Gil Birmingham (born July 13, 1953) is an American actor known for his role as Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater in the Paramount Network's television series Yellowstone. He is also known for his portrayal of Billy Black in The Twilight Saga film series and recurring television roles as George Hunter in Banshee and Virgil White in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Career
  • 2.1 Music videos
  • 2.2 Theme parks
  • 2.3 Television
  • 2.4 Films
• 3 Filmography
  • 3.1 Film
  • 3.2 Television
  • 3.3 Video games
• 4 Awards
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Early life

Birmingham was born in San Antonio, Texas. He identifies his father as being of Comanche descent. His family moved frequently during his childhood, due to his father's career in the military. Birmingham learned to play the guitar at an early age and considers music his "first love." After obtaining a Bachelor of Science from the USC Price School of Public Policy, he worked as a petrochemical engineer, but later decided to become an actor.

Career

Music videos

In the early 1980s, a talent scout spotted Birmingham at a local gym, where he had been bodybuilding and entering bodybuilding contests. He was recruited for his first acting experience, in a music video for Diana Ross, for her 1982 hit song "Muscles."

Theme parks

After appearing in Ross' music video, Birmingham began to pursue acting as his primary career. He studied acting with Larry Moss and Charles Conrad. He portrayed the character of Conan the Barbarian in Universal Studios Hollywood's theme park attraction The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular.

Television

In 1986, Birmingham made his television debut on an episode of the series Riptide. By 2002, he had a recurring role as the character Oz in the medical drama Body & Soul, starring Peter Strauss. In 2005, he was cast as the older Dogstar in the Steven Spielberg six-part miniseries Into the West.

He has appeared in a number of television series, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars, 10 Items or Less, Nip/Tuck, Castle, The Mentalist, House of Cards Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and “The Siren.” He has also had roles in several television films, such as Gentle Ben (with Dean Cain) and Gentle Ben 2, Dreamkeeper, The Lone Ranger, and Love's Long Journey (with Erin Cottrell and Irene Bedard).

Films

In 2001, Birmingham appeared in his first feature film, The Doe Boy, in which he portrayed Manny Deadmarsh.

In 2008, Birmingham was cast as the character Billy Black in The Twilight Saga film series. He performed in all five of the films.

The Twilight series has led to roles in other major film roles, including that of Sheriff Johnny Cortez in Love Ranch (with Joe Pesci and Helen Mirren), and Cal Bishnik in Shouting Secrets (with The Twilight Saga: New Moon castmate Chaske Spencer). In September 2011, Birmingham appeared in the film Crooked Arrows, cast in the role of Ben Logan.

Birmingham voiced Wounded Bird in the animated film Rango and has provided voice work for the television series The Wild Thornberrys (in which he voiced an Inuit elder) and the film Night at the Museum.

He played the partnering Texas Ranger to Jeff Bridges' character in the 2016 bank robbery film Hell or High Water.

In the Chickasaw Nation production of Te Ata, Birmingham plays Thomas Benjamin 'T.B.' Thompson, Mary Frances 'Te Ata' (Thompson) Fisher's father. Birmingham attended the film's premiere in Moore, Oklahoma, on September 13, 2016.

He was featured in The Space Between Us as Shaman Neka, which was released on February 3, 2017. He was featured as the father of a girl who dies on an Arapaho reservation in the 2017 film Wind River.

In February 2021, it was announced that Birmingham was cast as Charlie B* in the upcoming Netflix thriller series Pieces of Her, which is adapted from the Karin Slaughter novel of the same name.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards

• 2001: The Doe Boy (in which Birmingham starred as Manny Deadmarsh) wins the Sundance International Filmmaker's Award
• 2002: First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) award for an Outstanding Performance in a Recurring Role as Oz in Body & Soul
• 2005: American Indian LA Film and Television Award for Outstanding Supporting Role as Sam in Dreamkeeper

References

External links

• Official website
• Gil Birmingham at IMDb