Actor Peter Greene, known for his roles in “The Mask” and “Pulp Fiction,” has died, multiple outlets have confirmed. He was 60.
Greene was found unresponsive inside his apartment in New York City’s Lower East Side neighborhood and later pronounced dead at the scene on Friday afternoon, per his manager Gregg Edwards.
The New York Daily News was first to report his death. Police don’t suspect foul play and his cause of death is to be determined, per the New York Post.
Greene was known for playing mobster Dorian Tyrell, the main antagonist in the Jim Carrey-starring 1994 superhero slapstick “The Mask,” and took the part of Zed, a security guard who rapes mob boss Marsellus Wallace, in Quentin Tarantino’s crime classic “Pulp Fiction.”
A character actor hailing from Montclair, New Jersey, Greene played villains in other films such as “Judgment Night,” “The Bounty Hunter” and “Training Day.”
The actor — who starred in the 1993 drama “Clean, Shaven” and appeared in “The Usual Suspects” — was also picked for a part in the upcoming Mickey Rourke-led independent thriller “Mascots,” according to Edwards.
His manager told the Daily News that Greene was a “unique individual” who “cared about people.”
“One of the most brilliant character actors on the planet,” Edwards said.
FILE — (L-R) Pieter Riegert, Chuck Russell, Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, and Peter Greene attend an event at the Academy Theater in Los Angeles, California, on July 28, 1994. (Photo by Jan Jarecki/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Greene was set to have surgery to remove a benign tumor near his lungs but was otherwise in good shape and rode his bike “everywhere” around the Big Apple, Edwards said.
The actor had a history of addiction to drugs. A 1996 profile in Premier magazine noted that he ran away from home as a teenager and lived on the New York City streets, according to TV Insider. He hid in theaters from drug dealers who tried to kill him and eventually found his way to acting.
In early 1996, Greene attempted to kill himself before seeking addiction treatment soon after.
“He fought his demons but overcame them,” Edwards told the New York Post.
Edwards — who managed Greene for over a decade — told the Daily News that Greene’s death came as a “shock” to him and, despite the actor’s reputation as difficult to work with, he was “really a good-hearted person.”
