Peter Riegert

A detective playing straight man to a man in a green mask: Peter Riegert is the film's only sceptic.

Riegert plays the police lieutenant in The Mask, a role that consists almost entirely of refusing to believe what witnesses tell him. He plays it with an exhausted patience that anchors the film's absurdity, and the comedy depends on him treating an impossible situation as an ordinary case file.

Background and Influences

He came from improvisational comedy and theatre in New York, and he became known through an American college comedy before a celebrated British film about an oil executive in a Scottish village gave him his most admired role. He has directed as well as acted, including an award nominated short film.

Style and Themes

Recurring subjects: bemusement, outsiders slowly won over by a place or a situation, and comedy delivered through understatement. He plays reaction rather than action, and his timing depends on delay: the pause before he responds is usually where the joke lands rather than the line itself.

Legacy and Influence

His lead role in the Scottish set comedy drama is widely regarded as a classic of British cinema, and his college comedy debut is a permanent reference in American film comedy. His subsequent career has moved between television, independent film and stage across four decades.

Who Should Explore Their Work

For viewers who appreciate the performer who refuses to be impressed. Suited to anyone revisiting the effects comedy, and to those who should seek out the Scottish comedy drama afterwards, which is the better film by some distance.