Peter Dinklage Net Worth

Peter Hayden Dinklage was born at the Jersey Shore in New Jersey on June 11, 1969. Peter was born with a type of dwarfism known as achondroplasia. In fifth grade, Peter appeared as the lead in the Delbarton School production of The Velveteen Rabbit. Thrilled by the audience’s response to his acting, it was when Peter saw Sam Shepard’s play True West that he knew he wanted to be a respected American actor.

He was in stage plays at Bennington College. But, acting is a challenging career to break into, perhaps even harder when you have achondroplasia, and Peter worked in a data processing center while seeking acting jobs. He and his friend Ian Bell tried to start up a theater company, but it failed.

Early Career

Peter wanted to be taken seriously as an actor, so he turned down many jobs he felt would only play on his size, like those of leprechauns and elves. His first film debut was in Living in Oblivion, which starred Steve Buscemi, and did have him playing a dwarf. In this independent film about making an independent film, Dinklage appears in a dream sequence. But, his line, “Even I don’t have dreams with dwarves in them!” let the audience know that he felt using dwarves to add mystery to a film was ridiculous.

His next role, as a building manager, was in Bullet, a crime drama featuring Tupac Shakur and Mickey Rourke.

His next film was a comedy, 13 Moons. During an interview for 13 Moons, he was asked to describe his ideal role. and he said a “romantic lead” who gets the girl.

The Station Agent

Peter Dinklage finally got his wish with a breakout role in 2003’s The Station Agent. The film is about a man who inherits a train station and moves to New Jersey to be left alone. But, his Finbar McBride character has two of the film’s female characters show a romantic interest in him. His performance received critical acclaim as it went against the stereotypical role Peter was often offered.  The Station Agent won the Independent Spirit and BAFTA awards for Best Original Screenplay.

Off-Broadway

Peter Dinklage has appeared in several off-Broadway stage productions, including The Killing Act, Richard III, and Theater of the New Ear (with Meryl Streep).

More Early Roles

Peter Dinklage continued to get regular film roles. In 2003, he played a children’s book author whom the lead character, Buddy the Elf, mistakes for a fellow elf. Once again, Dinklage was able to use humor to play up his anger by being seen as only a dwarf.

Additional film roles include Find Me Guilty (with Vin Diesel),  Death at a Funeral, Underdog, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Peter Dinklage appeared in the popular TV show Nip/Tuck as lead Conor McNamara’s nanny, who has an affair with Julia, McNamara’s wife.

Game of Thrones

In 2011, Peter Dinklage got his most memorable role to date when he was asked to play Tyrion Lannister in the HBO drama series, Game of Thrones. For his portrayal, Dinklage won four Prime Time Emmy Awards. He is also the only actor on Game of Thrones that received an Emmy nomination for acting each season the show ran. It concluded in 2019.

Later Film Roles

As military scientist Dr. Bolivar Trask, Peter Dinklage appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past. He also joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe when he appeared in Avengers: Infinity War as Eitri, King of the Dwarves of Nidavellir. Dinklage recently appeared as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cyrano, written by his wife, Erica Schmidt. He even played a mobster in 2021’s I Care a Lot.

Voice Work

Peter has done several voice roles. He appeared in The Angry Birds Movie, The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special, Ice Age: Continental Drift, The Angry Birds Movie 2, The Croods: A New Age, and Hitpig.

What is Peter Dinklage’s Net Worth?

Because of his steady stream of work over the past 25 years, Peter Dinklage’s net worth is estimated to be $25 million. In 2016, Peter Dinklage’s net worth was increased greatly by his role in Game of Thrones. For playing Tyrion Lannister, he originally received $150,000 per episode. But, the popularity of his character doubled the Peter Dinklage net worth as his Thrones salary grew to $300,000 per episode.

Toward the end of the series, he received $1.2 million per episode. It is believed the last two seasons of Game of Thrones increased Peter Dinklage’s net worth by $14.3 million. He may also receive royalties from Tyrion Lannister action figures that were released due to the character’s popularity and the show to further add to his net worth.

Who is Peter Dinklage?

Peter Dinklage spent his youth in Brookside, a historic section of Mendham Township in New Jersey. His father, John Carl Dinklage, was an insurance salesman, and his mother, Diane Dinklage, taught music at the elementary school level. As children, Peter and his older brother Jonathan used to put on puppet musicals for the neighbors. He states his brother is the family’s “real performer.” Peter’s older brother, Jonathan, is a professional violinist.

In interviews, Peter Dinklage admitted that he was bitter and angry about his size in his early life but learned he had to tear down those walls he built through humor.

During the early 90s, Peter Dinklage suffered a facial injury when his punk-funk-rap band Whizzy played at CBGB, and he was accidentally hit in the face by someone’s knee. Peter Dinklage still has a scar from his eyebrow down to his neck.

Peter Dinklage’s Personal Life

Peter Dinklage married Erica Schmidt, a playwright and theater director, in 2005. The couple has two children, a daughter born in 2011 and a second born in 2017. The couple is so secretive about their relationship and family that even the gender of the second child is unknown.

Still, in interviews, Peter Dinklage says Erica is “very inspiring,” and Erica calls her husband “sexy.”

Fun Facts About Peter Dinklage

• Peter Dinklage has been a vegetarian since he was 16 years old.
• Peter Dinklage is an activist for women and animal rights. However, he hasn’t been a spokesperson for little people’s rights, stating that each person has a different experience and ways of dealing with their size.
• Peter Dinklage received two awards for playing Tyrion Lannister – a Golden Globe award in 2011 and a Screen Actor’s Guild award in 2020.

Peter Dinklage FAQs