If you’ve watched prestige cable drama, network procedurals, or a beloved family dramedy at any point in the last 25 years, there’s a good chance Peter Krause was somewhere on your screen. He’s not the kind of actor who chases headlines. He’s the kind who shows up, does steady, layered work, and ends up as the emotional center of shows people still talk about a decade later.
That’s a strange kind of fame — recognizable, respected, but rarely dissected. This article pulls together who Peter Krause actually is, how his career took shape, and why his name keeps surfacing in conversations about the best character actors working in American television.
Who Is Peter Krause?
Peter William Krause was born on August 12, 1965, in Alexandria, Minnesota, and grew up in Roseville, a suburb of St. Paul. Both of his parents worked as teachers, and he grew up with a sister and a brother in a household that, by most accounts, wasn’t particularly show-business oriented.
He originally had his sights set on track and field, competing in pole vaulting. An injury redirected him, and — as the story is usually told — a crush on a girl auditioning for a school play is what actually got him into acting in the first place. He didn’t land a part in that particular play, but he found something he wanted to keep doing.
He enrolled at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, initially as a pre-med student, before switching to English literature and graduating in 1987. From there, he moved to New York City to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, earning a Master of Fine Arts in acting in 1990.
Why His Career Story Matters
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Krause’s path is worth paying attention to because it’s not a story of overnight success. He spent years doing the unglamorous groundwork that most actors do — waiting tables, small guest spots, regional theater — before any of it paid off. That matters for anyone trying to understand how a career like his actually gets built, versus how it looks from the outside once someone is established.
While living in New York, Krause worked as a bartender and crossed paths with a young writer named Aaron Sorkin. That relationship would later shape a meaningful chunk of his career. His first credited role was in the low-budget horror film Blood Harvest (1987), and his early TV work included an anthology comedy called Carol & Company, alongside guest appearances on shows like Beverly Hills, 90210 and Seinfeld.
Key Roles That Defined His Career
Sports Night (1998–2000)
Sorkin cast Krause as Casey McCall, a sportscaster at a struggling cable show, in Sports Night. The series only lasted two seasons on ABC, but it became a cult favorite and is often cited as a preview of Sorkin’s signature rapid-fire dialogue style, later refined on The West Wing.
Six Feet Under (2001–2005)
This is the role most people associate with Krause. As Nate Fisher, the eldest son in a family of funeral home directors on HBO’s Six Feet Under, he anchored one of the most acclaimed dramas of the 2000s. The performance earned him three Primetime Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. As part of the show’s ensemble, he was nominated for seven Screen Actors Guild Awards and won twice for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Dirty Sexy Money (2007–2009)
He played Nick George, a lawyer entangled with one of New York’s wealthiest families, opposite Donald Sutherland. The show was well-reviewed but cancelled after two seasons — a fairly common fate for smart network dramas in that era.
Parenthood (2010–2015)
As Adam Braverman, Krause led NBC’s ensemble family drama for its full six-season run. This is also where he met Lauren Graham, his co-star on the series (the two had actually crossed paths years earlier on Caroline in the City). They were in a relationship from 2010 to 2021.
9-1-1 (2018–2025)
Krause played Bobby Nash, a fire captain, across seven seasons of the Fox/ABC procedural 9-1-1, also serving as an executive producer. His character was written out during the 2025 season as part of a broader creative shift on the show — a reminder that even long-running leads on hit shows aren’t guaranteed permanence.
Line of Fire (2026)
Krause is set to headline an NBC drama, Line of Fire, playing a character named Mike Hollingsworth, with the pilot slated for September 2026. It’s his next major lead role following his exit from 9-1-1.
Common Misconceptions About Peter Krause
“He’s a one-role actor.” People who only know him from 9-1-1 sometimes assume that’s the extent of his range. In reality, he’s carried five different network and cable dramas as a lead over 25 years, in genres ranging from workplace comedy to family drama to procedural.
“He’s new to television.” Because 9-1-1 introduced him to a younger audience, some viewers assume he’s a relatively recent addition to TV. His first screen credit dates back to 1987, and he’s been working steadily since.
“His personal life overshadows his work.” His long relationship with Lauren Graham gets more search traffic than some of his individual performances, which says more about celebrity-gossip incentives than about where his actual career achievements lie.
What Makes Him Effective as an Actor
Watching his body of work end to end, a pattern emerges: Krause tends to play men who are outwardly composed but privately working through something — grief, ambition, responsibility, guilt. Nate Fisher, Adam Braverman, and Bobby Nash are different characters in different genres, but each one carries that same internal tension. It’s a specific and fairly hard-to-fake skill, and it’s likely why showrunners keep building long-form dramas around him instead of casting him in flashier, more externally dramatic roles.
Best Ways to Explore His Work
If you’re new to Peter Krause’s filmography, a reasonable starting point depends on what you’re after:
- For prestige drama: Start with Six Feet Under. It’s the performance that established his range and remains his most critically decorated work.
- For something lighter but still smart: Sports Night is short (two seasons) and holds up well for fans of workplace comedy-dramas.
- For a family drama with a big ensemble: Parenthood is the most emotionally accessible entry point and the easiest to recommend broadly.
- For his most recent, widely-viewed work: 9-1-1 is the show most casual audiences will already recognize him from.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Peter Krause still acting? Yes. After his character was written out of 9-1-1 in 2025, he’s set to star in the NBC drama Line of Fire, premiering in 2026.
What is Peter Krause best known for? Most critics point to his role as Nate Fisher in HBO’s Six Feet Under as his defining performance, though Parenthood and 9-1-1 introduced him to much larger audiences.
Did Peter Krause win an Emmy? He received three Primetime Emmy nominations for Six Feet Under but did not win in that category. As part of the show’s cast, he did win Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Are Peter Krause and Lauren Graham still together? They were in a relationship from 2010 to 2021 and are no longer a couple.
What was Peter Krause’s first acting role? His first credited role was in the 1987 horror film Blood Harvest, though his first significant TV recognition came later, through guest roles and Sports Night.
Where did Peter Krause go to college? He attended Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, graduating with a degree in English literature, and later earned an MFA in acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
How did Peter Krause get his start with Aaron Sorkin? The two met while Krause was working as a bartender in New York City, before Sorkin later cast him as the lead in Sports Night.
Final Thoughts
Peter Krause‘s career doesn’t follow the arc of a typical Hollywood leading man. There’s no single breakout moment that catapulted him to stardom — instead, there’s a two-decade pattern of choosing well-written, character-driven roles and doing quietly excellent work in them. That consistency is rarer than it sounds, and it’s a big part of why his name keeps coming up whenever people talk about actors who elevate whatever show they’re in.