Peter Macdissi
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Peter Macdissi is an actor and producer who can be seen in the comedy-drama film "Uncle Frank," written and directed by Alan Ball. Macdissi produced and co-stars alongside Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis. He portrays 'Wally' who joins a road trip with his partner 'Frank' (Bettany) and his niece 'Beth' (Lillis) from Manhattan to South Carolina to attend a funeral. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and can currently be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
In 2017, Macdissi executive produced The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the shockingly true story of an African-American woman who becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs in the early 1950s. The film was written and directed by George C. Wolfe and is based on the award-winning book by author Rebecca Skloot. Fellow producers included Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball.
Macdissi's extensive collaboration with Alan Ball consists of a vast array of film and television projects including the prolific HBO series Six Feet Under which garnered 44 Emmy Award nominations and 9 wins, 8 Golden Globe nominations, and achieved a total of 46 award wins. Macdissi won the Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble acting for a drama television series, in addition to critical and commercial praise. Variety included him as one of their featured players for his performance as 'Olivier,' the temperamental teacher of budding artist 'Claire' (Lauren Ambrose). He also served as an executive producer of the Cinemax series Banshee, which ran for four seasons. Macdissi portrayed 'Dr. Farid Shokrani' in the 2018 series Here and Now on HBO which he also executive produced. The series starred Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins.
Macdissi appeared in many films and television series including The Losers with Jeffery Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, and Idris Elba and Burning Palms alongside Rosemund Pike and Dylan McDermott. He also starred with Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, and Maria Bello in Towelhead as the domineering father, 'Rifat Maroun.' The film was based on the breakout 2005 novel by Alicia Erian, and made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Additional credits include writer/director Matthew Bright's film, Tiptoes, alongside Gary Oldman, Matthew McConaughey, and Kate Beckinsale. His other roles include Three Kings, from director David O. Russell which starred George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Bad Company, from director Joel Schumacher which starred Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock. Jag, X-files and many other shows.
Macdissi was born in Beirut, Lebanon to a Lebanese father and an Armenian mother and his upbringing was influenced by both cultures. He grew up during the civil war and discovered an innate talent for performing when he would put on shows to distract the rest of his family from the gunfire and bombing taking place outside. At twelve years old, James Dean's mesmerizing performance in Rebel Without a Cause inspired Macdissi to dream about the possibility of an acting career in Hollywood. Despite living through the war and its horrors, his determination to pursue an acting career never wavered. He was accepted to the theater branch of the Institut De Beaux Arts, but the ongoing war kept shutting classes down so he left Lebanon to spend three years in Sweden where he learned Swedish and Swedish literature and embarked on a brief dancing career before being accepted to the Lee Strasberg Institute. He booked his first job three weeks after settling in Los Angeles.
Macdissi's fascination with people and cultures led him to travel extensively in Europe, South and Central America, North Africa and the Middle East. He speaks English, French, Arabic, Armenian, Swedish, and Spanish.
An avid equestrian and animal lover, Macdissi resides in Los Angeles.
In 2017, Macdissi executive produced The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the shockingly true story of an African-American woman who becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs in the early 1950s. The film was written and directed by George C. Wolfe and is based on the award-winning book by author Rebecca Skloot. Fellow producers included Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball.
Macdissi's extensive collaboration with Alan Ball consists of a vast array of film and television projects including the prolific HBO series Six Feet Under which garnered 44 Emmy Award nominations and 9 wins, 8 Golden Globe nominations, and achieved a total of 46 award wins. Macdissi won the Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble acting for a drama television series, in addition to critical and commercial praise. Variety included him as one of their featured players for his performance as 'Olivier,' the temperamental teacher of budding artist 'Claire' (Lauren Ambrose). He also served as an executive producer of the Cinemax series Banshee, which ran for four seasons. Macdissi portrayed 'Dr. Farid Shokrani' in the 2018 series Here and Now on HBO which he also executive produced. The series starred Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins.
Macdissi appeared in many films and television series including The Losers with Jeffery Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, and Idris Elba and Burning Palms alongside Rosemund Pike and Dylan McDermott. He also starred with Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, and Maria Bello in Towelhead as the domineering father, 'Rifat Maroun.' The film was based on the breakout 2005 novel by Alicia Erian, and made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Additional credits include writer/director Matthew Bright's film, Tiptoes, alongside Gary Oldman, Matthew McConaughey, and Kate Beckinsale. His other roles include Three Kings, from director David O. Russell which starred George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Bad Company, from director Joel Schumacher which starred Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock. Jag, X-files and many other shows.
Macdissi was born in Beirut, Lebanon to a Lebanese father and an Armenian mother and his upbringing was influenced by both cultures. He grew up during the civil war and discovered an innate talent for performing when he would put on shows to distract the rest of his family from the gunfire and bombing taking place outside. At twelve years old, James Dean's mesmerizing performance in Rebel Without a Cause inspired Macdissi to dream about the possibility of an acting career in Hollywood. Despite living through the war and its horrors, his determination to pursue an acting career never wavered. He was accepted to the theater branch of the Institut De Beaux Arts, but the ongoing war kept shutting classes down so he left Lebanon to spend three years in Sweden where he learned Swedish and Swedish literature and embarked on a brief dancing career before being accepted to the Lee Strasberg Institute. He booked his first job three weeks after settling in Los Angeles.
Macdissi's fascination with people and cultures led him to travel extensively in Europe, South and Central America, North Africa and the Middle East. He speaks English, French, Arabic, Armenian, Swedish, and Spanish.
An avid equestrian and animal lover, Macdissi resides in Los Angeles.
