Peter Coyote (born Rachmil Pinchus Ben Mosha Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar telecasts.
Coyote was one of the founders of the Diggers, an anarchist improv group active in Haight-Ashbury during the mid-1960s. Coyote was also an actor, writer and director with the San Francisco Mime Troupe; his prominence in the San Francisco counter-culture scene led to his being interviewed for the noted book, Voices from the Love Generation. He acted in and directed the first cross-country tour of the Minstrel Show, and his play Olive Pits, co-authored with Mime Troupe member Peter Berg, won the Troupe an Obie Award from the Village Voice. Coyote became a member, and later chairman, of the California Arts Council from 1975 to 1983. In the late 1970s, he shifted from acting on stage to acting in films. In the 1990s and 2000s, he acted in several television shows. He speaks fluent Spanish and French.
Known For
Erin Brockovich
(2000)
Kurt Potter
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
(1982)
Keys
A Walk to Remember
(2002)
Reverend Sullivan
Random Hearts
(1999)
Cullen Chandler
Sphere
(1998)
Captain Harold C. Barnes
Patch Adams
(1998)
Bill Davis
Southern Comfort
(1981)
Poole
Kika
(1993)
Nicholas Pierce
Bitter Moon
(1992)
Oscar
Unforgettable
(1996)
Don Bresler
Bon Voyage
(2003)
Alex Winckler
Femme Fatale
(2002)
Watts
Good Kill
(2015)
Langley
Hemingway & Gellhorn
(2012)
Maxwell Perkins
Jagged Edge
(1985)
Thomas Krasny
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis
(2005)
Uncle Charles
Full Filmography
Acting
The Hippie Temptation
(1967)
Digger
Die Laughing
(1980)
Davis
Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story
(1980)
Courtney Taylor
Tell Me a Riddle
(1980)
Young David
Southern Comfort
(1981)
Poole
People vs. Jean Harris
(1981)
George Bolen
Isabel's Choice
(1981)
Wynn Thomas
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
(1982)
Keys
Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann
(1982)
Porter Reese
Endangered Species
(1982)
Steele
Out
(1982)
Rex
The UFO Experience
(1982)
Breach of Contract
(1982)
Slayground
(1983)
Stone
Cross Creek
(1983)
Norton Baskin
Strangers Kiss
(1983)
Stanley, the Director
Heartbreakers
(1984)
Blue
Best Kept Secrets
(1984)
Frank Mitchell
Scorned and Swindled
(1984)
Anthony Ristelli
Jagged Edge
(1985)
Thomas Krasny
The Legend of Billie Jean
(1985)
Lt. Larry Ringwald
The Blue Yonder
(1985)
Max Knickerbocker
Jack Kerouac: King of the Beats
(1985)
Narrator
Contrary Warriors: A Film of the Crow Tribe
(1985)
Narrator (voice)
Child's Cry
(1986)
Matt Townsend
Outrageous Fortune
(1987)
Michael Sanders
A Man in Love
(1987)
Steve Elliott
Echoes in the Darkness
(1987)
William Bradfield Jr.
Sworn to Silence
(1987)
Sam Fischetti
Stacking
(1987)
The Photographer
Heart of Midnight
(1988)
Sharpe/Larry
Baja Oklahoma
(1988)
Slick Henderson
Collision Course: Labor Management Relations in America
(1988)
Narrator
Unconquered
(1989)
Richmond Flowers Sr.
