Bio
Peter Gallagher is an American actor, musician and writer best known to television audiences for his starring role as Sandy Cohen in the teen drama series The O.C., from 2003-2007.
He also starred as CIA Clandestine Services Director Arthur Campbell in the action television series Covert Affairs.
Growing up in Armonk, New York (although of Irish-Catholic descent), Gallagher developed an interest in acting as a teenager and starred in school plays and musicals.
After graduating from Tufts University he made his professional stage debut in the 1977 revival of Hair, followed by a starring role in the Broadway production of Grease.
He starred in the off-Broadway play about death row, The Exonerated, directed by Bob Balaban.
Gallagher's segue from stage to film began in 1980 with his feature film debut in Taylor Hackford's The Idolmaker.
Many film roles followed, including Dreamchild, Bob Roberts, Watch It, The Hudsucker Proxy, the comedy hit While You Were Sleeping, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, Cafe Society, Johnny Skidmarks and The Man Who Knew Too Little.
Gallagher was also seen in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty and Sony Picture's Centre Stage, directed by Nicholas Hytner.
Gallagher was featured in Robert Altman's highly acclaimed film The Player, followed by Short Cuts and Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, feature films that were directed and produced by Altman.
Gallagher worked with director Steven Soderbergh in the neo-noir film The Underneath, in which Gallagher's role was expressly written for him by Soderbergh. Their teaming on the 1989 feature Sex, Lies and Videotape earned Gallagher international critical acclaim.
In November 2001, Gallagher starred in the Showtime miniseries Feast of All Saints, based on the novel by Anne Rice. He also starred with Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder in Columbia Pictures' Mr. Deeds, for director Steve Brill.
He appears in Alliance Atlantis' Protection, opposite Stephen Baldwin, and Perfume, for Lions Gate, along with Jeff Goldblum, Omar Epps, Paul Sorvino, and Rita Wilson.
Gallagher also stars in the romantic comedy How to Deal, opposite Mandy Moore and Allison Janney.
Still gracing the stage on a regular basis, Gallagher returned to Broadway in 2001 for Noises Off, opposite Patti LuPone and played charismatic Sky Masterson in Jerry Zak's Tony-nominated revival of Guys and Dolls.
In 1986, Gallagher earned a Tony Award nomination for his highly acclaimed performance opposite Jack Lemmon in Long Day's Journey into Night.
He received further acclaim with a Theatre World Award for the Harold Prince production of A Dolls Life and a Clarence Derwent Award for Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, directed by Mike Nichols.
He also appeared at New York's City Centre in the musical revival of Pal Joey, with Patti LuPone. On television, Gallagher starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame Special Cupid & Cate.
Gallagher's other credits include the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning miniseries The Murder of Mary Phagan, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial - which was Gallagher's first experience working with Robert Altman - Brave New World and the series The Secret Lives of Men.
For PBS, Gallagher starred in both Clifford Odets' production of The Big Knife and Peter Sellars' silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez.
Gallagher also released an album entitled 7 Days in Memphis in 2005, on the Sony BMG label.
He lives in New York with his family.