
Tergesen was born in Ivoryton, Connecticut and graduated from Valley Regional High School in nearby Deep River. He moved to New York to try to become an actor. He graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA)'s two-year program in Manhattan, where, from 1986 to 1989, he worked at the Empire Diner.

Point Break
1991 · as Rosie

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
2006 · as Holden

Wayne's World
1992 · as Terry

The Forgotten
2004 · as Al Petalis

Shaft
2000 · as Luger

Monster
2003 · as Vincent Corey

Inferno
1999 · as Luke

Red Tails
2012 · as Colonel Jack Tomlinson

The Collection
2012 · as Lucello

Wayne's World 2
1993 · as Terry

No One Lives
2013 · as Hoag

Cast a Deadly Spell
1991 · as Larry Willis / Lilly Sirwar

Southern Comfort
2006 · as Blue

The Yellow Birds
2018 · as Jim Murphy

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
2007 · as Daniel Royer

Pellett
as Clem Pellett

Equity
2016 · as Randall

Bark!
2002 · as Peter