Ned Bellamy
About
Biography
Biography
Character actor Ned Bellamy was one of film and television's most prolific supporting players for over three decades, with a string of appearances that included turns on "Seinfeld" (NBC 1989-1998), "Treme" (HBO 2010-13) and "Justified" (FX 2010-15), as well as features like "Ed Wood" (1994), "Twilight" (2008) and "Django Unchained" (2012). Though frequently cast as thugs, hoods and dangerous types, Bellamy was also a talented comic performer, as evidenced by his appearance on "Seinfeld," features like "Mystery Men" (1999), "War, Inc." (2008) and numerous sitcoms. He was also a a dedicated supporter of live theater through Los Angeles' experimental Actors' Gang troupe, which he co-founded with Tim Robbins. Like many character actors, Bellamy's name was less known to audiences than his face, but that level of recognition, borne from decades of work in roles ranging from virtual cameos to major secondary characters, put him in league with some of the greats in his field, whose dependability and versatility ensured their enduring popularity.
Born May 7, 1956, Ned Bellamy was the son of Bill and Nelle Bellamy. His siblings, Mark and Anne, later became involved in African culture and politics as U.S. Ambassador to Kenya and president of the African Travel tourism company, but Ned Bellamy developed an interest in acting, which he pursued at UCLA after the family moved to La Jolla, California. After graduation in 1981, he joined fellow student Tim Robbins in helping to form The Actors' Gang, an experimental, non-profit theater group in Los Angeles. During this period, Bellamy also began appearing on episodic television, appearing in bit and supporting roles that often took advantage of his stern visage and imposing frame. By the late '80s, his career had expanded to features, ranging from independent efforts like Robbins' "Bob Roberts" (1992) to low-budget titles like the Roger Corman-produced "Carnosaur" (1993). By the mid-1990s, Bellamy had paid his dues and settled into steady work as a featured character actor in movies like Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" (1994), which cast him as the chiropractor hired to stand in for the late Bela Lugosi during the making of "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (1956) and "Cobb." On television, Bellamy gave a memorable turn as a knife-wielding co-worker of Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) on a 1996 episode of "Seinfeld."
Bellamy's feature credits piled up in the late '90s and early 2000s, with turns in Robbins' "The Cradle Will Rock" (1999) and a slew of pictures with frequent Actors' Gang collaborator John Cusack, including "Con Air" (1997), "Being John Malkovich" (1999), "The Jack Bull" (TNT 1999) and "Runaway Jury" (2004). He also played a man trapped by the deadly killer Jigsaw in "Saw" (2004) and appeared in "Lords of Dogtown" (2005), his first picture with "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke. After years of playing hard cases, Bellamy began moving into more humorous roles in the late 2000s, enjoying comic turns in "The Ice Harvest" (2005) with Cusack, as well as "Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny" (2006) with Actors' Gang performer Jack Black and multiple appearances on "Scrubs" (NBC 2001-2010). In 2008, he enjoyed high profile appearances in Hardwicke's "Twilight" as a victim of rogue vampire Cam Gigadet and on "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (Fox 2008-2009) as a sadistic security guard who tormented the show's heroine (Lena Headey). By 2011, Bellamy was among the busiest character actors in the entertainment business, with recurring roles as the grieving father of a murder victim on "Treme" and as a criminally inclined businessman on "Justified." Between these efforts, he enjoyed plum roles in Lee Daniels' hallucinogenic potboiler "The Paperboy" (2012), the supernatural thriller "The Possession" (2012) and as the ill-fated leader of an outlaw gang gunned down by Jamie Foxx in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" (2012). The following year, he was cast as the rabidly devout Reverend Lester Coggins, who met an unpleasant end on the hit science fiction series "Under the Dome" (CBS 2013-15).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1979
Television debut on "The Waltons" (CBS, 1971-1981
1981
Co-founds The Actors' Gang with Tim Robbins
1988
Feature film debut in "The Night Before" with Keanu Reeves
1994
Supporting role in "The Shawshank Redemption"
1996
Plays deranged co-worker on "Seinfeld" (NBC, 1989-1998
2004
Cast as survivor of psychopath's rampage in "Saw"
2008
Featured as Waylon Forge in "Twilight"
2013
Recurring role on "Justified" (FX, 2010- )
2013
Recurring role on "Under the Dome" (NBC, 2013-)
