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Peter Bogdanovich began his career as an actor in the 1950s, studying with the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler, and appearing on television and in summer stock.

Bogdanovich was also influenced by the French critics of the 1950s who wrote for Cahiers du Cinema, especially critic-turned-director Francois Truffaut, and wrote articles for Esquire Magazine. In 1968—following the example of Cahiers du Cinema critics Truffaut, Jean Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer, who had created the Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) by making their own films—Bogdanovich became a director. The 32-year-old Bogdanovich was hailed by critics when his most famous film, The Last Picture Show, was released in 1971. The film received eight Academy Award? nominations, including Best Director; Cloris Leachman and Ben Johnson won in the supporting acting categories. Bogdanovich followed up The Last Picture Show with two major hits, What's Up Doc? and Paper Moon, a Depression-era comedy starring Ryan O'Neal that won his 10-year-old daughter Tatum an Oscar? as Best Supporting Actress. His subsequent film credits as director include Daisy Miller, At Long Last Love, Nickelodeon and They All Laughed.

Bogdanovich then turned back to his first avocation, writing, to pen a memoir of his romance with aspiring actress Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered shortly before they were to be married.

The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten (1960-1980) was published in 1984. The book was a response to Teresa Carpenter's Death of a Playmate article written for The Village Voice that had won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize. The article served as the basis of Bob Fosse's film Star 80, in which Bogdanovich was portrayed as the fictional director Aram Nicholas.

In 1985, Bogdanovich directed Mask, starring Cher and Eric Stoltz, followed in 1990 by Texasville, a sequel to The Last Picture Show. In 2001, he directed The Cat's Meow, starring Kirsten Dunst, and began a recurring guest role on the HBO series The Sopranos as Dr. Melfi's analyst, as well as serving as a guest director.

He will next direct Roman Nights, which brings to life the tumultuous twenty-five-year friendship between actress Anna Magnani and playwright Tennessee Williams, based on the play by Franco D'Alessandro that was mounted in New York in 2002 and London in 2004 to rave reviews.

Bogdanovich has also steadily produced invaluable books about the cinema, especially "Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors and This is Orson Welles."