IMDB · TheMovieDB.com · TV Maze

Actor

1957-05-29 · Bellaire, Ohio, USA · Male

18 series in the catalog

Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Jame Gumb, the serial killer "Buffalo Bill" in the film The Silence of the Lambs (1991). He was in the main cast of the television series Monk (2002–2009) as Leland Stottlemeyer.

Levine's other notable roles are in the films Nowhere to Run (1993), Heat (1995), Bullet (1996), The Fast and the Furious (2001), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), American Gangster (2007), Shutter Island (2010), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), and The Report (2019).

Early life

Levine was born in Bellaire, Ohio, the son of Charlotte Virginia (Clark) and Milton Dmitri Levine, who were both doctors and members of Physicians for Social Responsibility. Levine's father was of Russian-Jewish descent and his mother had Welsh and Native American ancestry. He describes himself as a "hillbilly Jew". He grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. In 1975, he enrolled at Marlboro College.

Career

He became a fixture in the Chicago theatre scene and joined the Remains Theatre which was co-founded by Gary Cole and William Petersen. After his stage experience, Levine began to devote most of his energy during the 1980s toward finding roles in film and television. One of his most prominent roles in the 1980s was that of mob enforcer Frank Holman in the NBC drama Crime Story (1986–88).

After his breakout role in The Silence of the Lambs as primary antagonist Jame Gumb, there was a period where he was typecast in villainous roles. He was gradually able to branch out into other types of roles, such as a member of Al Pacino's police unit in Heat, and astronaut Alan Shepard in the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon. In the drama Georgia, he played Mare Winningham's husband, one of his most sympathetic roles.

In 2001, Levine performed as Paul Walker's police superior Sergeant Tanner in The Fast and the Furious. He also had an uncredited role as the voice of sociopathic trucker "Rusty Nail" in Joy Ride, also starring Walker.

He played Detective Sam Nico in the 2003 film Wonderland, based on the gruesome murders in the Hollywood Hills. He also appeared as a psychiatrist at a mental institution in Wonderland, an unrelated 2000 TV series of the same name that aired briefly on ABC.

From 2002 to 2009, he co-starred as Captain Leland Stottlemeyer on USA Network's detective series Monk, starring Tony Shalhoub.

Levine provided the voice of the supervillain Sinestro in Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited, all part of the DC Animated Universe.

Levine also appeared as a patriarch whose family takes a turn for the worse in the remake of The Hills Have Eyes (2006).

In 2007, he portrayed Sheriff James Timberlake in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and appeared in Ridley Scott's American Gangster, alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

In 2010, he appeared as the warden of the island prison in Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

In 2012, he appeared as Sheriff Bloom Towne in Deep Dark Canyon, alongside Spencer Treat Clark and Nick Eversman, who portrayed Sheriff Towne's sons, Nate and Skylar, respectively.

In 2013, he had a major supporting role in the FX murder mystery series The Bridge as Lieutenant Hank Wade, commander of a police homicide unit in a Texas border city.

In 2014, he portrayed General Underwood in the British-Finnish action film Big Game.

In 2018, Levine co-starred in the sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, as hunter Ken Wheatley.

From 2018 to 2020, he played Thomas F. Byrnes on the TNT series The Alienist.

In 2021, he joined the cast of the ABC drama Big Sky, playing the role of Horst Kleinsasser.

Personal life

Levine has two children with girlfriend Kim Phillips; a son and a daughter.