1980–1994: Broadway debut and early roles Friedman has appeared in thirteen Broadway productions, starting in 1972 with
The Great God Brown. He appeared in a Broadway revival of
The Visit in 1973, as the Carpenter. He appeared in
Piaf in 1981 on Broadway, and ''
A Soldier's Play Off-Broadway, also in 1981. He played the role of Humphrey Taylor in the Off-Broadway production of The Common Pursuit'', from October 1986 to August 1987, receiving a nomination for the
Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. He appeared in both the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of
The Heidi Chronicles in 1988 and 1989 in the role of Scoop Rosenbaum. He received a nomination for the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play for
The Heidi Chronicles. He appeared Off-Broadway in the
Manhattan Theatre Club production of the
Donald Margulies play
The Loman Family Picnic, from October 1993 to January 1994. The
Best Plays of 1993-1994 commented "...Friedman inverting his usual dynamism to play the beleaguered father..." Early in his career he performed in several episodes of
The Muppet Show in its first and third seasons, and spent a brief time on
Sesame Street. On television, Friedman starred as George Silver in
Brooklyn Bridge (1991–1993) and has made numerous guest appearances in such series as
Miami Vice,
NYPD Blue,
Without a Trace, and
Ghost Whisperer. Friedman's many
feature film credits include
Prince of the City (1981),
Daniel (1983),
The Seventh Sign (1988),
Single White Female (1992), and
Blink (1993).
1995–2015: Character actor In 1995 Friedman earned a prominent role in the
Todd Haynes drama film
Safe starring
Julianne Moore. The
All Movie Guide reviewer wrote, "Avid filmgoers and adherents to the indie film movement that swept through America in the early to mid-'90s will invariably remember Peter Friedman as the sneaky, underhanded, New Age-espousing "self-help guru" who supposedly attempts to offer ailing
Julianne Moore a hand up -- but only succeeds in draining her wallet -- in
Todd Haynes' harrowing drama
Safe (1995). In truth, that role represented just one of many memorable cinematic contributions for the prolific, highly versatile character actor, whose resumé reads like a best-of list of both independent film and Hollywood product."
I Shot Andy Warhol (1996),
Paycheck (2003),
Freedomland (2006),
The Savages (2007), ''
I'm Not There (2007), and Breaking Upwards (2009). He was nominated for the 1998 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for his role in Ragtime
. He appeared in a Law & Order episode titled "Attorney Client" as defense lawyer Harold Jensen, broadcast on May 8, 2002. He appeared on Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Twelve Angry Men from October 2004 to March 2005. For his role as "Frank" in Body Awareness, which ran Off-Broadway in 2008, Friedman received a nomination for the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. The New York Times'' reviewer wrote: "Mr. Friedman burrows deeply into Ben's anguish at being cut off by the daughter he raised to carry on the family tradition, the wound smarting all the more because he knows his own mistakes have caused the fissure." He played the role of "Doug" in the
Off-Broadway play
The Great God Pan from December 2012 to January 2013, and received a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play. The
New York Times reviewer commented: "The recollections of his parents, small roles incisively portrayed by the reliable Becky Ann Baker and Peter Friedman..." From August 2013 to September 2013 he played the role of "Meckel" in the Off-Broadway production (and New York premiere) of Lauren Yee's ''The Hatmaker's Wife
. Ben Brantley, in his review for The New York Times
wrote: "Mr. Friedman brings unblushing good will and vivacity to assignments that include walking around with a clothespin on his nose..." He appeared Off-Broadway in the musical Fly By Night'' as "Mr McClam" from May to June 2014.
2016–present: Succession and acclaim Friedman took roles in
The Affair and
Damages. He portrayed Hank Armstrong in the
Hulu series
The Path from 2016 to 2018 and he acted as Jim in the
HBO series
High Maintenance also from 2016 to 2018. In 2017 he portrayed
Polonius in the
Public Theatre's production of
Hamlet starring
Oscar Isaac and
Keegan-Michael Key. That same year he appeared Off-Broadway in the world premiere of
The Treasurer at Playwrights Horizons as The Son, for which he was nominated for a 2018
Lucille Lortel Award for Best Actor. From 2018 to 2023, he played Frank Vernon, long-time confidant of Logan Roy and vice-chairman of Waystar Royco in the series
Succession. He won the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series along with the cast in 2022 and 2023. In 2022 he played
Lanny Davis in the
MeToo movement drama
She Said (2022) for which he received favorable notices, with Jocelyn Noveck of
The Associated Press describing him as "excellent". On March 27, 2023, Friedman reprised his role of "Tateh" in a sold-out 25th Anniversary performance of
Ragtime at the Minskoff Theater to benefit the
Entertainment Community Fund. In 2023 he took a recurring role as George in the final season of the
Amazon Prime Video comedy series
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In 2023 he portrayed a therapist in the Max Wolf Friedlich play
Job. Friedman acted opposite
Sydney Lemmon at the
SoHo Playhouse in
New York City. Sara Holden of
Vulture praised Friedman writing, "Friedman is especially delightful to watch because he just seems so damn effortless... has a natural ease and appeal, a sense that he’s never pushing too hard". Juan A. Ramirez of
The New York Times wrote of Friedman's performance, "[He] imbues Loyd’s counterarguments with a genuine passion". Freidman returned to the play in 2024 with the production transferring to the Connelly Theater in the
East Village. ==Personal life==