Peter Greene, the unforgettable face of 1990s cinema, was found dead under tragic circumstances in his New York apartment and the cause of his sudden death has now been officially confirmed.
Fans and colleagues are stunned by the details, which reveal a shocking accident that cut short the life of one of Hollywood’s most compelling actors.
Two months after his shocking death, the cause of passing for actor Peter Greene best known for his iconic roles in Pulp Fiction and The Mask has been officially disclosed.
On Wednesday, February 18, the New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Greene died from a gunshot wound to the left axilla, which damaged his brachial artery. Authorities have ruled the incident as an accidental death. (For clarity, the axilla refers to the armpit.)
Greene, 59, was discovered dead in his New York City apartment on December 12, 2025. His manager, Gregg Edwards, confirmed the news to PEOPLE on December 13. Edwards revealed that a wellness check was conducted after neighbors reported music playing continuously from Greene’s apartment for more than 24 hours.
“Nobody played a bad guy better than Peter,” Edwards told NBC News. “But he also had a gentle, generous side that few ever saw, and a heart as big as gold.”
Greene began his acting career with a role in the 1990 NBC crime drama series Hardball. He soon gained critical attention in Laws of Gravity (1992) alongside Edie Falco.
By the mid-1990s, he had cemented his status as a formidable screen presence, delivering standout performances as Dorian Tyrell in The Mask (1994) opposite Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz, and as Zed in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994).
At the time of his death, Greene was passionately involved in a documentary titled American People: The Withdrawal of USAID, narrating and co-producing the project to highlight the global consequences of the administration’s dismantling of USAID. Edwards later shared a GoFundMe campaign to ensure the film’s completion, calling it “the best way to honor his legacy.”
Greene’s death marks a tragic end to a career defined by unforgettable performances, both as a villain on screen and a man dedicated to meaningful causes off it.
