Peter Riegert
Peter Riegert
Peter Riegertis an American actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his roles as Donald "Boon" Schoenstein in Animal House, "Mac" MacIntyre in Local Hero, fast-talking gangster Aldo in Oscarand the tough, no-nonsense Lt. Kellaway in The Mask. He directed the 2000 short film By Courier and, along with producer Ericka Frederick, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth11 April 1947
CountryUnited States of America
It's a very neurotic time we live in, this postanalytical period where everybody goes to a shrink to solve their problems.
It never occurs to me that acting with a superstar is something to worry about. I figure the bigger the better because more will be demanded of me.
In 2000, I realized I had reached that certain age when the parts get scarcer. So I decided to try my hand at directing.
I like Guinness, and that will make anyone Irish. That and soda bread, and I'm good to go.
I apply the three gag rule, which is if I can read a script without gagging more than three times, then maybe I can say yes to this job.
I adapted an O. Henry short story called 'By Courier,' which got nominated for a Best Short Subject Oscar.
Ease is something that I think many admire in other people, in sports or whatever it may be.
As a matter of fact, part of being Jewish is the whole question of what it is to be a Jew.
You have to have an ego to be an actor, but you need an ego just to get through life! Unless you want to sit on a corner and suck your thumb, it takes a healthy ego to get up in the morning and say, 'I deserve to be here.'
There are times when you have to fight for something you believe in, that you love.
In 1962, the smallest things were upsetting to authority. It wasn't the Civil Rights Movement. It wasn't the Anti-war Movement. It was something else, but it was a harbinger of what was to come.
We don't think of them as acting, but we take on certain characteristics based on where we function, and those relationships draw out aspects of who we are as people. And that's what acting is. Different parts draw out different parts of your nature.