Ted Levine
Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Buffalo Bill in the film The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series Monk (2002–2009).
Ted Levine | |
---|---|
Born | Frank Theodore Levine May 29, 1957 |
Education | Marlboro College |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1978–present |
Spouse | Kim Phillips |
Children | 2 |
Levine's other notable roles were in the films Nowhere to Run (1993), Heat (1995), Bullet (1996), The Fast and the Furious (2001), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), American Gangster (2007), Shutter Island (2010), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), and The Report (2019).
Early life
Levine was born in Bellaire, Ohio, the son of Charlotte Virginia (Clark) and Milton Dmitri Levine,[1] who were both doctors and members of Physicians for Social Responsibility. Levine's father was of Russian-Jewish descent and his mother had Welsh and Native American ancestry. He describes himself as a "hillbilly Jew."[1] He grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. In 1975, he enrolled at Marlboro College.
Career
He became a fixture in the Chicago theatre scene and joined the Remains Theatre which was co-founded by Gary Cole and William Petersen. After his stage experience, Levine began to devote most of his energy during the 1980s toward finding roles in film and television. One of his most prominent roles in the 1980s was playing mob enforcer Frank Holman in the NBC drama Crime Story (1986–88).
After his breakout role in The Silence of the Lambs (as primary antagonist Buffalo Bill), there was a period where he was typecast in villainous roles. Levine was able to gradually branch out into other types of roles such as a member of Al Pacino's police unit in Heat and astronaut Alan Shepard in the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon. In the drama Georgia, he played Mare Winningham's husband, one of his most sympathetic roles.
In 2001, Levine performed as Paul Walker's police superior Sergeant Tanner in The Fast and the Furious. His résumé also includes an uncredited role as the voice of the sociopathic trucker "Rusty Nail" in Joy Ride, also starring Walker.
He played Detective Sam Nico in the 2003 film Wonderland, based on the gruesome murders in the Hollywood Hills. He also appeared as a psychiatrist at a mental institution in Wonderland, a completely unrelated TV series of the same name in 2000 that aired briefly on ABC.
From 2002 to 2009, he co-starred as Captain Leland Stottlemeyer on USA Network's detective series Monk, starring Tony Shalhoub.
Levine provided the voice of the supervillain Sinestro in Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited, all part of the DC Animated Universe.
Levine also appeared as a patriarch whose family takes a turn for the worse in the remake of The Hills Have Eyes (2006).
In 2007, he portrayed local Sheriff James Timberlake in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and appeared in Ridley Scott's American Gangster, alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
In 2010, he appeared as the warden of the island prison in Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
In 2012, he appeared as Sheriff Bloom Towne in Deep Dark Canyon, alongside Spencer Treat Clark and Nick Eversman, who portray Sheriff Towne's sons, Nate and Skylar, respectively.
In 2013, he had a major supporting role in the FX murder mystery series The Bridge as Lieutenant Hank Wade, commander of a police homicide unit in a Texas border city.[2]
In 2014 he portrayed General Underwood in the British-Finnish action film Big Game.[3]
In 2018, Levine co-starred in the sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, as hunter Ken Wheatley.[4]
From 2018 to 2020, he played Thomas F. Byrnes on the TNT series The Alienist.
In 2021, he joined the cast of the ABC drama Big Sky, playing the role of Horst Kleinsasser.[5]
Personal life
Levine is married to Kim Phillips, and they have two children.[6]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | One More Saturday Night | Cop in Station | |
1987 | Ironweed | Pocono Pete | |
1988 | Betrayed | Wes | |
1989 | Next of Kin | Willy | |
1990 | Love at Large | Frederick King / James McGraw | |
1991 | The Silence of the Lambs | Jame 'Buffalo Bill' Gumb | |
1992 | The Paint Job | Kenny the D.J. | |
1993 | Nowhere to Run | Mr. Dunston | |
1994 | Todo cambia | Vince | |
1995 | The Mangler | Officer John Hunton | |
Georgia | Jake | ||
Heat | Detective Mike Bosko | ||
1996 | Bullet | Louis Stein | |
1997 | Mad City | Lemke | |
Switchback | Deputy Nate Booker | ||
Flubber | Wesson | ||
1998 | You Can Thank Me Later | Eli Cooperberg | |
1999 | Wild Wild West | General 'Bloodbath' McGrath | |
2001 | Evolution | General Russell Woodman | |
The Fast and the Furious | Sergeant Tanner | ||
Joy Ride | 'Rusty Nail' | Voice | |
Ali | Joe Smiley | ||
2002 | The Truth About Charlie | Emil Zadapec | |
2003 | Wonderland | Detective Sam Nico | |
2004 | The Manchurian Candidate | Colonel Howard | |
Birth | Mr. Conte | ||
2005 | The L.A. Riot Spectacular | Tom Saltine | |
Memoirs of a Geisha | Colonel Derricks | ||
2006 | The Hills Have Eyes | Bob 'Big Bob' Carter | |
2007 | The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | Sheriff James Timberlake | |
