Peter Jay Fernandez

Peter Jay Fernandez taught in the graduate theatre program in the College of Performing Arts at The New School from 2011–2019, where he served as co-head of Acting from 2017-2019. He has also taught at Yale School of Drama, Sarah Lawrence College, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, the Black Arts Institute, the Brown University/Trinity Repertory MFA Program, and the Berklee College of Music. He is a teacher and mentor of established actors and acting faculty from graduate and undergraduate programs across the country who participate in the Actors’ Center Teaching Development Program in New York City.

Fernandez’s acting career spans decades, with roles on and off-Broadway, in regional theater, and in film and television. He was most recently featured on Broadway in All The Way portraying Roy Wilkins, Shoeshiner, and Aaron Henry. He originated the role of Caesar in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean at the Goodman Theater, the role of Curtis Lowe in the premiere of Ben Bettenbender's Bliss at the Rattlestick Theatre Company, and the role of ‘the Oldest Old Man’ in Father Comes Home from the Wars, by Suzan Lori Parks, at the Public Theater. Other work in New York includes: Thunder Knocking On the Door at the Minetta Lane (Audelco Award, Helen Hayes Nomination); George C. Wolfe's Jelly's Last Jamat at the Virginia Theatre; The Merchant of Venice starring Dustin Hoffman, directed by Sir Peter Hall at the Richard Rodgers; Julius Caesar, The Winter's Tale, As You Like It, Henry Vlll, Spell #7, and more at Public/Delacorte Theatres; Once Around the City at Second Stage; Phaedra in Delirium at Classic Stage; Checkmates and Red Speedo at the New Federal; Flyin' West at BAM/Majestic; The Tooth of Crime and Angel City at La Mama; and The Pain and the Itch at Playwright's Horizons. He has acted regionally at Long Wharf, McCarter, Hartford Stage, Seattle Rep, ACT (Seattle), Milwaukee Rep, Arena Stage, Alliance, Cincinnati Rep, Old Globe, Cleveland Playhouse and Intiman theaters, among others. Fernandez’s television and film credits include Luke Cage, Brawl in Cell Block 99, Blacklist: The Redemption, Shades of Blue, Gotham, Elementary, The Good Wife, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Damages, Cosby, NY Undercover, The Prosecutors, Funny Valentines, and The Egoists, among others.