Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in Memento, as well as such television characters as Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood, Bob Bishop in Heroes, Sandy Ryerson in Glee, Stu Beggs in Californication and White Famous, "Action" Jack Barker in Silicon Valley, Dr. Leslie Berkowitz in One Day at a Time, Principal Earl Ball in The Goldbergs, and Dr. Schulman in The Mindy Project. Tobolowsky was born on May 30, 1951, in Dallas, Texas. He studied geology at Southern Methodist University but switched to theater after being cast in a production of "The Crucible." He later attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he graduated with a degree in drama. Tobolowsky began his acting career in the early 1980s, appearing in films such as The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), Nobody's Fool (1986), and Spaceballs (1987). He also had a recurring role on the television series Seinfeld (1989-1998). Tobolowsky's breakthrough role came in 1993, when he played Ned Ryerson in the comedy Groundhog Day. His performance in the film was critically acclaimed, and he has since become one of the most recognizable character actors in Hollywood. Tobolowsky has continued to work steadily in film and television over the years. He has appeared in numerous other films, including Memento (2000), Mulholland Drive (2001), and The Informant! (2009). He has also had recurring roles on the television series Deadwood (2004-2006), Heroes (2006-2007), Californication (2007-2014), and Silicon Valley (2014-2019). In addition to his acting career, Tobolowsky is also a writer and a podcaster. He has written two books, The Dangerous Animals Club (2002) and The Tobolowsky Files (2017). He also hosts the podcast The Tobolowsky Files, in which he tells stories about his life and career.
254 acting credits · 1 directing credit
Acting · 254
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
The Simpsons
1989
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000
CSI: Miami
2002
Desperate Housewives
2004
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
2001
Seinfeld
1989
The West Wing
1999
The Closer
2005
Curb Your Enthusiasm
2000
Malcolm in the Middle
2000
King of the Hill
1997
Falcon Crest
1981
Ghost Whisperer
2005
Glee
2009
Will & Grace
1998
Boston Legal
2004
Heroes
2006
Knots Landing
1979
The Practice
1997
Entourage
2004
The Drew Carey Show
1995
Chicago Hope
1994
The Goldbergs
2013
Archer
2009
Hacks
2021
Community
2009
Las Vegas
2003
Californication
2007
L.A. Law
1986
Mad About You
1992
That '70s Show
1998
We Bare Bears
2015
Justified
2010
Tony Awards
1956
The Dead Zone
2002
The Mindy Project
2012
The Pretender
1996
Cagney & Lacey
1982
Hercules
1998
Alice
1976
Deadwood
2004
Silicon Valley
2014
Fuller House
2016
According to Jim
2001
Stars in the House
2020
Designing Women
1986
Reba
2001
Roswell
1999
Freakier Friday
2025
Pound Puppies
2010
Arli$$
1996
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
2000
Memento
2000
Murder One
1995
The New Adventures of Old Christine
2006
227
1985
Two Guys and a Girl
1998
The Sarah Silverman Program.
2007
One Day at a Time
2017
Justice League Action
2016
The Naked Truth
1995
Crazy like a Fox
1984
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
2006
Green Eggs and Ham
2019
Basic Instinct
1992
The Defenders
2010
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
1987
The Lorax
2012
Suddenly Susan
1996
No Activity
2017
Groundhog Day
1993
True Jackson, VP
2008
Oliver Beene
2003
Dr. Ken
2015
Robots
2005
Another Period
2015
Thelma & Louise
1991
Nobody Wants This
2024
Any Day Now
1998
Spaceballs
1987
Minx
2022
Complete Savages
2004
The Lone Gunmen
2001
Off Centre
2001
Garfield
2004
The Really Loud House
2022
Mississippi Burning
1988
The Cool Kids
2018
Sneakers
1992
Raines
2007
Freaky Friday
2003
ThunderCats Roar
2020
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
2014
Frog and Toad
2023
Night Stalker
2005
Big Day
2006
The Time Traveler's Wife
2009
Bad Internet
2016
John from Cincinnati
2007
Friends with Better Lives
2014
Snoops
1999
Kingpin
2003
Shannon's Deal
1990
The Home Court
1995
Married to the Kellys
2003
Wild Hogs
2007
Fractured
2019
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
2005
The Valley of Light
2007
Failure to Launch
2006
Cafe Americain
1993
Do Over
2002
Schooled
2019
Harts of the West
1993
Bird on a Wire
1990
Candy Cane Lane
2023
National Security
2003
Buried
2010
Hero
1992
A Whole New Ballgame
1995
Mr. Rhodes
1996
The Insider
1999
White Famous
2017
Murder in the First
1995
Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco
1996
Big Time in Hollywood, Fl
2015
Scooby-Doo! Shaggy's Showdown
2017
Against the Grain
1993
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn
1998
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
1992
Freddy Got Fingered
2001
Dicktown
2020
The Glimmer Man
1996
The Philadelphia Experiment
1984
Dweebs
1995
Little Black Book
2004
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!
