Peter Sarsgaard

Peter Sarsgaard was born on 7th March 1971 in Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

He attended Bard College and later graduated from Washington University in St. Louis where he co-founded the improvisational troupe Mama's Pot Roast.

Attracting notice in the 2001 film The Center of the World, Sarsgaard has proven himself a critical favourite in supporting roles.

He made his screen bow in Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking (1995) and was given more sizeable roles in Desert Blue (1998) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) as the ill-fated son of the Musketeer Athos, played by John Malkovich. Peter then started gracing the art-house circuit, making a violent, searing impression as a homophobic killer in Boys Don’t Cry (1999) starring two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank as a transgendered teen.

He has thrilled critics from coast to coast include Shattered Glass (2003), which earned him a slew of awards including the prestigious National Society of Film Critics Award. Prior to that, he showed off his versatility with portrayals ranging from a Russian nuclear reactor officer in K-19 : The Widowmaker (2002), to a drug addict in The Salton Sea (2002). Other heralded performances in Garden State (2004) and Kinsey (2004) only prove that, at this rate, it is only a matter of time before "Oscar" comes rapping on this man's door.

Sarsgaard has been in a relationship with actress Maggie Gyllenhaal since 2002; they announced their engagement in April 2006 and are expecting a child in late 2006.