Teller
Biography
Teller is an American magician, actor and author who built a career on silence, rarely speaking during performances. Born in Philadelphia, he began performing with his friend Weir Chrisemer before meeting Penn Jillette in 1974; with Chrisemer they formed the Asparagus Valley Cultural Society, a troupe that began at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and later played San Francisco. From 1981 he and Jillette performed exclusively as Penn & Teller, an act that brought them a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2013 and the Magic Castle's Magicians of the Year award. He has co-written three magic books with Jillette and authored a memoir of his father, and he co-wrote a paper on stage magic for Nature Reviews Neuroscience. He wrote the 2010 show Play Dead, co-directed magic-infused productions of Macbeth and The Tempest, and directed the documentary Tim's Vermeer.
78years old
Turns 79 on February 14in 123 days
- Born Philadelphia
- Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
- Raymond Joseph Teller (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 10
- Career span
- 30 years1986 to 2016
Genres
- Comedy70%, 7 films
- Animation20%, 2 films
- Crime20%, 2 films
- Documentary20%, 2 films
- Adventure10%, 1 film
First and latest
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Getting ready for a role
Teller's trademark silence began when he performed magic at college fraternity parties and found that staying quiet stopped spectators from throwing beer and heckling him, so they paid more attention.
Behind the camera
Teller and Aaron Posner co-directed a 2008 version of Macbeth. Their production used stage magic techniques, including in the scenes featuring the Three Witches.
Behind the camera
Teller directed the documentary feature Tim's Vermeer, which came out in 2014. He and Jillette were executive producers, and Sony Pictures Classics handled distribution.
Behind the camera
Teller co-wrote a paper titled "Attention and Awareness in Stage Magic: Turning Tricks into Research" that appeared in Nature Reviews Neuroscience in November 2008.
Behind the camera
In 2010, Teller wrote Play Dead, which he called a throwback to spook shows of the 1930s and '40s. It ran September 12 to 24 in Las Vegas, then opened off Broadway in New York with Todd Robbins starring.
Teller movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Worked with
Teller shares nine films with Penn Jillette, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Penn Jillette's page
Lin Shaye's page
John DiMaggio's page
James Earl Jones's page
Phil LaMarr's page
Tress MacNeille's page
All films by Don Hahn
All films by Eric Goldberg
Francis GlebasDirector, 1 film, 2000
All films by Francis Glebas
Awards
Two awards and honors from 2003 to 2005.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 2005 | Richard Dawkins Award | Won | |
| 2003 | Emperor Has No Clothes Award | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.