Actor · Acting

Stephen Tobolowsky

Born 1951-05-30

📍 Dallas, Texas, USA

Stephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in Memento, as well as such television characters as Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood, Bob Bishop in Heroes, Sandy Ryerson in Glee, Stu Beggs in Californication and White Famous, "Action" Jack Barker in Silicon Valley, Dr. Leslie Berkowitz in One Day at a Time, Principal Earl Ball in The Goldbergs, and Dr. Schulman in The Mindy Project.

Tobolowsky was born on May 30, 1951, in Dallas, Texas. He studied geology at Southern Methodist University but switched to theater after being cast in a production of "The Crucible." He later attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he graduated with a degree in drama.

Tobolowsky began his acting career in the early 1980s, appearing in films such as The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), Nobody's Fool (1986), and Spaceballs (1987). He also had a recurring role on the television series Seinfeld (1989-1998).

Tobolowsky's breakthrough role came in 1993, when he played Ned Ryerson in the comedy Groundhog Day. His performance in the film was critically acclaimed, and he has since become one of the most recognizable character actors in Hollywood.

Tobolowsky has continued to work steadily in film and television over the years. He has appeared in numerous other films, including Memento (2000), Mulholland Drive (2001), and The Informant! (2009). He has also had recurring roles on the television series Deadwood (2004-2006), Heroes (2006-2007), Californication (2007-2014), and Silicon Valley (2014-2019).

In addition to his acting career, Tobolowsky is also a writer and a podcaster. He has written two books, The Dangerous Animals Club (2002) and The Tobolowsky Files (2017). He also hosts the podcast The Tobolowsky Files, in which he tells stories about his life and career.

Filmography 250

as Melvin Reinhold

Haul Out the Halloween

as Ned Broadhead

Freakier Friday

as Mr. Elton Bates

The Cowboy Killer

Thelma & Louise: Born to Live

Nobody Wants This

as Stephen Toronkowski / Blanche

Candy Cane Lane

as Mr. Benedetto (uncredited)

Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up

as Dragonfly (voice)

Jimmie & Stevie Ray Vaughan: Brothers in Blues

Haul Out the Holly

The Really Loud House

as Walter Phillipini

Hollywood Signs

as John’s Dad

Stars in the House

ThunderCats Roar

as Driller (voice)

Green Eggs and Ham

as Chad (voice)

Fantastic Mr. Murray

as Self - Interviewee

The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-ween

as Creepy Rattlechains (voice)

as Dr. Berthram

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"

as Mayor Paulson

Monsters at Large

as Mr. Phillips

Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown

as Andy Gunderson (voice)

One Day at a Time

as Dr. Berkowitz

Justice League Action

as Professor Stein (voice)

as Reverend Weld

Six L.A. Love Stories

as Professor John Dobler

Welcome to the Men's Group

Where is Rocky II?

as Byron (segment: "Monument One")

The Confirmation

as Father Lyons

as Stephen ( voice)

as Thomas Edison

The Primary Instinct

as Chief Hardaway

Big Time in Hollywood, Fl

Hello Ladies: The Movie

Christian Mingle

as Douglas McCarver

Atlas Shrugged: Part III

as Dr. Hugh Akston

The Hotwives of Orlando

Friends with Better Lives

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

as Principal Purdy (voice)

Guys and Girls Can't Be Friends

Toy Story of Terror!

as Principal Ball

Pearblossom Hwy

The Mindy Project

as Marc Shulman

as Uncle Ubb (voice)

You May Not Kiss the Bride

as Mr. Geekman (voice)

as Alan Davenport (voice)

as Judge Gelineau

Boys On Film 4: Protect Me From What I Want

as Father Joe (segment "Trevor")

as Jerry Barkley

as Professor Peter Sheffield

as Robert (voice)

The Time Traveler's Wife

as Dr. Kendrick

The Face is Familiar

as Sandy Ryerson

Beethoven's Big Break

True Jackson, VP

as Lars Balthazar

The Rainbow Tribe

as Principal Sands

Waiting for Yvette

Californication

John from Cincinnati

The Sarah Silverman Program.

as Bill Fantastimart

The Valley of Light

Loveless in Los Angeles

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party

The New Adventures of Old Christine

as Principal James Merrow

Failure to Launch

The Sasquatch Gang

Promise Me Tomorrow

as Carl Venable

Living 'til the End

Ghost Whisperer

McBride: The Doctor is Out...Really Out

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

as Tom Abernathy

as Bigmouth Executive / Forge (voice)

Desperate Housewives

as Dr. Alvin Azinabinacroft

Complete Savages

Debating Robert Lee

as Debate Judge

Little Black Book

as Mayor of Beverly Hills

as Happy Chapman

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

as George Ruddy

Frankie and Johnny Are Married

as Murray Mintz

Married to the Kellys

as Henry Conway

as Donny Rollins

View from the Top

as Frank Thomas (uncredited)

as Ringmaster Bob

Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey

National Security

as Billy Narthax

as Dr. Javitz (uncredited)

The Country Bears

as Norbert Barrington

Groundhog Day: The Weight of Time

The Day the World Ended

According to Jim

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

as Jim Halliwell

as Mayor Tom Thompson

as Tom (wraparound segments)

Freddy Got Fingered

The Lone Gunmen

Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes

Curb Your Enthusiasm

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

as Spencer Freiberg

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion

as B.J. McQueen

Malcolm in the Middle

as Eric Kluster

Don't Look Under the Bed

as Michael McCausland

as Julius Walters

as Michael Bench

as Dr. Max Milkman

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

as Edwin Adelson

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

as Captain Gaine

The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story

as Tabaqui (voice)

Around the Fire

as Ned Weathers

as Numericles (voice)

The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars

as Calculator (voice)

Two Guys and a Girl

as Father Viteri

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn

as Agent FBI Chuck Stupak

as Clyde Burrows

King of the Hill

as Dr. Benson / Burt Halverstrom (voice)

The Curse of Inferno

as Lonnie Martin

The Glimmer Man

as Christopher Maynard

as Dr. Alan Trader

as Craig Levitz

Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco

as Bando (voice)

as Jeffrey Solomon

The Drew Carey Show

The Naked Truth

as Vincent Hartford

Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde

as Oliver Mintz

Murder in the First

Radioland Murders

as Max Applewhite

as Dr. Ted Joseph

My Father the Hero

as Thomas 'Thom' Whitney

Against the Grain

as Niles Hardeman

Harts of the West

as Roger Livingston

as Mike Krakower

as Principal Hocksacker

Where the Day Takes You

as Dr. Werner Brandes

Single White Female

as Mitch Myerson

Roadside Prophets

Memoirs of an Invisible Man

as Warren Singleton

Deadly Medicine

Thelma & Louise

as Warden Holliday

Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster

as Sergeant Phil Baranski

The Marla Hanson Story

as Defense Attorney

as Mr. Anderson

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

as Mayor Bill Klepler

Funny About Love

as Merle (voice)

as District Attorney

Great Balls of Fire!

as Jud Phillips

as Darryl Horwath

Mississippi Burning

Two Idiots in Hollywood

as Prosecuting Attorney

as Captain of the Guard

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd

Designing Women

as Michael Segal

Crazy like a Fox

The Philadelphia Experiment

as French deMille / Documentary Narrator

Cocaine and Blue Eyes

as Steve Comiskey

Keep My Grave Open

as Self - Nominee

Butterfly in the Typewriter