Peter Killian Gallagher was born on August 19, 1955 in New York. He is a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor, as well as being a musician and writer. He graduated from Tufts University, where he was a prominent face on the campus’ performance scene. He appeared on shows like Stephen Sondheim’s Company, as well as singing with the all-male a cappella group, the Beelzebubs.
Peter Gallagher achieved fame in Broadway, for his role in Steven Soderbergh’s sex, lies and videotape in 1989. He also starred in Guys and Dolls and was opposite Glenn Close in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing. He established his film career with his role in 1992’s The Player. He was also praised for his portrayal of Sandra Bullock’s comatose fianc? in While You Were Sleeping. His other film credits include American Beauty in 1999 and Mr. Deeds with Adam Sandler in 2002. He also starred with Mandy Moore in the romantic comedy How to Deal. The next year, he was cast on the Fox television show The O.C., playing Sandy Cohen, a public defender and corporate lawyer. Gallagher also hosts an annual award ceremony named The Sandy Cohen Awards, after his character. Through this, he gives a scholarship to a law school student at UC Berkeley who aspires to become a public defender. He also landed a role in the television miniseries called The Gathering, has voiced a character in the animated Robot Chicken, and was in an episode of Shark.
In 2005, Gallagher released his own album under Sony BMG records. It was called 7 Days in Memphis and includes a studio recording of one of his songs featured in The O.C. Aside from his work in the entertainment industry, Gallagher is also known to be a keen computer gamer and an avid golfer.