Ted Levine is one of those guys that can be really, really scary or really kind of warm and cuddly, though the former is usually easier to see than the latter. In truth he likes being the nice guy despite all the pictures you see and the roles he takes on. He’s been a part of Hollywood for a while now and while he’s been seen as kind of the creepy guy that people don’t fully understand he’s also been one of the better actors around since he’s usually fully capable of taking on any role that he can get no matter if he’s being typecast or not. He’s one of those individuals that actually surprises you when he comes out with a warm and caring role since he plays the part of the bad guy so well that he’s just expected to be a heel no matter where he goes. That’s kind of too bad since he can play a very sincere good guy too.
Here are a few things you might not have known about him.
10. He was in Wild Wild West.
General “Bloodbath” McGrath was the kind of guy that was, in a word, disgusting. He was designed to be a figure that was more or less disposable since he was a very one-dimensional character and didn’t last much past the revealing of the main bad guy. But he did play an amusing part for at least some of the movie.
9. He actually scared the people he read for when auditioning for The Silence of the Lambs.
People seem to have forgotten just how creepy he really was when it came to playing the part of Buffalo Bill in this movie, but upon hearing him talk you can actually kind of understand just how he would really terrify other human beings just by talking in the kind of voice he used for the movie.
8. He was in The Fast and the Furious.
He does play a rather sympathetic good guy but in this one it kind of made him look more like the geeky parent figure since much of the movie focused intently on the edgy and extreme nature of the street racers and the world they occupied. He was more of the straight-laced individual that
7. He had trouble getting roles that weren’t psychopaths after Buffalo Bill.
Thanks to his voice, his appearance, and his ability to turn in such a creepy performance he’s been typecast many times and kind of forced into roles that were more like Buffalo Bill than not since he’s just that kind of terrifying when he reads for an audition.
6. He comes off as kind of an intimidating guy.
He’s said more than once that he doesn’t act intimidating off screen since he’s a pretty likable guy and is more into being a nice person than his on screen personas would lead anyone to believe. That seems pretty standard though that some of the hardest on screen personalities tend to be some of the nicest people off screen.
5. He was in The Hills Have Eyes remake.
His character got offed pretty quick in this film and the most disturbing thing is that he’s supposedly a security expert that knows how to handle himself. Even more disturbing than that however was how he was taken out and even used as a diversion so that the antagonists could have a run at the unguarded trailer where two defenseless women and a baby were ripe for the picking.
4. He and his wife like to keep their private lives away from the spotlight.
Anymore this seems like a wise idea since there’s just too much room for scandal, rumors, and gossip to fly around and stick to people just out of habit and misconception. Keeping himself and his family out of the spotlight is probably one of the wisest things he’s ever done.
3. He was in the recent film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
While he does turn in a great character you have to wonder and scratch your head at his death scene. Who in the world would approach this creature with seeming impunity and try to yank one of its teeth out? Ah yes, the hunter that thinks he knows everything, like how much sedative a creature such as this needs to be put down. Whoops.
2. He was in Next of Kin.
His part in this film was a bit smaller but he is in there and it was a good movie no matter what anyone says. As one of Patrick Swayze’s it was one of those films that you can’t help but feel would exemplify what many people would like to do if their family were ever messed with.
1. He got his start in 1983.
Honestly he’s been around for a while and he knows how things go in Hollywood. That’s probably a big reason why he kept his family out of it for so long.
Ted Levine is a great actor, especially when he’s not being typecast.
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