Peter Berg


Peter Berg is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. His directorial film works include the black comedy Very Bad Things, the action comedy The Rundown, the sports drama Friday Night Lights, the action thriller The Kingdom, the superhero comedy-drama Hancock, the military science fiction war film Battleship, the war film Lone Survivor, the disaster drama Deepwater Horizon, the Boston Marathon bombing drama Patriots Day, the action thriller Mile 22, and the action comedy Spenser Confidential, the latter five all starring Mark Wahlberg. In addition to cameo appearances in the last six of these titles, he has had prominent acting roles in films including Never on Tuesday, Shocker, The Last Seduction, The Great White Hype, Cop Land, Corky Romano, Collateral, Smokin' Aces, and Lions for Lambs.
In television, Berg created the ABC series Wonderland. He developed the NBC series Friday Night Lights, adapted from his film, earning two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. 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 on March 11, 1964 in New York City, the son of Laurence "Larry" Berg, a US Marine, and Sally Berg. Berg's father was Jewish, as was his maternal grandfather. His mother was Christian.
Through his mother, Berg is a second cousin of writer H. G. Bissinger, whose book Friday Night Lights provided the basis for Berg's film and TV series of the same name. His mother co-founded a nonprofit directory of youth-focused charities named Catalog for Giving, and worked at a psychiatric hospital when Berg was growing up. He has a younger sister, Mary.
Peter was a student in the Chappaqua School System. 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 and graduated in 1984. Berg later moved to Los Angeles to pursue his film career.

Career

In his early days in Los Angeles, Berg worked such jobs as a prop assistant and a driver. Berg acted in 21 Jump Street and later in Never on Tuesday, Miracle Mile, Race For Glory, Shocker, Heart of Dixie, Tale of Two Sisters and Going Overboard in 1989. He acted in Genuine Risk in 1990 and in Late for Dinner and Crooked Hearts in 1991. In the early 1990s, he appeared in Fire in the Sky ''Aspen Extreme, Across the Moon and F.T.W..
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 a psychiatric emergency room. While the ABC show received rave reviews and garnered a cult following, it failed to deliver ratings and was canceled after the second episode had aired.
In 2003, Berg directed the action comedy The Rundown. Starring Dwayne Johnson and Seann William Scott, the film 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, which takes inspiration from the book and Berg's film of the same name, but features an original storyline and new characters.
Berg appeared alongside Tom Cruise in the Robert Redford directed war film Lions for Lambs as Lt. Colonel Falco. Berg followed up in 2007 with directing The Kingdom, a Michael Mann-produced action-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 on the television series Alias.
Berg directed the 2008 film Hancock, starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman, that grossed over $600,000,000 million worldwide.
Berg directed a Hulu commercial featuring Alec Baldwin, which both The New York Times and Time named best spot of Super Bowl XLIII. In 2009, Berg directed a two-hour pilot movie for the 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 30 for 30: Kings Ransom in 2009. Berg also co-wrote the film The Losers.
Berg also directed the science-fiction action film Battleship, a live-action adaptation of the board game, and the war 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." The following year, Berg acted as producer on the 2014 film Hercules, which he was originally slated to direct before being replaced by Brett Ratner.
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 football highlights of 44 years.
In 2014, he directed the first two episodes of HBO's The Leftovers.
In 2015, Berg launched the nonfiction studio Film 45 to complement his fiction studio Film 44.
In 2016, Berg directed the film Deepwater Horizon, based on the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Berg replaced director J. C. Chandor, who had exited the film due to creative differences. That same year, he directed CBS Films' Patriots Day, about the Boston Marathon bombing, and the following year directed the action thriller Mile 22. All three films starred Mark Wahlberg.
In 2017, Berg directed an ambitious commercial for Hyundai, which was recorded after the kickoff of Super Bowl LI and aired right after the game. His Film 44 company was recently signed to a first look deal with Netflix, which saw the release of his most recent film Spenser Confidential, the director's fifth collaboration with Wahlberg.
In 2019, Berg directed a historic commercial for the National Football League, "...football fans witnessed another milestone moment with the premiere of the NFL's Super Bowl commercial entitled The 100-Year Game. The two minute ad, which kicked off the celebration of the NFL's 100th season garnered the No. 1 spot in USA Todays Ad Meter with the publication describing it as "a tour de force starring an assemblage of many of the greats of NFL history."
In 2024, Berg announced he was working on a film based on the book The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II. The Mosquito Bowl'' is set to release on Netflix in 2026.

Personal life

In 1993, Berg was married to Elizabeth Rogers; they have one child and divorced in 1998.
In July 2015, Berg criticized ESPN's decision to honor Caitlyn Jenner with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award by sharing his opinion on Instagram, where he posted a Facebook photo of Army veteran and double amputee Gregory D. Gadson alongside one of Jenner. The meme's caption said: "One man traded 2 legs for the freedom of the other to trade 2 balls for 2 boobs. Guess which man made the cover of Vanity Fair, was praised for his courage by President Obama, and is to be honored with the 'Arthur Ashe Courage Award' by ESPN?" After being criticized for the meme, Berg later said: "I have the utmost respect for Caitlyn Jenner and I am a strong supporter of equality and the rights of trans people everywhere. I also believe that we don’t give enough attention to our courageous returning war veterans, many of whom have sacrificed their bodies and mental health for our country and our principals--principals that include the freedom to live the life you want to live without persecution or abuse."

Filmography

Film

Acting roles
YearTitleRoleNotes
1988Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer StoryBobby
1989Never on TuesdayEddie
1989Miracle MileBand Member
1989Race for GloryChris Washburn
1989ShockerJonathan Parker
1989Heart of DixieJenks
1989Tale of Two SistersGardner
1989Going OverboardMort Ginsbergas Pete Berg
1990Genuine RiskHenry
1990Forradalom után
1991Late for DinnerFrank Lovegren
1991Crooked HeartsTom
1992A Midnight ClearBud Miller
1993A Case for MurderJack Hemmet
1993Fire in the SkyDavid Whitlock
1993Aspen ExtremeDexter Rutecki
1994Across the MoonLyle
1994UneviledDrug dealer
1994F.T.W.Clem Stuart
1994The Last SeductionMike Swale
1994Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd StoryDennis Byrd
1995HeavyweightsChef
1996The Great White HypeTerry Conklin
1996Girl 6Caller No 1—Bob
1997Cop LandJoey Randone
1998Very Bad ThingsDoctor
1999Dill ScallionNate Clumson
2001Corky RomanoPaulie Romano
2004CollateralRichard Weidner
2006Smokin' Aces"Pistol" Pete Deeks
2007Lions for LambsLt. Col. Falco
2007The KingdomFBI Agent
2008HancockDoctorUncredited
2011POM Wonderful Presents:
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold		HimselfDocumentary
2012BattleshipSonar MateUncredited
2013Lone SurvivorNavy PersonnelUncredited
2015Trophy KidsHimselfDocumentary
2016Deepwater HorizonMr. Skipas Pete Berg
2016Patriots DayGuy opening MIT Dooras Pete Berg
2018Mile 22Lucasas Pete Berg