Peter Jason, a renowned character actor, was born on July 22, 1944, in Hollywood, California, and grew up in Balboa. He attended Newport Beach Elementary School, Horace Ensign Junior High, and Newport Harbor High School. Initially, Jason aimed to become a football player, but after starring in a high school production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner," he fell in love with acting.
Following his high school graduation, Jason attended Orange Coast Junior College and participated in a season of summer stock at the Peterborough Playhouse in New Hampshire. He then studied drama at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jason continued his stage work with the South Coast Repertory Company.
Jason made his film debut in Howard Hawks' final film, Rio Lobo (1970),which he considers one of his favorites. He has worked with notable directors, including Walter Hill and John Carpenter. In Hill's 48 Hrs. (1982),Jason played a memorable role as a racist redneck bartender. He has also appeared in several films directed by Carpenter, including Prince of Darkness (1987) and They Live (1988).
Jason has had a diverse range of roles, including a sinister government agent in Dreamscape (1984),a rugged military officer in Clint Eastwood's Heartbreak Ridge (1986),and a newspaper reporter in Seabiscuit (2003). He has also played the role of a U.S. president in Alien Apocalypse (2005).
In addition to his film work, Jason has had recurring and regular roles in several television series, including Deadwood (2004) and Mike Hammer, Private Eye (1997). He has also made guest appearances in numerous TV shows, such as Desperate Housewives (2004),Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996),and Nash Bridges (1996).
Jason has acted in over 150 plays and hundreds of TV commercials. He is an accomplished baritone vocalist and has sung in various musical stage productions, including "The Music Man," "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off," and "Threepenny Opera." Jason has been married to his wife Eileen for 33 years and enjoys making his own furniture using found and recycled wood in his spare time.
