Peter Friedman

Peter Friedman

Avid filmgoers and adherents to the indie film movement that swept through America in the early to mid-'90s will invariably remember Peter Friedman as the sneaky, underhanded, New Age-espousing "self-help guru" who supposedly attempts to offer ailing Julianne Moore a hand up -- but only succeeds in draining her wallet -- in Todd Haynes' harrowing drama Safe (1995). In truth, that role represented just one of many memorable cinematic contributions for the prolific, highly versatile character actor, whose resumé reads like a best-of list of both independent film and Hollywood product. This slightly diminutive, stocky, and balding player first made an impression with a small role in the holiday slasher opus Christmas Evil (1980), then essayed a series of consistently interesting projects including Finnegan Begin Again (1984), The Seventh Sign (1988, as a priest), Blink (1994, as an ophthalmologist), and I Shot Andy Warhol (1996). Friedman's onscreen activity extended into the 2000s, most visibly in Tamara Jenkins' drama The Savages (2007), in which he played Laura Linney's sex-hungry paramour. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide