The Moment
For a certain slice of 90s movie fans, Peter Greene was the face of danger. The actor behind Dorian Tyrell in The Mask and the deeply disturbing Zed in Pulp Fiction has died at age 60.
According to police statements relayed through a New York newspaper, Greene was found unresponsive in his Lower East Side apartment on Clinton Street around 3:25 p.m. on Friday and pronounced dead at the scene. His longtime manager, Gregg Edwards, confirmed his death and said no foul play is suspected. The official cause will come from the medical examiner.
Edwards remembered him as both gifted and generous, calling Greene “truly one of the great actors of our generation” and saying, “His heart was as big as there was.”
Greene had been set to start work in January 2026 on an independent thriller titled Mascots, opposite Mickey Rourke, according to Edwards. The project’s writer-director, Kerry Mondragon, was reportedly devastated by the news.
The Take
I’ll be honest: Peter Greene was one of those actors you might not have known by name, but you absolutely knew his face. He was the guy who walked on-screen and made your shoulders tense up before he even said a word. In the 90s, if a movie needed a terrifying wildcard who could still feel weirdly human, they called him.
Greene’s death feels like losing a piece of that era when character actors were allowed to be truly strange, not airbrushed into Marvel-style sameness. He wasn’t a polished franchise star. He was the wild-card villain, the unsettling cop, the man whose eyes told you a whole backstory before the script did.
What makes this hit harder is knowing, from his own past interviews, that Greene’s life wasn’t some easy Hollywood ride. He ran away from home at 15, survived on New York streets, fell into drugs and dealing, then tried to pull himself out. He spoke about a suicide attempt in March 1996 and seeking treatment afterward. For all the “tough guy” energy he brought to the screen, off-camera he sounded painfully human-messy, vulnerable, trying.
In a way, he was the anti-superhero: no cape, no clean arc, just a working actor carrying his battles into every scene and somehow turning that into art. When fans talk about how we don’t get “gritty” movies like we did in the 90s, they’re really talking about actors like Peter Greene.
The loss also underlines something uncomfortable about Hollywood: countless careers are built on these unforgettable supporting performances, but when tragedy comes, the industry moves on fast. It’s the fans who remember the small, sharp roles-the way he made a cartoonish movie like The Mask feel suddenly dangerous, or how his brief time in Training Day added another layer of menace to an already tense film.
Greene wasn’t famous in the way that fills arenas, but he was famous in the way that fills your memory. That might actually be the legacy that lasts longer.
Receipts
Confirmed:
- Peter Greene, known for roles in The Mask, Pulp Fiction, Laws of Gravity, Clean, Shaven, Blue Streak, and Training Day, has died at age 60.
- He was found unresponsive in his Lower East Side apartment on Clinton Street around 3:25 p.m. and pronounced dead at the scene, according to police statements conveyed through a New York newspaper.
- Police have stated that no foul play is suspected; the official cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner.
- His manager, Gregg Edwards, confirmed his death publicly and praised Greene’s talent and character, calling him “truly one of the great actors of our generation.”
- Edwards said Greene was scheduled to begin filming an independent thriller titled Mascots with Mickey Rourke in January 2026 and informed writer-director Kerry Mondragon of Greene’s passing.
- In a 1996 magazine interview, Greene said he ran away from his Montclair, New Jersey home at 15, lived on the streets in New York, used and dealt drugs, attempted suicide in March 1996, and then sought treatment.
Unverified / Not Yet Known:
- The official cause and manner of Greene’s death (pending medical examiner findings).
- Any changes to or continuation of the planned film Mascots without Greene.
- Private details about his health or personal life in the period leading up to his death.
Sources (human-readable): Police information and confirmation from manager Gregg Edwards quoted in a New York daily newspaper’s entertainment report on Dec. 13, 2025; archival interview with Peter Greene in a 1996 film magazine discussing his early life and struggles with addiction.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you’re trying to place him: Peter Greene was the slick-haired mobster Dorian Tyrell in Jim Carrey’s 1994 hit The Mask, the one who literally puts on the mask and turns into something even scarier. He was also Zed-the disturbing pawnshop character-in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Outside those hits, he built a reputation in indie and crime dramas like Laws of Gravity and the intense character study Clean, Shaven, later popping up in studio projects like Blue Streak with Martin Lawrence and Training Day with Denzel Washington.
Off screen, Greene’s story was far from the tidy Hollywood narrative. He left home as a teen, survived on the streets, fell into addiction, and later spoke openly about getting help after a suicide attempt. In recent years, he kept working in smaller films, including the 2023 movie Pet Shop Days, staying in that lane of unpredictable, lived-in characters that made casting directors think, “We need someone who feels dangerous but real.”
What’s Next
In the immediate future, the key piece is the medical examiner’s report, which will determine Greene’s official cause of death. Until that’s released, anything beyond “no foul play suspected” is speculation-and doesn’t help anyone, least of all his loved ones.
The independent thriller Mascots, which was supposed to pair him with Mickey Rourke in early 2026, is now in limbo. Small films like that often hinge on a specific mix of actors to get financed, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the production is delayed, reworked, or quietly shelved. That’s another quiet way a death like this ripples through the industry: not just in headlines, but in the projects that never quite happen.
What we’re likely to see next is a wave of tributes from co-stars, directors, and fans who lived with his performances on VHS, DVD, and endless cable reruns. The people who know his name will talk about his craft; the ones who only remember “that scary guy from The Mask” will finally learn the story behind the face.
Peter Greene, acclaimed for his villain roles in Pulp Fiction and The Mask, has died at 60. He was found unresponsive in his NYC apartment, and the cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner. pic.twitter.com/WDkrsMb4Il
— Blanco Tarantino TV, LLC (@BlancoTarantino) December 13, 2025
If you grew up on 90s movies, odds are Peter Greene once scared you half to death-and now, in hindsight, that might feel like a strange kind of gift. His characters were awful; his work was unforgettable.
Which performance of Peter Greene’s has stayed with you the most-and why do you think his villains felt so real compared to today’s slick big-screen bad guys?
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