Peter Horton

Peter Horton was born in Bellevue, Washington, USA, on August 20, 1953. He pursued higher education at Principia College in Illinois and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music composition from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Horton began his acting career in television, appearing in series such as ‘St. Elsewhere,’ ‘The White Shadow,’ ‘Dallas,’ and ‘Eight Is Enough.’ A notable early role was playing Jacob in the 1982 feature film ‘Split Image’ and Burt in the 1984 Stephen King adaptation ‘Children of the Corn.’ In 1987, he gained widespread recognition for his portrayal of Professor Gary Shepherd on the television series ‘Thirtysomething,’ a role he held until 1991, which led to People magazine naming him one of the ’50 Most Beautiful People.’

Horton’s career expanded into directing in the late 1980s, marking a significant turning point. He directed episodes of ‘Thirtysomething’ and ‘The Wonder Years.’ His directorial work further developed with series such as ‘The Shield’ (2003-2004) and the critically acclaimed medical drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ where he directed seven episodes between 2005 and 2006. He also served as an executive producer and co-executive producer on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ from 2005 to 2007, spanning 56 episodes. Beyond television, he directed the 1995 feature film ‘The Cure.’

In recent years, Horton has continued to balance his roles as director and producer. He was an executive producer for ‘The Philanthropist’ in 2009 and co-created and executive produced ‘American Odyssey’ in 2015. He played a key role as an executive producer for 88 episodes of ‘New Amsterdam’ from 2018 to 2022, also directing six episodes of the series during this period. Horton signed a development deal with Universal TV in 2011, which was extended in 2015, and operates his own production company, Pico Creek Productions. His work has earned him multiple nominations, including three Primetime Emmy nominations and DGA Award nominations for outstanding directorial achievements.