The Man Inside
(1990)
Henry Tobel
Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter's Journey
(1990)
Narrator (voice)
High Art
(1991)
Peter Mandrake
Crooked Hearts
(1991)
Edward Warren
Keeper of the City
(1991)
Frank Nordhall
Living a Lie
(1991)
Matt
A Seduction in Travis County
(1991)
Frank Maguire
Bitter Moon
(1992)
Oscar
Earth and the American Dream
(1992)
Reader (voice)
Kika
(1993)
Nicholas Pierce
Breach of Conduct
(1994)
Col. Andrew Case
Buffalo Girls
(1995)
Buffalo Bill Cody
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
(1995)
Narrator
That Eye, the Sky
(1995)
Henry Warburton
Moonlight and Valentino
(1995)
Paul
American Cinema
(1995)
Narrator
The History of Rock 'n' Roll
(1995)
Self
Unforgettable
(1996)
Don Bresler
Terminal Justice
(1996)
Deacon Vivyan
Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story
(1996)
Ruben Borchardt
Dalva
(1996)
Michael
The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'
(1996)
Self
Road Ends
(1997)
Gene Gere
The Secrets of 007
(1997)
Narrator (voice)
Murder in My Mind
(1997)
Arthur Lefcourt
Alaska's Great Wilderness Denali: The Living Edens
(1997)
Narrator
Sphere
(1998)
Captain Harold C. Barnes
Patch Adams
(1998)
Bill Davis
Top of the World
(1998)
Doc 'The Butcher'
Two for Texas
(1998)
Jim Bowie
Indiscreet
(1998)
Detective Roos
Route 9
(1998)
Sheriff Dwayne Hogan
Avalanche: The White Death
(1998)
Narrator
Karmapa - Two Ways of Divinity
(1998)
Narrator, English version (voice)
Seeds Of Doubt
(1998)
San Francisco Diggers
(1998)
National Geographic's Storm of the Century
(1998)
Self - Narrator (voice)
Random Hearts
(1999)
Cullen Chandler
Emperor of Hemp
(1999)
Narrator
Last Call
(1999)
Xuave
National Geographic Explorer: The Battle For Midway
(1999)
Himself - Narrator
Execution of Justice
(1999)
Harvey Milk
Murder on Shadow Mountain
(1999)
Dennis 'Denny' Traynor
Erin Brockovich
(2000)
Kurt Potter
More Dogs Than Bones
(2000)
Detective Darren Cody
The Basket
(2000)
Martin Conlon
Red Letters
(2000)
Dennis Burke
The Wednesday Woman
(2000)
Don Wigulow
Search for the Submarine I-52
(2000)
Narrator
Suddenly Naked
(2001)
Lionel Heathcote
Midwives
(2001)
Stephen Hastings
Jack the Dog
(2001)
Alfred Stieglitz
Neighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco - The Fillmore
(2001)
Voice of Urban Renewal (Voice)
A Walk to Remember
(2002)
Reverend Sullivan
Femme Fatale
(2002)
Watts
A Time for Dancing
(2002)
Wyn Michaels
Purpose
(2002)
Bernard Elias
Polanski y los ojos del mal
(2002)
Himself
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 20th Anniversary Special
(2002)
Self
Empty Oceans, Empty Nets
(2002)
Narrator (voice)
Written In Blood
(2003)
John Traveller
Bon Voyage
(2003)
Alex Winckler
Northfork
(2003)
Eddie
Phenomenon II
(2003)
John Ringold
The Hebrew Hammer
(2003)
JJL Chief Bloomenbergensteinenthal
Bare Knuckle Filming: The Construction Of Northfork
(2003)
Narrator
Out of the Blue
(2003)
Narrator
Hollywood's Magical Island: Catalina
(2003)
Narrator (voice)
Shadow of Fear
(2004)
Congressman Henderson
The Great Role
(2004)
Rudolph Grichenberg
Carlos Castaneda: Enigma of a Sorcerer
(2004)
Oil on Ice
(2004)
Narrator
Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave
(2005)
Uncle Charles
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
(2005)
Narrator
Deepwater
(2005)
Herman Finch
A Little Trip to Heaven
(2005)
Frank
The Tribe
(2005)
Voice
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis
(2005)
Uncle Charles
The War Prayer
(2005)
Narrator
Commune
(2005)
self, Black Bear resident
Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil
(2006)
President Adair T. Manning
AKA Tommy Chong
(2006)
Himself
The Gospel of Judas
(2006)
Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home
