Ted Levine (born May 29, 1957 in Parma, Ohio) is an American actor best known for playing the serial killer Buffalo Bill in the 1991 blockbuster thriller The Silence of the Lambs.

Early career
In the mid-1970s, Levine attended Marlboro College and the University of Chicago. He became a fixture in the Chicago theatre scene and joined the Remains Theatre which was co-founded by Gary Cole and William L. Petersen. After honing his skills on the stage, Levine began to devote most of his energy during the 1980s toward finding roles in film and television.

Breakout into mainstream roles
After his breakout role in The Silence of the Lambs, there was a period where he was typecast in villainous roles. Levine avoided this by playing more protagonists, such as a member of Al Pacino's police unit in Heat, astronaut Alan Shepard in the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon, and Paul Walker's police superior Sergeant Tanner in The Fast and the Furious.

His resumè also includes an uncredited role as the voice of the sociopathic trucker "Rusty Nail" in 2001's Joy Ride, and his performance as Detective Sam Nico in the 2003 film Wonderland, based on the gruesome murders in Los Angeles Wonderland District. His trademark is his rough and deep unmistakable voice.

Since 2002, he has co-starred in his now famous role as Captain Leland Stottlemeyer on USA Network's popular detective series Monk, starring Tony Shalhoub.

Most recently, Levine appeared as a patriarch whose family takes a turn for the worse in the remake of The Hills Have Eyes (2006). Later this year, he will portray local Sheriff James Timberlake in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2006) & In 2007 will be appearing in Ridley Scott's American Gangster along side Denzel Washington & Russell Crowe.

Trivia
Levine has a distinctive voice which is best described as powerfully deep and uniquely gravelly. In a January 12, 2006 interview on The Late Late Show (CBS), actor Seth Green credited Levine as the inspiration for the voice of his character Chris Griffin on Family Guy.

Selected filmography
Crime Story (1986-1988) ... Frank Holman
Betrayed (1988) ... Wes
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) ... Jame 'Buffalo Bill' Gumb
Death Train aka Detonator (1992)...Alex Tierney
Nowhere to Run (1993) ... Mr. Dunston
The Mangler (1995) ... Officer John Hunton
Heat (1995) ... Bosco
Bullet (1996) ... Louis Stein (Butch's brother)
Switchback (1997) ... Deputy Nate Booker
Flubber (1997) ... Wesson
From the Earth to the Moon (1998) (miniseries) ... Alan Shepard
Wild Wild West (1999) ... General 'Bloodbath' McGrath
Evolution (2001) ... General Russell Woodman
The Fast and the Furious (2001) ... Sgt. Tanner
Joy Ride (2001) (uncredited) ... Rusty Nail
Ali (2001) ... Joe Smiley
The Truth About Charlie (2002) ... Emil Zadapec
Wonderland (2003) ... Sam Nico
The Manchurian Candidate (2004) ... Colonel Howard
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) ... Colonel Derricks
The Hills Have Eyes (2006) ... Big Bob
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2006) ... Sheriff James
American Gangster (2007) ... Toback

In The News:

0 of 0 users found this review helpful MovieWeb - Jun 26, 2008 Throw in the eerily creepy yet excellent performance of Ted Levine as Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb, and you have yourself a solid, unbeatable, cast. ...   Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:47:32 GMT Page:  1

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