Peter Coyote

Although Peter Coyote was nearly 40 when he made his film debut in 1980's Die Laughing, he quickly made up for lost time, appearing in more than 80 films since.

Born Oct. 10, 1942, in Colver, Pa., Coyote moved to San Francisco in the mid-1960s and soon joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe -- a politically inspired guerilla theater group -- as an actor, writer and director. It wasn't long, however, before he "dropped out," becoming a prominent member of the counterculture community. He didn't return to acting until the late '70s.

Important films for Coyote include E.T., 1985's The Jagged Edge, Exposure, Random Hearts and Erin Brockovich. Coyote's distinctive voice has also brought him much voice-over work, and in 1992 he won an Emmy for his narration of PBS's "The Meiji Revolution." In 2005, he landed a recurring role on the TV series "Commander in Chief" (with Geena Davis).

Filmography