(2006)
Narrator
One Man, One Cow, One Planet
(2007)
Narrator
Strange Culture
(2007)
Self
Hippies
(2007)
Himself
Resurrecting the Champ
(2007)
Ike Epstein
Fog City Mavericks
(2007)
Self - Narrator (voice)
Soldiers Of Conscience
(2007)
Self
The Sunday Man
(2007)
The Voice
$5 a Day
(2008)
Burt Kruger
Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief
(2008)
President Sterling
All Roads Lead Home
(2008)
Hock
Hope & Redemption: The Lena Baker Story
(2008)
Elliot Arthur
Adopt a Sailor
(2008)
Richard
Texas Gold
(2008)
Narrator
The Brain Fitness Program
(2008)
Alaska Far Away
(2008)
Narrator
A Single Woman
(2008)
Maury Maverick
Illicit: The Dark Trade
(2008)
Self - Narrator (voice)
Huxley on Huxley
(2009)
Self
With One Voice
(2009)
Narrator
Climbing Redwood Giants
(2009)
Self - Narrator (voice)
What The Tourist Should See
(2009)
Narrator (voice)
Torturing Democracy
(2009)
Narrator
Nazi Mystery - Twins From Brazil
(2009)
Narrstor (voice)
For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska
(2009)
Self - Narrator (voice)
DiDi Hollywood
(2010)
Michael McLean
What If Cannabis Cured Cancer
(2010)
Narration
Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction
(2010)
Narrator
Vampire Forensics
(2010)
The Gundown
(2011)
Thomas Morgan
These Amazing Shadows
(2011)
Self
Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology
(2011)
Narrator (voice)
This Is Not a Movie
(2011)
Here
(2011)
Storyteller
I am Fishead
(2011)
narrator
Last Will
(2011)
Judge Garner
Bag It
(2011)
Self
Oceans in Glass
(2011)
Narrator
Green Fire
(2011)
Aldo Leopold (voice)
Rise Above the Mark
(2012)
Narrator
Right to Play
(2012)
Narrator
Cold War on Ice: Summit Series '72
(2012)
Narrator
Hemingway & Gellhorn
(2012)
Maxwell Perkins
Valparaiso
(2012)
Edward G. Drexler
Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal
(2013)
Self
The Ghost Army
(2013)
Narrator (Voice)
Paolo Soleri: Beyond Form
(2013)
Narrator
Bangkok, We Have A Problem!
(2014)
Burt Lowell
Angel Azul
(2014)
Narrator
Realm of the Ancient Redwoods
(2014)
Narrator
The Price of Fame
(2015)
Crooker
Eva & Leon
(2015)
Le Père
Good Kill
(2015)
Langley
Girl on the Edge
(2015)
Hank Taylor
No Deposit
(2015)
Police Chief Williams
Robert Bly: A Thousand Years of Joy
(2015)
Himself
I Know What I Saw
(2015)
Narrator
A Coup in Camelot
(2015)
Narrator (voice)
Americana
(2016)
Ben
Who Wants to Live Forever? The Wisdom of Aging.
(2016)
Himself
The Reality of Truth
(2016)
Self
1 Mile To You
(2017)
Principal Umber
Spielberg
(2017)
Self
The Beatles, Hippies & Hells Angels: Inside the Crazy World of Apple
(2017)
Himself - Narrator
The Mayo Clinic
(2018)
Narrator
Summer of Love
(2018)
Himself
The Remarkable Life of John Weld
(2018)
Narrator
As If They Were Angels
(2018)
Narrator
The Etruscan Smile
(2019)
Professor
Polanski, le travail à l'oeuvre
(2019)
Self
Troubled Waters: A Turtle's Tale
(2019)
Self - Narrator (voice)
Olompali: A Hippie Odyssey
(2019)
narrator
The Atomic Tree
(2019)
Narrator
The Phenomenon
(2020)
Narrator (voice)
Sunseed: The Journey
(2020)
Narrator (voice)
Almost Thirteen
(2020)
Narrator
The Girl Who Believes in Miracles
(2021)
Sam Donovan
Downwinders and the Radioactive West
(2021)
Narrator (voice)
Nepal Beyond
(2021)
Narrator
Marriner Eccles: Father of the Modern Federal Reserve
(2021)
Narrator
Wandering...But Not Lost
(2021)
Narrator
The Co-op Wars
(2021)
Narrator
A Cloud Never Dies
(2022)
Narrator (voice)
The Weight of a Feather: The Liberty Wildlife Story
(2022)
Narrator
The Last Stand
(2022)
Narrator (voice)
Jerry Brown: The Disrupter
(2022)
Self
Moment of Contact
(2022)
Narrator (voice)
Against All Enemies
(2023)
Narrator
Fields of Gold
(2023)
Narrator
Bad Faith
(2024)
Narrator (voice)
Crew