Peter Sarsgaard

An atypical actor who easily adapted himself in a variety of film and television projects, Peter Sarsgaard built a career disappearing into challenging and sometimes outright difficult roles most other actors might have avoided. Prior to his breakthrough playing a charming, but ultimately violent rapist and murderer in the indie drama "Boys Don't Cry" (1999), he quietly earned an impressive reputation on the New York theater scene, acting onstage in productions that including the Signature Theatre's "Laura Dennis" and his own play "The Greatest And Most Exciting Gratuitous Exhibition Ever Exploited." Sarsgaard made his biggest impression, however, with a subtle performance as a news magazine editor in "Shattered Glass" (2003), which gave the young, talented actor his first true taste of critical success. From there, he easily alternated between studio features like "Flightplan" (2005), "Jarhead" (2005) and "Knight & Day (2010), as well as independents like "Year of the Dog" (2007) and the Oscar-nominated "An Education" (2009). His 2009 marriage to equally indie-respected Maggie Gyllenhaal cemented Sarsgaard's reputation as an intelligent, devoted actor pursuing art over fame.