Jesse Peretz

Biography

Jesse Peretz is an American film and television director, producer, writer, and former musician whose career has moved between alternative rock, music videos, feature films, and acclaimed television. Born on May 19, 1968, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he developed an interest in music at an early age and later became a founding member of the alternative rock band The Lemonheads.

Early Life and Music Career

Peretz grew up in Cambridge and attended Harvard University. Before establishing himself as a filmmaker, he pursued music and helped form The Lemonheads in 1986 with Evan Dando and Ben Deily. He played bass for the group during its early years, from 1986 to 1989, and was part of the band's formative alternative-punk period.

Peretz eventually left the band to concentrate on photography and filmmaking. He continued his association with The Lemonheads as a photographer and directed several of their music videos. This transition from music into visual storytelling became the foundation of his later career.

Music Videos and Commercials

After leaving music as a performer, Peretz established himself as a music-video director. He worked with artists including The Lemonheads, Foo Fighters, Nada Surf, The Breeders, and others. Among his best-known projects was the Foo Fighters video for “Learn to Fly,” which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Music Video. He also directed Foo Fighters videos including “Big Me” and “Low.”

His work expanded beyond music videos into television commercials and comedy projects. He collaborated with Clay Tarver and Donal Logue on the MTV comedy segments featuring “Jimmy the Cab Driver,” further developing his distinctive mixture of humor and character-driven storytelling.

Film Career

Peretz made his feature-film directorial debut with First Love, Last Rites (1997), an adaptation of Ian McEwan's short story. The film marked his transition from short-form visual work into narrative filmmaking.

He followed it with The Château (2001), a comedy-drama centered on two brothers who travel to France after inheriting a country house. He subsequently directed The Ex (2006), starring Zach Braff and Amanda Peet.

One of his most recognizable films is Our Idiot Brother (2011), starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, and Rashida Jones. The comedy-drama follows an idealistic man whose unconventional approach to life creates complications for his three sisters. The film demonstrated Peretz's ability to combine humor with emotionally grounded family relationships.

In 2018, Peretz directed Juliet, Naked, a romantic comedy-drama based on the novel by Nick Hornby. The film starred Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, and Chris O'Dowd and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Its story about relationships, music fandom, and second chances also allowed Peretz to draw on his own background in the music world.

Television Career

Peretz became particularly prominent as a television director. He directed numerous episodes of acclaimed American series, including Girls, Nurse Jackie, New Girl, The Mindy Project, The Office, Orange Is the New Black, Divorce, GLOW, Shrill, High Fidelity, Teenage Bounty Hunters, The Shrink Next Door, Modern Love, As We See It, City on Fire, and The Summer I Turned Pretty.

His work on Girls was particularly significant, with Peretz directing 18 episodes between 2012 and 2017. He later directed several episodes of GLOW, the comedy-drama series about women competing in professional wrestling, and his television work earned him recognition from the Primetime Emmy Awards.

His later credits include High Fidelity, The Shrink Next Door, As We See It, City on Fire, The Girls on the Bus, and The Summer I Turned Pretty. His credits have continued into 2026, including work on the television series Love Story.