2004
Wedlock
1991
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
1990
View from the Top
2003
Blue Skies
1994
Poolman
2024
Mr. Magoo
1997
Single White Female
1992
Great Balls of Fire!
1989
My Father the Hero
1994
The Grifters
1990
The Country Bears
2002
The Hotwives of Orlando
2014
Black Dog
1998
Atlas Shrugged: Part III
2014
You May Not Kiss the Bride
2011
Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey
2003
The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars
1998
American Men
—
The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story
1998
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"
2019
Radioland Murders
1994
Where the Day Takes You
1992
The Pickle
1993
Calendar Girl
1993
In Country
1989
The Confirmation
2016
Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster
1991
Blind Dating
2006
Love Liza
2002
Swing Shift
1984
Mary the Widow
2026
Beethoven's Big Break
2008
The Prime Gig
2001
The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-ween
2019
Ritual
2002
Hello Ladies: The Movie
2014
Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde
1995
Peep World
2010
Black River
2001
Thelma & Louise: Born to Live
2025
The Sasquatch Gang
2006
The Rainbow Tribe
2008
Mirror Mirror
1990
Around the Fire
1998
One Man's Hero
1999
Butterfly in the Typewriter
—
Monsters at Large
2018
Fantastic Mr. Murray
2019
The Barber
2015
Roadside Prophets
1992
Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion
2000
Debating Robert Lee
2004
Josh & S.A.M.
1993
Checking Out
1988
Roe vs. Wade
1989
The Face is Familiar
2009
Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up
2023
Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes
2000
Funny About Love
1990
The Day the World Ended
2001
Hard Breakers
2011
Trevor
1994
On the Edge
2001
Boxboarders!
2007
Last Flight Out
1990
Par 6
2002
Loveless in Los Angeles
2007
Christian Mingle
2014
Strange Nature
2018
Don't Look Under the Bed
1999
Boys On Film 4: Protect Me From What I Want
2010
Mimics
2026
Cocaine and Blue Eyes
1983
Breaking In
1989
The Last Ride
2012
Loners
2019
Two Idiots in Hollywood
1988
Haul Out the Holly
2022
To the Moon, Alice
1991
Stanley's Gig
2000
Hollywood Signs
2022
Nobody's Fool
1986
Say It Ain't Solo
2012
Woodstockers
2026
Six L.A. Love Stories
2016
The Operator
2000
The Cowboy Killer
2025
Night Visitors
1996
Hail Mary
2011
Power 98
1996
The Curse of Inferno
1996
Love Virtually
2023
Tagget
1991
Welcome to the Men's Group
2016
Living 'til the End
2005
Haul Out the Halloween
2025
Groundhog Day: The Weight of Time
2002
Pearblossom Hwy
2012
Where is Rocky II?
2016
Magnificat
2011
Mamaboy
2016
The Marla Hanson Story
1991
McBride: The Doctor is Out...Really Out
2005
Guys and Girls Can't Be Friends
2014
Bossa Nova
2000
Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party
2006
Deadly Medicine
1991
Keep My Grave Open
1977
Promise Me Tomorrow
2006
Baby Talk
1991
Jimmie & Stevie Ray Vaughan: Brothers in Blues
2023
Toy Story of Terror!
2013
Frankie and Johnny Are Married
2003
Waiting for Yvette
2008
The Primary Instinct
2015
Watching Walter
2024