Peter William Krause is an American film and television actor and film producer.
Krause was born to a mother who taught in the second grade and a high school English teacher father. He was raised in the St. Paul suburbs. He has two siblings, Michael Krause and Amy Krause.
Krause graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College, in St. Peter, Minnesota, with a degree in English literature. He also has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting from New York University.
In the early 1990s, Krause made a number of guest appearances on television shows such as Seinfeld, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Ellen. Starting in 1996, Krause appeared in a recurring role as Cybill Shepherd's son-in-law Kevin on her sitcom Cybill for four seasons. From 1998 to 2000, Krause also portrayed the character Casey McCall on the ABC comedy Sports Night, created by his friend Aaron Sorkin. Although the show received considerable critical acclaim, it struggled to find an audience and was canceled after two seasons.
Krause starred in the HBO drama series Six Feet Under from 2001 to 2005. He received seven award nominations (including three Emmy nominations) for his portrayal of funeral director Nate Fisher.
Krause appeared on Broadway in the summer of 2004 in a revival of Arthur Miller's After the Fall. In 2009 Krause was cast as the role of Adam Braverman in an upcoming NBC comedy-drama Parenthood. One year later in March 2010, Parenthood premiered as a mid-season replacement. In May, the show was picked up for a full second season.
Krause will appear in the 2010 fantasy film Beastly, based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name.
Krause and his former girlfriend, Christine King, have a son named Roman who was born in November 2001. He is currently living in Los Angeles.He used to date actress Alicia Witt, with whom he appeared on Cybill.