fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Joseph Henry Tobin Jr. (born August 7, 1942),[1][2][3] known professionally as Tobin Bell, is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of John Kramer / Jigsaw, the central character of the Saw franchise. He appears in the first eight films in the series, and also voices the character in the two video game adaptations, Saw (2009) and Saw II: Flesh & Blood (2010). His portrayal of Jigsaw has earned him five award nominations and two wins.

Tobin Bell
Bell in 2019
Born	Joseph Henry Tobin Jr. (1942-08-07) August 7, 1942 (age 80) Queens, New York, U.S.
Other names	Joseph Tobin
Education	Boston University
Alma mater	Montclair State University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1974–present
Known for	Jigsaw/John Kramer (Saw franchise)
Spouse	Elizabeth Bell ​ ​ (m. 1993; div. 2018)​
Children	2
Website	officialtobinbell.com

Bell is a life member of the Actors Studio.[4] After years of work doing stand-ins and background work on films, he got his first major acting job in Mississippi Burning (1988) and eventually went on to star in made-for-television films and guest star in television shows throughout the 1990s. Before his breakthrough with Saw, Bell appeared in many notable and various films, including The Verdict (1982), Tootsie (1982), Mississippi Burning (1988), False Identity (1990), Loose Cannons (1990), Goodfellas (1990), Ruby (1992), Boiling Point (1993), The Firm (1993), In the Line of Fire (1993), Malice (1993), The Quick and the Dead (1995), Brown's Requiem (1998), and a voice role in The Road to El Dorado (2000).

He is sometimes credited as Joseph Tobin in the various 1980s films such as Sophie's Choice and Turk 182.

Early life

Bell was born in Queens, New York and raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts.[2] His English mother, Eileen Julia Bell Tobin, was an actress who worked at the Quincy Repertory Company. His American father, Joseph H. Tobin, who was of Irish descent,[5] built and established the radio station WJDA in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1947 and once ran for mayor of Gloversville, New York. Bell's maternal grandmother, Julia Gandon Bell, was born in Cork, Ireland. Bell has one sister and one brother.[2][3] Bell studied liberal arts and journalism in college, with the intention of becoming a writer and entering the broadcasting field. He also has an interest in environmental matters, holding a master's degree in environmental science from Montclair State University as well as having worked for the New York Botanical Garden.[6] He credits hearing a seminar by Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy at Boston University with inspiring him to begin an acting career.[7]

Bell later joined the Actors Studio where he studied with Lee Strasberg and Ellen Burstyn, and joined Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse.[8][9] He played background roles in the late 1970s and early 1980s in over 30 films, including films by Woody Allen (Manhattan) and Martin Scorsese, while also performing on Broadway.[8][10] Bell said that other actors at the Actors Studio thought doing stand-in and background work was "stupid or degrading", but he never felt that way.[11]

Career

Early work: 1982–1999

In 1982, Bell had a short uncredited scene in the Sydney Pollack film, Tootsie, playing a waiter at the Russian Tea Room. He told Movieline, "You know, when you're talking about Tootsie, it's the tip of the iceberg, because those other twenty-nine films I did aren't even on IMDb."[12] He worked on The Verdict (1982) for two weeks as a courtroom reporter in the trial. He recollected it being a "great opportunity" watching Sidney Lumet and Paul Newman, while also learning the technical aspect of acting.[12] For every role he plays, starting with the initial reading of the script to the final shot of a production, he keeps a journal of various questions about and motivations for his character. "I write all kinds of stream-of-consciousness things that help me."[9]

In 1982 Bell landed his first speaking role in the last few moments of the drama Sophie's Choice, starring Meryl Streep.[13] In the mid-1980s, Bell said "I was doing off-Broadway plays three nights a week, working on my craft. And a director at the Actors Studio said, 'You know, Tobin you've been doing that for a while. I think you should go to Hollywood and play bad guys.'" Bell moved to Los Angeles and was cast in his first feature film, Alan Parker's Mississippi Burning (1988), as a "tough, street smart, FBI agent".[11] Bell played an assassin called "The Nordic Man" in another Pollack film, The Firm (1993).[6] The same year, he played Mendoza in In the Line of Fire, where he attempts to taunt an undercover Clint Eastwood into proving his loyalty by murdering his partner, played by Dylan McDermott. He went on to appear in an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld titled "The Old Man" playing a record store owner.[14] He appeared in two episodes of NYPD Blue playing different characters.[13]

