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
Peter Riegert quotes about
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.
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.'
Ease is something that I think many admire in other people, in sports or whatever it may be.
I adapted an O. Henry short story called 'By Courier,' which got nominated for a Best Short Subject Oscar.
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 like Guinness, and that will make anyone Irish. That and soda bread, and I'm good to go.
In 2000, I realized I had reached that certain age when the parts get scarcer. So I decided to try my hand at directing.
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.
It's a very neurotic time we live in, this postanalytical period where everybody goes to a shrink to solve their problems.
Setting a movie in an earlier age gives it a mythical quality.
You realize Shakespeare wasn't stuck for an idea when he said, 'All the world's a stage.'
You rely on a lot of things about learning to play a particular character.
A movie is a filmed rehearsal in a way. The audience doesn't know that because you're taking out the things that don't work. There's no comparison to the theater because it's live. But making a movie is just as challenging and exciting, I find. A movie is pure process. The theater is the result of process.
I did 'Animal House' in 1978, then 'Local Hero' in 1983, and then in '88, 'Crossing Delancey.' And I realized that every three to five years, you need a big role to put you into the national psyche.