Peter Riegert Net Worth

What is Peter Riegert's Net Worth?

Peter Riegert is an American actor and filmmaker who has a net worth of $4 million. Peter Riegert is known for his performances in such films as "Animal House," "Local Hero," "Crossing Delancey," and "The Mask," as well as for his roles in the television series "The Sopranos," "Damages," "Dads," and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." He also directed the Academy Award-nominated short film "By Courier" and the feature film "King of the Corner."

Early Life and Education

Peter Riegert was born on April 11, 1947 in the Bronx borough of New York City to piano teacher Lucille and food wholesaler Milton. Raised in a non-observant Jewish household, he grew up in Greenburgh, New York. Riegert attended Ardsley High School, from which he graduated in 1964. He went on to attend the University at Buffalo. Before deciding on an acting career, Riegert waited tables, taught, and did social work.

Film Career

Riegert's film debut came in 1978 when he played Donald 'Boon' Schoenstein in the National Lampoon frat comedy "Animal House." The next year, he was in the comedies "Americathon" and "Chilly Scenes of Winter." Riegert appeared in his second National Lampoon film, "Movie Madness," in 1982. He had his film breakthrough the following year when he starred in Bill Forsyth's acclaimed British dramedy "Local Hero," playing an oil company representative who is sent to a Scottish village to build an oil refinery. Riegert went on to appear in the international co-productions "A Man in Love" and "The Stranger." In 1988, he starred opposite Amy Irving in Joan Micklin Silver's romantic comedy "Crossing Delancey," adapted by Susan Sandler from her play of the same name. Riegert began the 1990s with roles in "That's Adequate" and "A Shock to the System." He was subsequently in three films in 1991: the comedies "The Object of Beauty" and "Oscar" and the horror film "The Runestone." Riegert followed that with roles in "Utz" and "Passed Away" in 1992. In 1994, he had a memorable role as police lieutenant Mitch Kellaway in the Jim Carrey superhero comedy film "The Mask." Riegert next appeared in the black comedy thriller "Coldblooded" and the romantic comedy "Pie in the Sky," both in 1995.

In 1996, Riegert played the father of Matthew Broderick's main character, the real-life theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, in the biopic "Infinity." Two years later, he was in the black comedy crime film "Jerry and Tom" and the Christmas romcom "Hi-Life." At the dawn of the new millennium, Riegert had roles in "Passion of Mind," "How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog," and "Traffic." He also wrote and directed the short film "By Courier," which earned him and producer Ericka Frederick an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. Riegert went on to direct his first feature film, "King of the Corner," which came out in 2004. He also co-wrote and starred in the film. In 2008, Riegert narrated the documentary "The First Basket," and in 2010 he acted in "The Chosen One" and "White Irish Drinkers." The following year, he was in Cameron Crowe's "We Bought a Zoo," based on the memoir by Benjamin Mee. Riegert next played college campus radio manager Boneyard Sims in the 2013 romantic comedy "At Middleton." A few years later, he played the father of Ewan McGregor's main character Seymour in "American Pastoral," an adaptation of the Philip Roth novel of the same name.

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Television Career

In 1977, Riegert made his television acting debut with a two-episode guest role on "M*A*S*H." He didn't have another major television role until 1984, when he portrayed Richard Nixon in the anthology series "American Playhouse." Also that year, Riegert starred in the CBS miniseries "Ellis Island," based on the novel by Fred Mustard Stewart. Over the subsequent years, he appeared in episodes of "The Twilight Zone," "American Masters," and "Trying Times." In 1992, Riegert starred in the short-lived CBS series "Middle Ages." The year after that, he starred in two acclaimed television films: HBO's adaptation of the book "Barbarians at the Gate" and CBS's adaptation of the stage musical "Gypsy." For his portrayal of Peter Cohen in the former film, Riegert received an Emmy Award nomination. Later in the 1990s, he played the fictional president of NBC in the series finale of "Seinfeld" and starred opposite Stockard Channing in the Showtime television film "The Baby Dance," adapted by Jane Anderson from her play of the same name.

In 2000, Riegert had a guest role on "Sports Night." He went on to have a big year in 2001, starting with a role in the Showtime television film "Bojangles." After that, Riegert had a main role on the short-lived ABC show "The Beast" and a supporting part in the television film adaptation of the play "Bleacher Bums." Additionally, from 2001 to 2002, Riegert played corrupt assemblyman and later state senator Ronald Zellman in the third and fourth seasons of HBO's "The Sopranos." In 2004, he appeared in the television film adaptation of Anne Tyler's novel "Back When We Were Grownups" and began the recurring role of defense attorney Chauncey Zeirko on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Riegert played the latter role until 2007, the same year he had a recurring role in the first season of the FX series "Damages." He went on to play recurring roles on "The Good Wife" from 2009 to 2012 and on "One Tree Hill" from 2010 to 2011.

From 2013 to 2014, Riegert had a main role on the Fox sitcom "Dads" as deadbeat dad David Sachs, the father of Seth Green's protagonist Eli. In 2015, he guest-starred on "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" and portrayed real-life architect and city planner Oscar Newman in the HBO miniseries "Show Me a Hero," based on the book of the same name by Lisa Belkin. From 2017 to 2019, Riegert played the recurring role of grocery chain owner Artie Goodman in the third and fourth seasons of the Netflix sitcom "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." During that time, he had a recurring role on another Netflix sitcom, "Disjointed," as a love interest of Kathy Bates's main character. Riegert's next major role was as lawyer Roger Pugh in the third season of the acclaimed HBO series "Succession," which premiered in 2021. In 2022, he had a guest role on CBS's "Bull," and in 2023 he appeared in the first episode of the Apple TV+ anthology miniseries "Extrapolations," entitled "2037: A Raven Story."

Stage Career

Riegert made his Broadway debut in the 1970s musical "Dance with Me." He went on to appear off-Broadway in David Mamet's play "Sexual Perversity in Chicago." Later, in 1987, Riegert was in the original Broadway production of Larry Shue's two-act comedy "The Nerd." His other stage credits have included "The Old Neighborhood," "An American Daughter," "Road to Nirvana," and "The Birthday Party."

Audiobooks

Riegert narrated the audiobook of Michael Chabon's 2007 novel "The Yiddish Policeman's Union," and earned an Audie Award nomination for his work. He also narrated the audiobook of "The Voyage of the Narwhal."

Real Estate

For many years, Peter owned a 68-acre estate in Hyde Park, New York, which features a 5,000-square-foot home that was originally built in 1820. Peter sold this property in April 2024 for $1.75 million. In 1996, Peter bought an apartment in Manhattan for $335,000. He listed this unit for sale in 2019 for $1.99 million.

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