Ted Levine

BIRTHDATE: May 29, 1958
BIRTHPLACE: Cleveland, Ohio
MARITAL STATUS: Married, two children
WHY HE DESERVES HIS BIG BREAK:
If the The Silence of the Lambs was the only movie Ted Levine ever starred in, he would still be an unforgettable actor. Playing Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb, the wannabe-transsexual serial killer Jodie Foster hunts (with more than a little assistance from Hannibal Lector), Levine was such an unsettling, creepy presence that an ordinary slasher movie villain like Jason or Michael Myers is pretty much rendered meaningless. As Gumb, he tries desperately to take on "feminine" qualities, but lets his real self show through by roaring "You don't know what pain is!" at his terrified victim in a startling bass rumble. The scene where Gumb (and the audience) gets a good look at how he would look as a woman would probably earn laughs by most actors, but by relative unknown Levine, it's just, well, creepy.

Born in Cleveland, Ted Levine is a veteran of the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, the home of such other formidable screen presences as John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, and Gary Sinise. He made his film debut in 1987's Ironweed, then mostly stuck with TV appearances until his star-making turn in The Silence of the Lambs. However, this prestigious role didn't open up Levine to a world of better movies--some of his films since then have included Bullet, Flubber, Wild, Wild West, and The Mangler, in which he played a cop who has to hunt down a maneating clothes dryer. But when he does get the good roles, he gives it his all, in movies like Georgia, Heat, and TV's Ellen Foster. Recently, he starred as the chief of staff in a psychiatric hospital on TV's Wonderland, which, sadly, was considered too controversial for network television and quickly taken off the air.

FILMOGRAPHY
Films highlighted in yellow highlight Ted at his best

The Truth About Charlie (2002)--????
Ali (2001)--Joe Smiley
Joy Ride (2001)--Rusty Nail (voiceover)
Evolution (2001)--Dr. Woodman
The Fast and the Furious (2001)--Sgt. Tanner
Harlan County War (TV Movie--2000)--Silas Kincaid
"Wonderland" (TV Series--2000)--Dr. Robert Banger
Wild Wild West (1999)--General "Bloodbath" McGrath
"The New Batman/Superman Adventures" (1999)--Sinestro (TV guest appearance)
You Can Thank Me Later (1998)--Eli Cooperberg
"From the Earth to the Moon" (TV Miniseries--1998)--Alan Shepard
Moby Dick (TV Movie--1998)--Starbuck
Ellen Foster (TV Movie--1997)--Ellen's Dad
Flubber (1997)--Wesson
Switchback (1997)--Deputy Nate Booker
Mad City (1997)--Lemke
"Superman" (1997)--Karkull (TV guest appearance)
Bullet (1996)--Louis
Wiseguy (TV Movie--1996)--Paul Callendar
Heat (1995)--Bosko
Georgia (1995)--Jake
The Mangler (1995)--John Hunton
"Nowhere Man" (1995)--Dave "Eddie" Powers (TV guest appearance)
The Last Outlaw (TV Movie--1994)--Potts
Broken Promises: Taking Emily Back (TV Movie--1993)--Gary Ward
Death Train (TV Movie--1993)--Alex Tierney
Nowhere to Run (1993)--Dunston
Mob Justice (TV Movie--1992)--Charles Rose
Murder in High Places (TV Movie--1991)--????
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)--Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb
Love at Large (1990)--Frederick King/James McGraw
Next of Kin (1989)--Willy
The Fulfillment of Mary Gray (1989)--Jonathan
Betrayed (1988)--Wes
"Midnight Caller" (1988)--???? (TV guest appearance)
Ironweed (1987)--Pocono Pete
Crime Story (TV Movie--1986)--Frank Holman
"Crime Story" (TV Series--1986)--Frank Holman
Two Fathers' Justice (TV Movie--1985)--Bennett
The Killing Floor (1984)--????
Through Naked Eyes (1983)--Patrolman