KVIFF President's Award to Be Presented to American Actor Peter Sarsgaard

The 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will present the KVIFF President’s Award to American actor Peter Sarsgaard, winner of a number of awards such as the Volpi Cup from the Venice Film Festival, plus a nomination for an Emmy® and one for a Golden Globe.

Peter Sarsgaard is an Emmy® Award-nominated actor who is renowned for his range and ability to access what is behind the often-complicated facades of the characters he plays.

Most recently, Sarsgaard stars in director Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5, which was nominated for a 2025 Golden Globe in the category ‘Best Motion Picture Drama.’ The film had its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival, receiving rave reviews, and shortly thereafter screened at the Telluride Film Festival. September 5 covers the events that took place during the 1972 Munich Olympics, where an American sports broadcasting crew finds itself thrust into covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes. The film also stars John Magaro, Leonie Benesch, Ben Chaplin and is produced by Sean Penn.

He can be seen as ‘Tommy Molto’ in Presumed Innocent, an Apple TV+ series inspired by the novel of the same name by Scott Turow. The show tells the story of a horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorneys’ office when one of its own is suspected of the crime. The series, created by David E. Kelley, stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Renate Reinsve and Ruth Negga. The show premiered in June 2024.

Sarsgaard wrapped production on Warner Bros.’ The Bride!, which is set to release later this year. Directed by his wife, Maggie Gyllenhaal, the film takes place in 1930s Chicago and puts a spin on the classic Frankenstein story. Peter will star opposite Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley.

Sarsgaard starred in Michel Franco’s Memory, opposite Jessica Chastain. The film explores society’s misfits and how their inability to conform to expectations is often rooted in events only existing in their memories. The film premiered at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival where he was awarded the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.

In 2021, he was integral in the Gotham Award-winning film, The Lost Daughter, written and directed by his wife Maggie Gyllenhaal, based on the novel of the same title by Elena Ferrante. The story follows a woman whose beach vacation takes a dark turn when she begins to confront the troubles of her past. The film also stars Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson, and Ed Harris. The film garnered Oscar Nominations for both Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley as well as a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

In that same year, he starred in Dopesick, loosely based on the NY TIMES Best-seller by Beth Macy. The show took viewers to the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Big Pharma to a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA. Created by Danny Strong, and directed by Barry Levinson, the show starred Michael Keaton, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Kaitlyn Dever and went on to be nominated for 7 Emmy Awards, including Best Limited or Anthology Series, and earned Sarsgaard his first Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series.

Previous notable credits include: Joseph Schuman and Austin Stark’s Coup!, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, opposite Robert Pattinson, Experimenter opposite Winona Ryder directed by Michael Almereyda, Pablo Larrain’s award-winning film, Jackie, where he played Robert F. Kennedy opposite Natalie Portman, Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine opposite Cate Blanchett, Ed Zwick’s Pawn Sacrifice, Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves, Year of the Dog directed by Mike White, An Education directed by Lone Scherfig and starring opposite Carey Mulligan, Kinsey written and directed by Bill Condon starring opposite Liam Neeson, Jarhead directed by Sam Mendes and starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, The Dying Gaul opposite Campbell Scott and Patricia Clarkson, Garden State directed by Zach Braff and playing opposite Natalie Portman, Shattered Glass directed by Billy Ray and starring opposite Hayden Christensen, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe.

On the big screen, Sarsgaard first received wide acclaim for his role as John Lotter in Kimberly Pierce’s Boys Don’t Cry. Starring opposite Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny, he received critical praise for his searing portrayal of the violent ex-con ill-equipped to deal with a startling discovery.

In 1995, Sarsgaard made his theatrical debut in the Off-Broadway production of Horton Foote's Laura Dennis, which was directed by James Houghton. In 2008 Sarsgaard made his Broadway debut as Trigorin in Anton Chekov’s The Seagull opposite Kristin Scott Thomas and Carey Mulligan. This was the beginning of his critically acclaimed Anton Chekov run, which was followed by an off-Broadway run of Uncle Vanya and culminated with Three Sisters both starring opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal. Three Sisters was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway and a Drama Desk Award. In April 2015, he completed a six-week run of Hamlet at the Classic Stage Company which found him reunited with his Three Sisters and Uncle Vanya director, Austin Pendleton.

Sarsgaard attended the Actors’ Studio Program at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and currently resides in Brooklyn with his wife, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, and their two children.

Peter Sarsgaard will receive the KVIFF President’s Award at the opening ceremony of KVIFF 59. In his honor, the festival will screen the journalism drama Shattered Glass (2003).