Peter Stormare

Born in Kumla, Sweden in 1953, one of Peter Stormare's first experiences with filmmaking came in an uncredited role in "Fanny and Alexander" (1982), a masterpiece by legendary filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. Initially, Stormare's focus was on the stage, spending over a decade with Sweden's acclaimed Royal Dramatic Theater while also making appearances in Swedish film and TV.

His first international exposure came in a small supporting role in the film "Awakenings" (1990) starring Robin Williams as Dr. Oliver Sacks, and Robert De Niro as his patient, responding to an experimental treatment. Stormare continued to make appearances in Sweden, as well as a supporting role in the indie drama "Damage" (1992), before he turned in a career-making performance in "Fargo" (1996).

After that, he appeared in all kinds of film and TV projects, generally playing an unpredictable bad guy and always bringing a unique performance to his roles. In 1998, he cemented his status, playing one of the Nihilists in the Coen Brothers' "The Big Lebowski" (1998), and the Russian cosmonaut on the crew in Michael Bay's "Armageddon" (1998). Stormare's first series regular role came on "Watching Ellie" (NBC, 2002-2003), the ill-fated "Seinfeld" (NBC, 1989-1998) follow-up for Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

More successful was his next series regular gig, this one on the first two seasons of "Prison Break" (Fox, 2005-09; 2017-). Stormare continued to make appearances in film and TV, and in 2016, he created the private detective-comedy "Swedish Dicks" (Pop, 2016-) which he also wrote and starred in. Stormare also co-starred in the short-lived American sitcom "LA To Vegas" (Fox 2018) as a disheveled Russian gambler.