hicks in "Snowman" and "Masquerade"
Collateral Richard Weidner Smokin' Aces "Pistol" Pete Deeks
Friday Night Lights Morris "Mo" MacArnold in "May The Best Man Win"
Lions for Lambs Lt. Col. Falco The Kingdom FBI Agent
Entourage Himself in Season 5 and Season 7 Hancock Doctor
Californication Himself in Season 5 Episode 2
Battleship Sonar Mate Lone Survivor uncredited navy personnel
The Leftovers Pete Composer
Very Bad Things Critical reception
Awards and Nominations References
External links Peter Berg at the Internet Movie Database
Peter Berg at AllMovie Peter Berg's Guest DJ Set on KCRW KCRW Guest
DJ Set NYTimes: Wonderland