American Gangster | Captain Lou Toback | ||
2010 | Shutter Island | Warden | |
2012 | Deep Dark Canyon | Bloom Towne | |
2013 | Jimmy | James Lee Mitchell | |
A Single Shot | Cecile | ||
Banshee Chapter | Thomas Blackburn | ||
2014 | Big Game | General Underwood | |
Dig Two Graves | Sheriff Waterhouse | ||
Gutshot Straight | Lewis | ||
2015 | Little Boy | Sam | |
2016 | Bleed for This | Lou Duva | |
2017 | Bottom of the World | The Preacher | |
Swing State | Rouge Holmes | ||
A Midsummer Night's Dream | Theseus | ||
2018 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Ken Wheatley | |
2019 | The Report | John Brennan | |
A Violent Separation | Ed Quinn |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Through Naked Eyes | Patrolman | Television film |
1984 | The Killing Floor | Commander | American Playhouse television film |
1985 | Two Fathers' Justice | Bennett | Television film |
1986–1988 | Crime Story | Frank Holman | Recurring role |
1989 | The Fulfillment of Mary Gray | Jonathan | Television film |
1990 | Midnight Caller | Frank Brewer | Episode: "With Malice Towards One" |
1991 | Murder in High Places | Carson Russell | Television film |
Dead and Alive: The Race for Gus Farace | Charles Rose | Television film | |
1993 | Death Train | Alex Tierney | Television film |
The Last Outlaw | Potts | Television film | |
Broken Promises: Taking Emily Back | Gary Ward | Television film | |
1995 | Nowhere Man | Dave 'Eddie' Powers | Episode: "Absolute Zero" |
1996 | Wiseguy | Paul Callendar | Television film |
1997, 1999 | Superman: The Animated Series | Karkull, Sinestro | Voice, 2 episodes[7] |
1997 | Ellen Foster | Bill Hammond | Television film |
1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Alan Shepard | 2 episodes; miniseries |
Moby Dick | Starbuck | Main cast; miniseries | |
2000 | Harlan County War | Silas Kincaid | Television film |
Wonderland | Dr. Robert Banger | Main cast | |
2002 | Third Watch | Brian O’Malley | Episode: "Falling" |
2002–2003 | Justice League | Bulldozer, Sinestro | Voice, 4 episodes[7] |
2002–2009 | Monk | Captain Leland Stottlemeyer | Main cast |
2004 | Static Shock | Sinestro | Voice, episode: "Fallen Hero"[7] |
2006 | Justice League Unlimited | Sinestro | Voice, episode: "The Great Brain Robbery"[7] |
2011 | Hell on Wheels | Captain Daniel Johnson | Episode: "Pilot" |
2012 | Luck | Isadore Cohen | Recurring role |
2013–2014 | The Bridge | Lt. Hank Wade | Main cast |
2014 | Child of Grace | Chief Edwards | Television film |
2015 | The Spoils Before Dying | Gerhart Moll | Episode: "The Trip Trap"; miniseries |
2016 | Dr. Del | Tanner | Television film |
Mad Dogs | Conrad Tull | 2 episodes | |
Ray Donovan | Bill Primm | 4 episodes | |
Lethal Weapon | Ned Brower | Episode: "Best Buds" | |
2018–2020 | The Alienist | Thomas F. Byrnes | Recurring role |
2018 | Here and Now | Ike Bayer | 2 episodes |
2019 | On Becoming a God in Central Florida | Obie Garbeau II | Main cast |
2020 | Peacock Presents: The At-Home Variety Show Featuring Seth MacFarlane | Captain Leland Stottlemeyer | Episode: "Monk In Quarantine" |
2021 | Big Sky | Horst Kleinsasser | Main cast (season 1) |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award/Event | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | Awards Circuit Community Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | The Silence of the Lambs | Nominated | [8] |
2008 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | American Gangster | Nominated | [9] |
2012 | 20/20 Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Silence of the Lambs | Nominated | [10] |
2015 | Beaufort International Film Festival | Best Actor | Dig Two Graves | Won | [11] |
References
- McGavin, Patrick Z. (February 28, 1991). "Ted Levine is not a bad guy". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- TV Guide (August 14, 2013). "The Bridge's Ted Levine: "The Killer Is More Hannibal Lecter Than Jame Gumb"". littlefallstimes.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- TV Guide (August 14, 2013). "Big Game". littlefallstimes.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- Kroll, Justin (February 10, 2017). "'Jurassic World' Sequel Adds 'Silence of the Lambs' Actor Ted Levine". Variety. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- "Is Big Sky Going In A Completely Different Direction With All These New Cast Members?". CINEMABLEND. January 29, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
- Galella, Ron (June 28, 1999). ""Wild Wild West" Westwood Premiere". Getty Images. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- "Ted Levine (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 9, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
- "ACCA 1991 - AwardsCircuit - By Clayton Davis - Celebrating 10 Years". Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
- "Into the Wild Leads S.A.G. Awards - Observer". The New York Observer. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- "2012 Nominees – 3rd Annual 20/20 Awards - 20/20 Awards - Films that have stood the test of time". Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- "Beaufort International Film Festival takes place in Beaufort, SC. - 2015". Retrieved June 9, 2018.
External links
- Ted Levine at IMDb
- Ted Levine at AllMovie