Greene was found dead at the age of 60 in his New York City apartment on Dec. 12.

*Pulp Fiction *actor Peter Greene’s cause of death revealed

Greene was found dead at the age of 60 in his New York City apartment on Dec. 12.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

February 18, 2026 6:39 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Peter Greene on the set of 'Lowball' in New York City in 1994. Credit:

Al Pereira/Getty

*Pulp Fiction *and *The Mask *actor Peter Greene's cause of death has been revealed after he was found dead in his New York City apartment on Dec. 12.

The New York City Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Greene died of a "gunshot wound of left axilla with injury of brachial artery," per a statement obtained by PEOPLE on Wednesday. The manner of death was determined an "accident."

Peter Greene as Zed in 'Pulp Fiction'.

** did not immediately hear back from the New York City Medical Examiner's Office.

Greene's manager, Gregg Edwards, confirmed his client's death on Dec. 13 in a statement obtained by EW. No cause of death was disclosed at the time.

One of Greene's neighbors requested a wellness check after they heard music playing in the actor's apartment for over 24 hours, Edwards previously told NBC News. Greene was discovered dead in his Manhattan apartment as a result of the check that followed.****

"Nobody played a bad guy better than Peter," Edwards said of the actor. "But he also had, you know, a gentle side that most people never saw, and a heart as big as gold."

Celebrity deaths 2026: Remembering the stars who died this year

Robert Duvall, star of 'Apocalypse Now' and 'The Godfather,' dies at 95

Greene indeed played a string of legendary villains over the course of his three-decade career as an actor. From the menacing mobster Dorian Tyrell in *The Mask* to Zed, the security guard who along with his brother Maynard (Duane Whitaker) kidnaps and rapes Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) in *Pulp Fiction*, Greene's flaring eyes and expressionless face proved perfectly suited to meaty antagonist roles.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

But his range extended far beyond baddies. He portrayed several detectives and lawmen, as in the gritty Denzel Washington drama *Training Day *and in the improvisational Heather Graham-Justine Bateman two-hander *Kiss & Tell*. He played a priest in the underworld thriller *Final Engagement*, an alien in the sci-fi film *Earthling*, and even appeared as a bank robber in the music video for Jadakiss' 2019 single "Me."

Greene revealed in an interview with Sissy Gamache that he originally balked at the part Quentin Tarantino offered him in *Pulp Fiction *because it was too "brutal." He ultimately asked the director to "improvise the scene because the way it was written was just brutal, I mean you can imagine," and Tarantino was "good to his word," allowing Greene to make one of his signature characters his own.

- Celebrities & Creators

- Celebrity Death News

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Celebrity”