Pulp Fiction, The Mask actor Peter Greene dies aged 60
Peter Greene played Zed in Pulp Fiction. (Supplied: IMDb)
In short:
Pulp Fiction actor Peter Greene has died aged 60.
He is best known for playing villain characters in titles including The Mask and The Usual Suspects.
His cause of death was not immediately released.
Peter Greene, a character actor best known for his role as the iconic villain, Zed in Pulp Fiction, has died.
He was 60.
He died in his home in New York City, his manager, Gregg Edwards confirmed on Friday.
His cause of death was not immediately released.
"He was just a terrific guy," Mr Edwards said.
"Arguably one of the greatest character actors on the planet; has worked with everybody."
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Greene landed some of his first leading roles in Laws of Gravity in 1992 and Clean, Shaven in 1993.
In 1994, he played the memorable villain in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, who is brought in to torture characters played by Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames.
That same year, he played another leading villain opposite Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz in The Mask.
Greene was working on two projects when he died, including a documentary about the federal government's withdrawal of funding from the US Agency for International Development, according to Edwards.
He was also about to begin production with Mickey Rourke on an independent thriller called Mascots.
Peter Greene was known for playing villain characters. (Supplied: IMDb)
"We've been friends for over a decade," Mr Edwards said.
"Just the nicest man."
In a rare interview with Sissy Gamache, Greene said he initially was "disappointed" with the script for Pulp Fiction and he turned down the role.
"The way it was written wasn't my cup of tea," he said.
"Quentin [Tarantino], I don't know why he pressed for me to do it, but he came back a couple of times and then I finally said, 'I'll do it if I can do it any way I wanted to,' thinking he would never say that he would allow me to do it.
"We just improvised the whole scene and we kept the language that was there."
Greene was known for his ability to play villains with other credits including Redfoot in The Usual Suspects and villain roles in Judgment Night, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Training Day, and The Bounty Hunter.
He is survived by a sister and a brother.
AP/ABC