Peter Greene, the “Pulp Fiction” character actor who died on Dec. 12 at 60 years old, suffered a fatal accidental gunshot wound, it was revealed Wednesday.
He died from “a gunshot wound of the left axilla with injury of the brachial artery,” according to the New York’s Chief Medical Examiner office (via People). The bullet entered his left armpit and caused major bleeding after damaging the artery supplying blood to his arm, elbow, forearm and hand. Greene’s death was ruled an accident.
The actor had been found dead in his apartment in New York’s Lower East Side on Dec. 12, 2025. A neighbor reportedly called his landlord and the police to perform a wellness check after hearing music play non-stop in Greene’s apartment for several days.
In Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” Greene played Zed, one of the three security guards who rapes Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). The three characters — Greene’s Zed, Duane Whitaker’s Maynard and Stephen Hibbert’s gimp — were “psycho hillbillies” that paid homage to the 1972 film “Deliverance.”
Also in 1994, Greene played the villain Dorian Tyrell in “The Mask” opposite Jim Carrey. He was a mafioso with a plan to overthrow his boss by donning the powerful Mast of Loki, which transformed his physique to be muscle-bound and his voice to be deep and demonic.
Greene appeared in almost 100 films and TV shows, including “For Life,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Justified,” “Life on Mars,” “The Black Donnellys,” “Tesla,” “City of Lies,” “Once Fallen,” “Permanent Midnight” and more. The upcoming drama “Clika” will include a posthumous performance by Greene.
