Peter Weller
Dr.Peter Weller (born24 June1947; age 77) is the veteran actor who playedJohn Frederick Paxton in theStar Trek: Enterprisefourth season episodes "Demons" and "Terra Prime". He playedAlexander Marcus inStar Trek Into Darkness.
Weller is perhaps best known to science fiction genre fans for playing thetitle role in 1987'sRoboCop (withKurtwood Smith andRonny Cox) and its 1990 sequel,RoboCop 2 (withTzi Ma,Mark Rolston andGalyn Görg). He is also known for playing the title role in the cult 1984 science fiction film,The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension and for starring inManny Coto's 2002 cable television series,Odyssey 5.
Early life[]
Weller was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on 24 June 1947. Because his father was a helicopter pilot for the Army, Weller spent most of his childhood abroad. He and his family lived in Germany for several years before moving to Texas. In 1969, he graduated from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre. The lateNoble Willingham, who appeared with Weller inButch and Sundance: The Early Days, also attended this university.
Career[]
Early stage and television work[]
In 1972, Weller made his Broadway debut in Joseph Papp's Tony Award-winning New York Shakespeare Festival production of David Rabe'sSticks and Bones. Weller was a standby for the role of David for this production, which also featured fellowStar Trek veteranCliff DeYoung.Phillip Richard Allen andK Callan became standbys at during later performances.
Weller returned to the Broadway stage in 1973 as part of the ensemble and as an understudy in a production of William Shakespeare'sThe Merchant of Venice. That same year, Weller made his television debut in the movieThe Man Without a Country, which was photographed byStar Trek V: The Final Frontier's director of photography,Andrew Laszlo. In November 1973, Weller acted withLeonard Nimoy in a Broadway production ofFull Circle.
In 1975, Weller appeared on Broadway for a fourth time, playing a supporting role inSummer Brave. He also appeared in his second made-for-TV movie that same year, a drama for NBC calledThe Silence, which co-starredGeorge Hearn andCraig Wasson. In 1976, Weller performed withJohn Glover andTracey Walter in the off-Broadway playRebel Women. The following year, he made his first episodic television appearance, guest starring in anAlexander Singer-directed ofCBS'Lou Grant. This was his last television guest appearance until 2003.
In 1978, Weller acted alongsideBruce Davison in a stage production of Eugene O'Neill's play,Mourning Becomes Electra. The play was filmed and later broadcast on PBS as a five-part mini-series.
Early film career (1979–1986)[]
Weller made his film debut inButch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979, withPeter Brocco,Jeff Corey,Christopher Lloyd,Vincent Schiavelli,John Schuck and Noble Willingham). Weller followed this film with supporting roles inJust Tell Me What You Want (1980, featuringJohn Walter Davis,John Gabriel, and camera work byJames A. Contner) andShoot the Moon (1982, co-starringRobert Costanzo andGeorge Murdock). Weller was then cast in the lead forOf Unknown Origin (1983), for which he received Best Actor honors from the Paris Film Festival.
Weller reunited with hisButch and Sundance co-stars (and fellowTrek performers) Christopher Lloyd and Vincent Schiavelli for the 1984 sci-fi/adventure film,The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. Weller played the title role in this film, a multi-talented adventurer who fights to save the world from a group of inter-dimensional aliens known as Red Lectroids. Lloyd and Schiavelli played two of the Red Lectroids and the cast also includedRobert Ito as Banzai's mentor, Prof. Hikita, andClancy Brown as Banzai's companion, Rawhide. Others who appeared in the film includeJonathan Banks,Raye Birk,Jessie Lawrence Ferguson,Kevin Sullivan, and John Walter Davis. Since the film's release,Buckaroo Banzai has achieved cult status and has even warrantedin-joke references in variousStar Trek productions.
Weller's next film was the 1984 dramaFirstborn, in which he andTerri Garr portrayed lovers. In 1986, Weller appeared in two productions withStar Trek: Deep Space Nine guest star John Glover, whom Weller previously worked with on stage. First, Weller and Glover co-starred withBill Smitrovich in the dramatic filmA Killing Affair. This was followed by the HBO movieApology, which also featuredStar Trek: The Next Generation guest starNicholas Kepros.
RoboCop and subsequent projects (1987–2001)[]
Perhaps Weller's best-known role is that of Officer Alex Murphy aka "RoboCop" in the hit 1987 action filmRoboCop. Weller's co-stars in this film includedKurtwood Smith, who played the gang leader who kills Murphy, andMiguel Ferrer, whose character reconstructs Murphy into the cyborg "RoboCop". The cast also includedRonny Cox as the jealous vice president of the organization funding the RoboCop program,Robert DoQui as Murphy's superior in the police forceRay Wise as Smith's character's right-had man andGene Wolande as a prisoner. For his performance inRoboCop, Weller earned a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.
Weller returned to the role of RoboCop for the 1990 sequel,RoboCop 2. This feature again saw Weller working alongside John Glover and also had Robert DoQui reprising his role from the first film. The cast also includedBill Bolender,Roger Aaron Brown,Gabriel Damon,Stephen Lee,Tzi Ma,Jeff McCarthy,Mark Rolston, andPhil Rubenstein. The film's music was composed byLeonard Rosenman.
In between theRoboCop films, Weller starred in such films asShakedown (withJude Ciccolella),Leviathan (withMeg Foster), andCat Chaser (which featured costumes designed byMichael Kaplan). Following the release ofRoboCop 2, Weller was seen in the 1990 television movieRainbow Drive along withTony Jay. Weller then acquired further recognition for starring as the William S. Burroughs-based "Bill Lee" inDavid Cronenberg's 1991 adaptation ofNaked Lunch. For this film, the Canadian Genie Awards nominated Weller for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.
