Peter Weller is an American film and stage actor, director and history lecturer.
Weller has appeared in more than 50 films and television series, including turns as
the title characters in blockbuster hits RoboCop and RoboCop 2, and the cult classic The Adventures
of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. He has also appeared in such critically acclaimed
films as Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite, the Oliver Stone-produced The New Age and David
Cronenberg's movie of William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch. He received an Academy
Award nomination for his direction of the 1993 short Partners, in which he also acted.
In television, he hosted the show Engineering an Empire on the History Channel. He also
played Christopher Henderson in the fifth season of 24 and Stan Liddy in the fifth season
of the Showtime original series Dexter.
Early life Weller was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin,
the son of Dorothy Jean, a homemaker, and Frederick Bradford Weller, a lawyer, federal
judge, and career helicopter pilot for the United States Army. Weller had a "middle-class
Catholic" upbringing. As a result of his father's army work, Weller spent many years abroad
during his childhood. His family lived in Germany for several years before eventually
moving to Texas, where he attended Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio. While enrolled
at North Texas State University, he played trumpet in one of the campus bands. He graduated
with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and began his acting career after attending the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts. Career
Stage Weller's stage career began in the 1970s with
appearances on Broadway in Full Circle, directed by Otto Preminger, and Summer Brave, William
Inge's rewrite of his play Picnic. About this time, he became a member of the famed Actors
Studio. In December 2006, Weller starred as architect
Frank Lloyd Wright at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in Frank's Home, a new play by Richard Nelson.
Film Weller was in the 1984 film Firstborn with
Corey Haim, where he played the abusive boyfriend of Haim's mother.
Weller has appeared in more than 50 films and television series, including turns as
the title characters in the cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th
Dimension, and blockbuster hits RoboCop and RoboCop 2. He has also appeared in such critically
acclaimed films as Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite, the Oliver Stone-produced The New Age and
David Cronenberg's movie of William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch.
In 1995, he appeared in Screamers, a science-fiction film based on the short story "Second Variety"
by Philip K. Dick and directed by Christian Duguay.
Television In a 1977 episode of the television series
Lou Grant, he plays Oberster SA-Führer Donald Sterner/Stryker, a tragically disillusioned
Jewish-American Neo-Nazi leader who later committed suicide off-screen with his Colt
45 near the end of the episode when his heritage was discovered.
Duguay would later direct Weller in the 2005–2007 television series Engineering an Empire for
the History Channel, which Weller hosted. On television, he played the shuttle captain
in the short-lived series Odyssey 5 and made guest appearances as Terran supremacist John
Frederick Paxton in the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes "Demons", "Terra Prime" and in Fringe
as the character Alistair Peck. Weller is a contributor to the History Channel
in several productions, credited as "Peter Weller, Syracuse University", where he is
an adjunct faculty member. He is a graduate student in art history at UCLA, focusing on
the Italian Renaissance. Weller also hosts the series Engineering an Empire for the network.
In 2005, Weller co-starred as the Captain in a made-for-television remake of The Poseidon
Adventure. In 2006, Weller joined the cast of 24 as terrorist
collaborator Christopher Henderson. Weller received a "cheer" in TV Guide's "Cheers & Jeers"
section for his performance. On April 15, 2010, Weller guest-starred in
an episode of the science fiction drama Fringe. He also guest-starred on the Showtime original
series Dexter, and had a guest appearance in the December 22, 2010 episode of Psych;
where he played villain "Yin" In 2013, Weller returned to the Star Trek franchise, with
a role in the film Star Trek Into Darkness. In 2013, he played the part of the villain
in the remake of the "Hookman" episode of the original Hawaii Five-O. The part was originally
played in 1973 by J. J. Armes. In season six of Sons of Anarchy, he plays a ruthless ex-cop
who is a boss at the Stockton port and has dealings with the SAMCRO motorcycle club.
On January 15, 2010, Weller was seen in a teaser trailer for the companion documentary
God of War: Unearthing the Legend that was featured in the game God of War III which
Weller also hosted. Directing
Weller has also directed various projects for television, including episodes of Homicide:
Life on the Street, Monk and three episodes of the aforementioned Odyssey 5. He directed
a 1997 adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Gold Coast starring David Caruso and Marg Helgenberger
after previously starring in a version of Leonard's thriller Cat Chaser. He has directed
five episodes of the series Sons of Anarchy, two in Season 4, titled "Dorylus" and "Hands"
and three in Season 5, titled "Authority Vested", "Toad's Wild Ride" and "Darthy".
Voice acting On May 23, 2012 it was announced that Weller
would be the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the two-part animated adaptation of The Dark
Knight Returns. Antonioni's avid fan
Weller is a fan of Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni, who directed him in Beyond the
Clouds. In an interview in Cigar Aficionado magazine, he was quoted as saying:
Personal life In 2004, Weller completed a master's degree
in Roman and Renaissance Art at Syracuse University and occasionally taught courses in ancient
history at the university. In 2007, Weller began a Ph.D. at UCLA, in Italian Renaissance
art history. He expected to complete his dissertation in late 2013.
On June 24, 2006, he married longtime girlfriend and actress Shari Stowe at the Santa Maria
Assunta church in Positano, Italy. It was also Weller's 59th birthday. Guests among
the wedding were Carrie Fisher and Marg Helgenberger. Filmography
Director Film
Television Actor
Film Television
Awards and nominations (1988) Saturn Award for Best Actor – RoboCop
(1992) Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role – Naked Lunch
(1993) Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film – Partners
(2002) Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male – Ivans XTC
References
External links Peter Weller at the Internet Movie Database
Peter Weller at the Internet Broadway Database Peter Weller at the TCM Movie Database
Peter Weller at AllMovie History Channel's Engineering an Empire site
"RoboCop in Rome!" New York Daily News "RoboCop, PhD" Wired News
"RoboCop speaks to Detroit" Funny Or Die