The casual film-goer is unlikely to recognise the name Ted Levine, although the face may seem familiar. Powerfully built, with a receding hairline and piercing blue eyes, Levine also has one of the most distinctive voices in the movies. Director John Dahl used Levine’s deep Midwestern drawl to chilling effect in his thriller Roadkill aka Joy Ride (2001). Best known for his role as the psychotic 'Buffalo Bill' in The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathon Demme 1991), Levine has made a living out of the archetypal supporting roles offered to a character actor; cops, heavies, army officers, gangsters and parents.
Michael Mann and Crime Story
Born Frank Theodore Levine in Bellaire, Ohio in 1957 he performed in various regional theatres before moving to Chicago in the early 80’s. A stint at the famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company was supplemented by appearing in made-for-TV movies. Levine received his first substantial role when Miami Vice (1984-89) producer Michael Mann sought out Chicago actors for his new show Crime Story (1986-88).
Set in the Fifties Crime Story weaved fact around fiction in much the same way James Ellroy does in his novels. Levine was cast as Frank Holman, a small-time crook and associate of rising young Mafioso Ray Luca (Anthony Dennison). Levine gave Holman an edgy, nervous demeanour, whose mumbled speech and dreams of being a rock star are almost comical, but hide a parasite looking for a place to draw blood.
Crime Story Leads to Movie Roles for Ted Levine
Hector Babenco cast Levine as a derelict opposite Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep in the acclaimed Ironweed (1987). There’s more than a touch of Frank Holman into his portrayal of Wes, the racist ex-mercenary in the risible Betrayed (Costa Gravas1987), a film directed with all the subtlety of an alcoholic driving a combine harvester. There was another scary redneck in a so-so action movie Next of Kin (John Irvin 1989) alongside Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson.
The Silence of the Lambs
Levine plays Jame Gumb aka 'Buffalo Bill' whose murders lead FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) to seek help from the notorious serial killer Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins). The power of The Silence of the Lambs has been weakened over time as countless films have imitated its style and narrative, but Levine's performance holds up although it never won him the kind of acclaim afforded to his illustrious co-stars. Gumb is a wounded animal, at once pathetic and dangerous, howling like a child when his beloved poodle is threatened.
Ted Levine's Career After the The Silence of the Lambs
Levine added some menace and acting ability to the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Nowhere to Run (Robert Harmon 1993). There was a rare leading role in horror has-been Tobe Hooper's The Mangler (1995) as a cop in pursuit of a killer laundy machine. There were cop roles again in Heat (Michael Mann 1995), The Fast and the Furious (Rob Cohen 2001), Wonderland (James Cox 2003) based on a notorious multiple homicide involving the porn star John Holmes, and American Gangster (Ridley Scott 2007).
Levine played the heavy in a one-off follow-up to the show Wiseguy (TV James Wiseman 1996), and in Jonathon Demme's The Truth About Charlie (2002), not to mention his vocal performance as 'Rusty Nail,' the wronged trucker in Roadkill. Levine's turn as Mickey Rourke's disturbed brother in Bullet (Julien Temple 1996) has to be seen to be believed. Cast as an army-obsessed mummy's boy, Levine spends much of the film in his underwear.
One of his gentlest roles came in the underrated Birth (Jonathon Glazer 2004) in which he plays a concerned parent worried about his son. The Hills Have Eyes remake (Alexandre Aja 2006) saw him cast against type as the good father. Levine has a recurring role in the TV series Monk (200 2- ) and plays a shrink looking after the mental health of doctors in Wonderland (2000, 2009). Levine can also add Martin Scorsese to the list of world class directors he has worked with, as next he will be appearing in Shutter Island, an adaptation of Dennis Lahaine's novel due later this year.
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