In 1994, Bell played a hospital administrator in the second episode of the first season of ER and went on to appear in an episode of another medical drama Chicago Hope, playing a terminally ill inmate on death row. That same year, he portrayed the "Unabomber" in the made-for-television film Unabomber: The True Story. In 1997, Bell guest starred in an episode of La Femme Nikita and Nash Bridges. The following year, he guest starred in an episode of Stargate SG-1 and a two-part episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. He also appeared as the villain Peter Kingsley during the second season of 24.

2004–present

In 2004, Bell was cast as John Kramer / Jigsaw, an engineer-turned-serial killer who wants others to appreciate the value of life via twisted "games", in the horror film Saw.[10][15] The low-budget film was a box office success, spawning eight sequels: Saw II (2005), Saw III (2006), Saw IV (2007), Saw V (2008), Saw VI (2009), Saw 3D (2010), Jigsaw (2017), and Spiral (2021). He provided his voice for the Jigsaw character in the Saw video game (2009) and its sequel, Saw II: Flesh & Blood (2010), to which he also provided his likeness.[16] Even though Bell spent three weeks lying on a floor and had very few lines, his role was pivotal to the first film.[17][18] For his role as "Jigsaw", Bell received MTV Movie Awards nominations in 2006 and 2007 for "Best Villain", won "Best Butcher" in the Fuse/Fangoria Chainsaw Awards and was given the "Best Villain in a Film Series" title at the 2010 Chiller-Eyegore Awards.[19] Although he considers his role in Saw to have been "a great blessing", he hopes to soon have the opportunity to be cast against type.[20] In October 2022, Bell was confirmed to reprise his Jigsaw role once more in Saw X, set for a release date on October 27, 2023.[21]

In 2016, Bell starred as hermit Yo Ling on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, revealed to be John Black's long lost father. He starred as the voices of the villain Doctor Alchemy and the malicious speed god and main antagonist Savitar on the third season of The Flash, in an uncredited role.

Personal life

Bell has two sons. In January 2018, Bell's wife, Elizabeth, filed for divorce after 25 years of marriage. When not acting, he coaches a Little League Baseball team and flag football.[22] His other hobbies include hiking and playing guitar.[20]

