American actor Peter Jacobson was born on March 24, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois. The son of veteran Chicago newscaster Walter Jacobson, he was a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and the Juilliard School in New York City. He started his acting career through a bit role as a news reporter in the police drama NYPD Blue in 1993. His film debut, 1994’s It Could Happen to You, also saw him play a television reporter.
Jacobson’s initial acting credits centered in films. These include Private Parts, Conspiracy Theory, Great Expectations, Cradle Will Rock, Domino and Good Night and Good Luck. He also starred in the short-lived drama Bull and the short-lived comedy Talk to Me, and played guest roles in Will & Grace, A.U.S.A., Ed, ER and Hope & Faith. In 2003, Jacobson played a recurring role in the legal drama Law & Order. His character was that of Randy Dworkin, a crusading defense attorney who is usually attached to conservative causes.
Later on, Jacobson has appeared in shows such as Criminal Minds, Boston Legal, Scrubs and CSI: Miami, and in the miniseries The Starter Wife and The Lost Room. He also had a recurring role in the short-lived drama In Justice. After a role in the action film Transformers, where he played the straightforward, humorless high school teacher Mr. Foster, he signed on to appear in the fourth season of House, playing Chris Taub, a plastic surgeon hoping to be part of Gregory House’s (Hugh Laurie) new diagnostic team. Despite being criticized by the other candidates because of his specialty—he left his previous job after being involved in an affair with a nurse—he emerged to become a clever and assertive aspirant, and was later selected as one of the new regulars, along with Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) and “Thirteen” (Olivia Wilde). While filming, he signed on for a role in The Midnight Meal Train as Otto.