Tobin Bell
Biography
Tobin Bell is an American actor who spent decades in small parts before becoming the face of the Saw franchise. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts, he trained at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg and Ellen Burstyn and began in the late 1970s doing stand-in and background work. His first feature role came in Mississippi Burning, followed by supporting turns in films such as The Firm (1993) and In the Line of Fire (1993). Cast as the serial killer John Kramer, known as Jigsaw, in Saw (2004), he returned for Saw II (2005) through Saw 3D (2010), Jigsaw (2017) and Saw X (2023). His Jigsaw work brought MTV Movie Awards nominations for Best Villain in 2006 and 2007 and a Chiller-Eyegore honor. Later credits include Dark House (2014), Gates of Darkness (2019) and ReBroken (2023).
84years old
Turns 85 on August 7in 299 days
- Born Queens
- Star sign: LeoThe sign runs July 23 to August 22
- Joseph Henry Tobin Jr. (birth name)Also credited as Joseph Henry Tobin
Movie Career
- Films
- 49
- Career span
- 43 years1981 to 2024
Genres
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First role
Tobin Bell's first feature film role came in 1988's Mississippi Burning, playing FBI agent Stokes, after a director at the Actors Studio told him to move to Hollywood and play bad guys.
Early training
Bell studied with Lee Strasberg and Ellen Burstyn after joining the Actors Studio, and he also became a member of Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse.
Big break
Bell's breakout came in 2004 as Jigsaw in Saw, a film shot in 18 days for $1.2 million in which he spent two weeks lying on a floor with very few lines.
Getting ready for a role
Bell keeps a journal for every role, from the first script reading to the final shot, writing stream-of-consciousness questions and motivations for his character.
Tobin Bell movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Darren Lynn Bousman directed four of these films, Kevin Greutert three and Don E. FauntLeRoy two. Two actors appear in six of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Costas Mandylor's page
Shawnee Smith's page
Betsy Russell's page
Gene Hackman's page
All films by Kevin Greutert
Don E. FauntLeRoyDirector, 2 films, 2019 to 2024
All films by Don E. FauntLeRoy
Also three films together2 more actors
- Donnie WahlbergSaw IV (2007), Saw III (2006) and Saw II (2005)
- Lyriq BentSaw IV (2007), Saw III (2006) and Saw II (2005)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Tobin Bell's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$1.8 billion
25 of the 49 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 49 films: 25 worldwide figure; 1 us gross only; 12 never in cinemas; 11 figure not found.
- 25Worldwide figure
- 1US gross only
- 12Never in cinemas
- 11Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 72% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$270M15.2% of the total
- 2$177M10.0% of the total
- 3$165M9.3% of the total
- 4$153M8.6% of the total
- 5$139M7.9% of the total
- 6$136M7.7% of the total
- 7$125M7.1% of the total
- 8$118M6.7% of the total
$489 millionfrom the other 17 films with a worldwide figure, 28% of the total
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.