Filmography

Tobin Bell film work

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Manhattan	Man On Street	Uncredited
1981	Tales of Ordinary Madness	Bar Patron
1982	Sophie's Choice[23]	Reporter	Credited as Joseph Tobin
	The Verdict	Courtroom Observer	Uncredited
	Tootsie	Waiter
1983	Svengali	Waiter
1985	Turk 182	Sergeant On Bridge	Credited as Joseph Tobin
1988	Mississippi Burning	FBI Agent Stokes
1989	An Innocent Man	Zeke
1990	False Identity	Marshall Errickson
	Loose Cannons	Gerber
	Goodfellas	Parole Officer
1992	Ruby	David Ferrie
1993	Boiling Point	Freddie Roth
	The Firm	The Nordic Man
	In the Line of Fire	Marty Mendoza
	Malice	Earl Leemus
1995	Serial Killer	William Lucian Morrano	Direct-to-video
	The Quick and the Dead	'Dog' Kelly
1996	Cheyenne	Marshal Toynbee
1998	Brown's Requiem	Stan 'Stan The Man'
	Overnight Delivery	John Dwayne Beezly
	Best of the Best 4: Without Warning	Lukasz Slava
1999	The 4th Floor	The Locksmith
2000	The Road to El Dorado	Zaragoza	Voice, Grouped under "Voice Talent"
2001	Good Neighbor	Geoffrey Martin
2002	Power Play	Clemens
	Black Mask 2: City of Masks	Moloch
2004	Saw	John Kramer / Jigsaw
2005	Hacking Away at 'Saw'	Himself	Video documentary short
	Saw II	John Kramer / Jigsaw
2006	Going to Places: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film	Himself	Documentary, Archive footage only
	Saw III	John Kramer / Jigsaw
2007	Buried Alive	Lester	Direct-to-video
	Decoys 2: Alien Seduction	Professor Erwin Buckton
	The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It	The Stranger
	Boogeyman 2	Dr. Mitchell Allen
	Saw IV	John Kramer / Jigsaw
2008	Boogeyman 3	Dr. Mitchell Allen	Voice, Uncredited
	Saw V	John Kramer / Jigsaw
2009	Saw VI
2010	Saw 3D
2014	Dark House	Seth	Also co-producer of the film
	Finders Keepers	Dr. Freeman
	Saw: Filmmaker Q&A	Himself	Video short
2015	Run	Man At Bar	Short film
	Phantom Halo	'Smashmouth'
	Manson Family Vacation	'Blackbird'
	Unbelief	Frank	Short film, Also executive producer of the film
2016	Rainbow Time	Peter
2017	Jigsaw[24]	John Kramer / Jigsaw
	61: Highway to Hell	The Devil
	12 Feet Deep	McGradey
	The Sandman	Valentine
	Belzebuth	Vasilio Canetti
	My Pretty Pony	George Banning	Short film, Also executive producer of the film
2019	The Way We Weren't	Jerry	Also producer of the film
	Ice Cream in the Cupboard	Pop
	Gates of Darkness	Monsignor Canell
2020	Let Us In	Mr. Munch
	The Call	Edward Cranston
	A Father's Legacy	Billy Ford
2021	Spiral	John Kramer / Jigsaw	Photo only
	Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman	Lewis Fell
2023	Saw X	John Kramer / Jigsaw	Pre-production[21]
TBA	Awaken	Cooper Mason	Post-production, Also co-producer of the film
	Wolf Mountain	Dr. Avery	Post-production
	Liberty	General Volker	Pre-production
	The Rogue	V.P. Williamson	Pre-production
	ReBroken	Von	Filming
	The Bunker	Mr. Riley	Post-production
	Ghostkiller	Special Agent Lee Tarkington / 1862 Herbert Tarkington	Announced, Also producer of the film
	Mouth to Mouth	TBA	Pre-production
	Dark Corners	TBA	Currently in development
	Sins of the Father	TBA	Currently in development

