'Pulp Fiction' actor Peter Greene's cause of death revealed after being found dead in apartment
The cause of death of
Peter Greene, the actor known for his memorable roles in
Pulp Fiction and
The Mask, has been determined, two months after he was
found dead inside his New York City apartment following a wellness check on Dec. 12, 2025.
Green died after accidentally shooting himself in the left armpit, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City, per
Deadline. The Medical Examiner's office confirmed that the actor's cause of death was a gunshot wound "of left axilla with injury of brachial artery," which caused extensive bleeding. The manner of death was ruled as accidental.
The New Jersey-born Greene specialized in portraying villainous characters and was perhaps best known for playing sadistic security guard Zed in 1994's
Pulp Fiction, following up that role by his turn as the main mobster Dorian Tyrell in the Jim Carrey comic action film
The Mask, and then "the fence" Redfoot in 1995's
The Usual Suspects.
Throughout his prolific career, Greene appeared in nearly 100 films and TV shows, including
Judgment Night,
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, and
Blue Streak. Other notable roles over the past two decades include a corrupt narcotics officer in 2001's
Training Day and features on episodes of
Hawaii Five-O, Justified,
Chicago PD, and the
John Wick spinoff series
The Continental.
"Nobody played a bad guy better than Peter," his manager Gregg Edwards told
NBC News. "But he also had, you know, a gentle side that most people never saw, and a heart as big as gold."