You know someone is different when you see him or her in a tiny role in a movie, yet you remember them from that role forever. For me, that is what happened with Peter Dinklage. I still remember the first time I saw him in Living in Oblivion (which was by the way, his first role). He was probably not on screen for more than three minutes, but he was so intense and yet funny in his role as Tito, he made it immediately memorable.
Unfortunately, many people may remember Peter Dinklage for one distinguishing feature – he is a dwarf. But, when I see him in a role, I initially see a great actor, not a dwarf. As you might guess, dwarves have traditionally only had certain roles open to them (think Oompa Loompas or Munchkins), but Peter is breaking that stereotype.
Born into a family of normal sized parents and siblings, Peter attended Bennington College in Vermont, where he earned a degree in Drama. He is very active in off-Broadway theatre and is also a playwright. But lately, he’s become known more and more for his television and movie appearances.
My favorite film of Peter’s is his starring role in The Station Agent. He plays a reclusive man who inherits a train depot. He moves to the new town and the townspeople are automatically drawn to him. Peter’s character even wins the hearts of a few women in the movie. For his portrayal, Peter was nominated for Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit awards, Best Breakthrough Performance at the Online Film Critics Society awards, and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role at the Screen Actors Guild awards. I was hoping he would get an Oscar nod for his performance, but he didn’t. Right now, Peter is working on or scheduled to work on six films in the next two years.
He has also been seen frequently on television as of late. He was in last years’s “Threshold” (which was cancelled in its first season). He was also set to star in “Ultra” but the show was not been picked up by any of the networks. He recently played a nurse on the popular FX show “Nip/Tuck.”
I am hoping to see him soon on the big or little screen. If you haven’t noticed Peter in anything, I suggest renting The Station Agent or the great Christmas movie Elf in which he has a small role.