Weller earned an Academy Award nomination for directing the 1993 short filmPartners, which he also co-wrote and appeared in along withEd Begley, Jr. andSeymour Cassel. Weller also starred in the 1993 thrillerSunset Grill, acting alongsideJohn Rhys-Davies. The following year, Weller appeared withCorbin Bernsen in the dramatic filmThe New Age, and in 1995, he co-starred withJulie Cobb and Bruce Davison in the short filmPresent Tense, Past Perfect.
Weller was part of the cast ofMighty Aphrodite (1995, withF. Murray Abraham andDavid Ogden Stiers). He also starred inScreamers (1996, featuring creature construction byKen Niederbaumer and make-up byRoxy D'Alonzo). Weller later starred withBen Cross in the made-for-TV movieTower of the Firstborn (akaThe Sands of Time), which, though made in 1998, was not released in the USA until 2007.
Weller's acting credits over between 1998 and 2001 consisted of B-grade features and independent films, includingTop of the World (withEd Lauter andCary-Hiroyuki),Diplomatic Siege (1999, withJ. Patrick McCormack),Shadow Hours (withMichael Dorn andBrad Dourif),Contaminated Man (with makeup effects byRichard Redlefsen), andivansxtc. Weller received a nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards for his performance in the latter film.
In addition to acting, Weller continued to expand his credits as a director. He directed two episodes of the drama seriesHomicide: Life on the Street, castingTerry O'Quinn in the first episode and working with series regularMichelle Forbes in the second. Weller also directed and executive produced the Showtime Network movieGold Coast, for which he castJeff Kober in a supporting role.
Odyssey 5 and beyond[]
Weller was the star of the sci-fi television seriesOdyssey 5, created and executive produced byManny Coto. Weller played Chuck Taggart, the commander of the space shuttleOdyssey who, along with four others, is sent back in time and given five years to prevent the destruction of Earth. Fourteen of the twenty episodes of the series aired on Showtime in 2002 before being canceled; the remaining six episodes were aired in 2004. Weller directed three of the episodes, including one withRick Worthy.
In 2003, Weller was seen inThe Order (2003). That same year, he appeared in aLou Antonio-directed episode of the short-lived CBS seriesThe Handler – his first episodic television guest appearance in over twenty-five years.
By 2005,Odyssey 5 creator Manny Coto had become the showrunner ofStar Trek: Enterprise for its fourth season. Coto initially envisioned Weller in the role ofPhillip Green as the primary antagonist of theAugment Crisis trilogy, but this did not come to pass; the character became anancestor ofNoonien Soong to accommodateBrent Spiner's wish to appear on the show. It was Coto who convinced Weller to appear onEnterprise, promising to let Weller direct two episodes of the fifth season if he did so.Enterprise was canceled one day after Weller signed on to appear on the show.[1](X)[2]
AfterEnterprise ended, Coto became a writer and co-executive producer on the FOX television series24. Coto cast Weller in a role on this series, as well – that of former CTU agent turned traitor Christopher Henderson. Weller appeared in eleven episodes of the series in 2006, during which time other cast members includedJude Ciccolella,Roger R. Cross,Gregory Itzin,Glenn Morshower, andRay Wise.
Weller's other acting credits around this time included supporting roles inUndiscovered andThe Poseidon Adventure, both released in 2005; the latter was directed byJohn Putch. In 2006, Weller made a brief appearance inMonk (starringTed Levine, withStanley Kamel) and directed a separate episode that same year which featuredSharon Lawrence. In 2007, Weller portrayed architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the off-Broadway playFrank's Home, which co-starredHarris Yulin.
In 2010, Weller returned to television with a guest appearance in the 15 April episode ofFringe. This series was created byJ.J. Abrams,Alex Kurtzman, andRoberto Orci, who were all involved inStar Trek. After doing the episode, Abrams met with Weller, after which Weller's agent mentioned Abrams wanted him for a role in theStar Trek sequel.[3]
For eight episodes in 2010, Weller played the recurring role of Stan Liddy onDexter, where Manny Coto was an executive producer. Also in 2010 Weller guest starred in an episode ofPsych, starring Corbin Bernsen. In 2012, Weller guest-starred in an episode ofFranklin & Bash withGates McFadden as well asGeoffrey Blake,Charles Emmett,Tom Wright, and series regularMalcolm McDowell.
Weller has also continued to work as a director, directing multiple episodes ofSons of Anarchy (2011-14, starringRon Perlman andWilliam Lucking). In 2013 he also worked as an actor in front of the camera in three episodes. Other actors he worked with on this series have includeBilly Brown,Scott Lawrence andBenito Martinez. Weller also directed and guest-starred in two 2012/2013 episodes ofLongmire (working withWade Andrew Williams) and a 2013 episode of CBS'Hawaii Five-0. On the latter, he again worked with Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci, who co-developed the series. Weller's episode ofHawaii Five-0 also featured series regularDaniel Dae Kim and guest starWilliam Sadler.
Weller's later film projects includeOnce Fallen (2010, withJason Leland Adams andRonald F. Hoiseck. In addition, Weller was the voice ofDC Comics' Bruce Wayne/Batman inBatman: The Dark Knight Returns (2012-13). Others who lent their voices to these films includeRobin Atkin Downes,Michael McKean andFrank Welker. Weller'sStar Trek Into Darkness co-star,Bruce Greenwood, also voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman inBatman: Under the Red Hood (2010).
After appearing inInto Darkness, Weller completed a PhD in Italian history.[4]