Peter Coyote

Actor, narrator, director, author, and smooth customer.

Next to Stacy Keach, he is one of America's best-known voice narrators. His mellow voice is often compared with Henry Fonda.

Before becoming an actor at the age of 39, he spent 15 years as a counterculture rebel during The Sixties. He wrote a memoir of that time called Sleeping Where I Fall.

It was not until 1982 that he landed a big-time role -- playing the 'good' scientist, Keys, in Steven Spielberg's ET the Extraterrestrial. He then found himself in high demand in Hollywood, but seemed ill-fit for a leading man. Later, Coyote was cast as the overzealous prosecutor in Jagged Edge (1985) and finally seemed to have found his screen persona, that of the antagonist who may be right.

Beginning in The Eighties, Peter began doing voice-overs, which has led to a very successful side venture, now numbering over 120 films. He continues to lend his voice to narrations for commercials and documentaries, and often donates his voice to films that support issues close to his heart.

Tropes:

 * Awesome McCoolname: There are several theories as to why he chose the stage name of Peter Coyote. The actor is reluctant to discuss the change, apparently the end result of an evening spent experimenting with controlled substances.
 * Former Teen Rebel
 * Hey It's That Guy
 * One-Scene Wonder: He rolled into Deadwood, was a Badass, told Smug Snake Cy Tolliver that he'd have him hanged if he could, and rolled out leaving a trail of Badassery in his wake. In one episode.

Notable screen roles:

 * Keys in ET the Extraterrestrial (1982)
 * Det. Ringwald in The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)
 * Cap. Harold C. Barnes in Sphere (1998)
 * Kurt Potter in Erin Brockovich (2000)
 * Dennis Ryland in The 4400 (12 episodes, 2004-06)
 * Special Agent Virgil "Web" Webster in The Inside (13 episodes 2005)
 * General Cook in Deadwood ("Sold Under Sin", 2004)
 * Ned Quinn in NCIS ("Silent Night", 2005)
 * Warren Keaton in Commander in Chief (7 episodes, 2005-06)
 * President Dave Segovia in Flash Forward (2 episodes, 2009)
 * D.A. Jerry Hardin in Law and Order LA (8 episodes, 2010-11)