Peter Berg

PETER BERG has enjoyed success as a writer, director, producer and actor, having directed the 2009 action hit Hancock, starring Will Smith in the title role.

Berg made his feature film directorial debut (from his own original screenplay) with the 1998 cult favorite Very Bad Things, which starred Cameron Diaz, John Favreau and Christian Slater and earned kudos at the Deauville (France) and San Sebastian (Spain) film festivals. He went on to direct the actioner The Rundown, starring Dwayne Johnson and Christopher Walken, and returned to the action genre with the war drama The Kingdom, which starred Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper. He also executive produced the offbeat independent comedy Lars and the Real Girl, starring Ryan Gosling.

Berg is also known for his fierce portrait of high-school football in the 2004 film adaptation of H.G. Bissinger's blistering bestseller "Friday Night Lights," which starred Billy Bob Thornton. The film's success, both in theaters and on DVD, spawned the acclaimed television series of the same name, which aired its fifth and final Emmy-nominated season in 2011. In addition to serving as the series' executive producer, Berg has also directed several episodes of the show, including the 2006 pilot, for which he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. As one of the series' writers, he also shared a Writers Guild Award nomination for New Series.

He executive produced NBC's police procedural drama Prime Suspect, starring Maria Bello.

He previously executive produced the medical drama series Trauma and created and executive produced the ABC drama series Wonderland, for which he also wrote and directed episodes. He got his start as a writer and director earlier in his career on David E. Kelley's critically acclaimed series Chicago Hope, on which he also starred for three seasons as the brash, hockey-playing surgeon, Dr. Billy Kronk.

As an actor, Berg's film work includes roles in Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs, starring with Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise; Smokin'Aces, for director Joe Carnahan; and Michael Mann's Collateral, with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.

His additional film acting credits include Cop Land, The Great White Hype, John Dahl's The Last Seduction, A Midnight Clear and Late for Dinner.

© 2012 Universal Pictures