Peter Kent was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. At six years of age his parents divorced and he moved to New Jersey with his mother, a move responsible for his dual Canadian-US citizenship. Returning again to Canada at age 11, he and his mother ran a local bed-and-breakfast boarding house while he attended Nanaimo Senior Secondary school on Vancouver Island, and worked in a variety of West Coast jobs. He also worked on the road as a sound engineer for various Canadian bands, for five years.
In 1984, having done Shakespeare in various local theater groups, he decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a film career, although he had no previous film experience. After living in the YMCA off Hollywood's Sunset Strip for six months, he was taken under the wing of James Cameron to double Schwarzenegger in Terminator. His minimal stunt experience did not stop him from quickly learning the ropes and becoming one of the most celebrated and highly paid stuntmen in the business.
He has studied with several different Los Angeles-based drama groups; his longtime coach has been Zina Provendie, former head of MGM's drama department for 26 years.
After a 14-year absence, Kent returned home to Vancouver, BC, where he met the love of his life, Marcia Kent. The two were engaged in Venice, Italy in December of 2005 and married in Victoria, BC in August of 2007.
