- Brother-in-law of Jake Gyllenhaal.
- Is an avid runner. Runs 50 to 60 miles per week.
- Became a father for the first time at age 35 when his fiancée (now wife) Maggie Gyllenhaal gave birth to their daughter Ramona Sarsgaard on 3 October 2006.
- Admits to having a lifelong fear of flying.
- Engaged to Maggie Gyllenhaal. (April 2006)
- His baby face; his soft, strangely ominous voice; and often bizarre, unstable characters have led to him being compared to John Malkovich, who played his father in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).
- Became a father for the second time at age 41 when his wife Maggie Gyllenhaal gave birth to their daughter Gloria Ray Sarsgaard on 19 April 2012.
- His paternal grandfather was of half-Danish and half-Norwegian descent. His other ancestry includes German, Austrian, Ulster-Scots (Scots-Irish), English, and Irish. His surname originates in Denmark.
- He studied with legendary acting coach Terry Schreiber at the T. Schreiber Studio in New York City, like Edward Norton, Jeanine Louise DeName, and Broadway actress Kimilee Bryant.
- Childhood hero was Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett.
- He attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he co-founded a comedy improvisation group called Mama's Pot Roast.
- He attended the Actors' Studio Program at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
- Good friends with Vera Farmiga.
- Is friends with ultra-marathon champion Scott Jurek.
- He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Boys Don't Cry (1999).
- Co-starring with Elisabeth Shue in the off-Broadway revival of "Burn This" by Lanford Wilson. (2003)
- He has appeared in one film that has been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: An Education (2009).
- Son-in-law of Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner.
- Appearing on Broadway as Trigorin in "The Seagull." (October 2008)
- In Garden State (2004), Peter's character collects Desert Storm trading cards. In Jarhead (2005), Peter's character fights in Desert Storm.
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