Are James Arness and Peter Graves Brothers?

Key Takeaways 

• Gunsmoke’s James Arness and Mission Impossible’s Peter Graves were brothers, born three years apart. 

• James never studied acting before going to Hollywood.  

• Peter directed an episode of Gunsmoke but never played opposite his brother. 

If you notice an uncanny resemblance between the two actors, you might wonder: Are James Arness and Peter Graves brothers? Yes! But unlike today’s well-known sibling stars, such as Mark and Donnie Wahlberg, or Dennis and Randy Quaid, Arness and Graves have different last names. 

Arness and Graves had vastly different Hollywood careers. 

Arness is best known for playing Dodge City’s Marshal Matt Dillon on the long-running Western series, Gunsmoke (1955-1975), and later frontiersman Zeb Macahan in How the West Was Won (1976-1979). 

Graves is famously known for his role as Jim Phelps, the director of the Impossible Missions Force in the spy series Mission Impossible (1966-1973), as rancher Jim Newton in the Western series Fury (1955-1960), and as Captain Clarence Oveur in the hilarious movie, Airplane! (1980).  

Both were born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to parents Rolf and Ruth Aurness, James on May 26, 1923, and Peter on March 18, 1926. After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II, James became a radio announcer in Minneapolis. Later, a friend persuaded him to move to California, where money could be made in the movies. His film debut was in The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), with Loretta Young who won the Best Actress Academy Award. He was billed as James Aurness. After the movie wrapped, he dropped the “u” and the newly christened James Arness emerged.  

After his stint in the U.S. Air Force, Peter, too headed to Hollywood. To differentiate himself from his now established brother, James, he took the surname “Graves,” a name from his mother’s side of the family. His first major movie role was Pete Dandridge in the low-budget Western, Rogue River (1951). He went on to play Sgt. Frank Price in the WWII film Stalag 17, among his many movie and TV appearances, over 70 credits in a more than 68-year career.  

Oddly, the Hollywood publicity machine never sought to capitalize on the fact that James and Peter were brothers.  

In a 1972 interview with The Times Herald, Peter said, “Only about half the public realizes we’re brothers. Jim came out here to Hollywood while I was still back in Minnesota.” Peter was in college at the time.  

The brothers were known to be supportive of each other’s acting careers, but they had very different personalities and career goals.  

James was not interested in school and flunked almost every subject before leaving Beloit College—except for radio announcing. He had no background in acting.  

A Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity member at the University of Minnesota, Peter thrived in academia and majored in drama. 

When James went to Hollywood, he aspired to nothing more than easy gigs as a movie extra.  

Peter, a trained actor, actively sought out major roles.  

James enjoyed playing Matt Dillon for 20 years on the Gunsmoke series followed by the five Gunsmoke movies.  

Peter liked portraying a variety of characters in different genres.  

The brothers rarely talked about each other to the press, but in The Times Herald interview, Peter commented, “I never really envied Jim’s success in Gunsmoke. I thought he was in a great spot, and I was just looking for one of my own.” 

Peter had opportunities to play opposite James on Gunsmoke, but he and James nixed them.  

“I’ve been offered several Gunsmoke scripts in which I’d play Jim’s worthless brother. We’ve talked over the scripts, but didn’t feel any of them were quite right for us,” Peter said, “…I directed an episode of Gunsmoke. Wasn’t bad for a first attempt, but acting is what I wanted.”