Tobin Bell television work

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987-1988	The Equalizer	Unknown	2 episodes
1989	Perfect Witness	Dillon	Television film
1990	Alien Nation	Brian Knox	Episode: "Crossing the Line"
	Jake and the Fatman	Vic	Episode: "More Than You Know"
	Broken Badges	Martin Valentine	Episode: "Pilot"
1991	Love, Lies and Murder	Al Stutz	Television film
	The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage	Tony Gianini	Episode: "Pilot"
	Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride	Barman	Television film
1992	Mann & Machine	Richards	Episode: "No Pain, No Gain"
	Calendar Girl, Cop, Killer? The Bambi Bembenek Story	Unknown	Television film
	Silk Stalkings	Emil Rossler	Episode: "Hot Rocks"
1993	Seinfeld	Ron	Episode: "The Old Man"
	Sex, Love, and Cold Hard Cash	Mansfield	Television film
	NYPD Blue	Donald Selness	2 episodes
1994	Deep Red	Warren Rickman	Television film
	Dead Man's Revenge	Bullock
	ER	Hospital Administrator	Episode: "Day One"
	Mortal Fear	Dr. Alvin Hayes	Television film
	New Eden	Ares
1995	Under Suspicion	Ron O'Keefe	Episode: "A Haunting Case"
1996	The Babysitter's Seduction	Detective Frank O'Keefe	Television film
	The Lazarus Man	Unknown	Episode: "Among the Dead"
	Murder One	Jerry Albanese	Episode: "Chapter Twenty-Two"
	Unabomber: The True Story	Theodore Kaczynski	Television film
	Chicago Hope	Luther Evans	Episode: "A Time to Kill"
1997	La Femme Nikita	Perry Bauer	Episode: "Love"
	Nash Bridges	William Boyd	Episode: "Payback"
1998	Stargate SG-1	Omoc	Episode: "Enigma"
	One Hot Summer Night	Vincent 'Coupe' De Ville	Television film
	Walker, Texas Ranger	Karl Storm	2 episodes
	Vengeance Unlimited	Teddy Hix	Episode: "Bitter End"
1999	Strange World	Owen Sassen	Episode: "Eliza"
	The Pretender	Mr. White	Episode: "The World's Changing"
2000	The X-Files	Darryl Weaver	Episode: "Brand X"
	Harsh Realm	Slater	Episode: "Reunion"
2001	Once and Again	Man In Suit	Episode: "Aaron's Getting Better"
	The Sopranos	Major Carl Zwingli	Episode: "Army of One"
	The Guardian	Unknown	Episode: "The Funnies"
	Alias	SD-6 Agent Karl Dreyer	2 episodes
2002	Charmed	Orin	Episode: "The Eyes Have It"
	The West Wing	Colonel Whitcomb	Episode: "Process Stories"
2003	24	Peter Kingsley	4 episodes
	E! Live from the Red Carpet	Himself	Episode: "The 2003 Screen Actors Guild Awards"
2005	Revelations	Nathan Volk	5 episodes
2006	Scream Awards 2006	Himself	Television special
	Casino Cinema	Himself	Episode: "31 October 2006"
2007	The Kill Point	Alan Beck	6 episodes
	07 Spaceys	Himself	Television film
2009	Starz Inside: Unforgettably Evil	Himself	Television film documentary
	Made in Hollywood	Himself	1 episode
2010	14th Annual PRISM Awards	Himself	Television special
	IMDb's 20th Anniversary Star of the Day	Himself	Episode: "Tobin Bell"
2011	Twist & Shout: The Saw Story	Himself	Television short documentary
2012	Visionado obligado	'Jigsaw'	Also known in English as Forced Viewing, Episode: "Primer", Archive footage only
2014	Criminal Minds	Malachi Lee	Episode: "Blood Relations"
	Wilfred	Charles	Episode: "Happiness"
2015	Skin Wars	Himself - Guest Judge	Episode: "Emotional Rollercoaster"
	Nerd Nation TV	Himself	Episode: "Tobin Bell"
	Cinerockom	Himself - Silver Award Best Actor Winner	Episode: "Cinerockom Beverly Hills 2015 Festival & Awards"
2016	Days of Our Lives	Yo Ling	4 episodes
	All Access Pass	Himself	Episode: "Tobin Bell - Wizard World Comic Con Portland"
2016-2017	The Flash	Doctor Alchemy / Savitar	Voices, 15 episodes
2017	Demented Pictures	Himself	Episode: "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Saw", Archive footage only
2018	Demented Top Tens	'Jigsaw'	Episode: "Top Ten Twist Endings", Archive footage only
	Eli Roth's History of Horror	Himself	Episode: "Slashers Part 2"
2019	Creepshow	Chief (segment "Gray Matter")	Episode: "Gray Matter/The House of the Head"
2020	MacGyver	Leland	2 episodes
2021	The Gloom	Dr. Lasher	8 episodes

Tobin Bell video game work

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Saw	John Kramer / Jigsaw	Voice
2010	Saw II: Flesh & Blood		Voice
2020	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[citation needed]	Voice

Further reading

• Voisin, Scott; Roebuck, Daniel (2009-05-25). Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-342-5.

References

External links

• Official website
• Tobin Bell at IMDb

На других языках

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[de] Tobin Bell

Tobin Bell (* 7. August 1942 in Queens, New York City; eigentlich Joseph Henry Tobin) ist ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler.

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- [en] Tobin Bell

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[es] Tobin Bell

Tobin Bell (nacido Joseph H. Tobin, Jr.; el 7 de agosto de 1942)[1] es un actor de cine y televisión estadounidense. Después de años de trabajo como suplente en películas, tuvo su primer gran trabajo en Mississippi Burning en 1988, y luego protagonizó en películas hecha para televisión y en programas a lo largo de 1990. Bell es conocido como el protagonista John "Jigsaw" Kramer de la serie Saw. Proporcionó su voz en dos videojuegos basados en las películas, Saw y su secuela, Saw II: Flesh & Blood.

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[ru] Белл, Тобин

Тобин Белл (англ. Tobin Bell, при рождении Джозеф Генри Тобин-мл. — англ. Joseph Henry Tobin, Jr.; род. 7 августа 1942, Куинс, Нью-Йорк, США) — американский актёр, наиболее известный ролью Джона Крамера в серии фильмов «Пила».

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