Peter Sullivan was born into a political family and he was expected to follow a career in politics and the law. He joined the National Youth Theatre at 17 and then trained at Central before studying in New York under Uta Hagen and at The Actors' Studio and then became a member of the Catalan theatre group La Fura Dels Baus. Over three decades he has played multiple leading roles in film and television in the US, UK and Europe and has been a National Theatre player for over 30 years. He speaks four languages and has performed in all of them.