Gallagher was born in the Manhattan borough of New York City. His mother, Mary Ann (née O\'Shea; August 23, 1915 - June 6, 2004), was a bacteriologist, and his father, Thomas Francis Gallagher, Jr. (June 10, 1912 - November 16, 1999), was an advertising executive. Gallagher is the youngest of their three children. He is of Irish Catholic background and was raised in Armonk, New York. Gallagher graduated from Tufts University, where he was active in theater, appearing in such shows as Stephen Sondheim\'s Company and singing with the all-male a cappella group the Beelzebubs.\n', '

Gallagher appeared on Broadway with Glenn Close in Tom Stoppard\'s The Real Thing and made his feature film debut in the Taylor Hackford film The Idolmaker, but first achieved fame for his role in Steven Soderbergh\'s Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989). He also starred as Sky Masterson in the 1992 Broadway hit revival of Guys and Dolls.\n', '

Gallagher played a potential career threat to Tim Robbins\'s studio executive in The Player (1992); the comatose fiancé of Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping (1995); a real estate salesman having an affair with Annette Bening in American Beauty (1999); a media executive in Mr. Deeds (2002); and a political reporter exposing media ethics during a presidential debate in The Last Debate.\n', '

Return to Peter Gallagher Autograph Profile