Gil Bellows is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Billy Thomas in FOX's drama series "Ally McBeal." He made his debut on American television as a guest star in an episode of "Law & Order." Gil is married to actress Rya Kihlstedt, whom he met in 1991 while they were both working on the Williamstown Theater Festival. They have two daughters together. His most popular movie role was "The Shawshank Redemtpion." Gil attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, California.
Born: 28 June 1967
Wife: Rya Kihlstedt
- Gil: The exciting thing about what I do is, if you're a little lucky and you're a little busy, chances are you get to work with great directors. And if you do a Robert Altman film, chances are you'll work with all of them.(edit)
- Gil: I've had a few opportunities in my life to be a part of classic entertainment and anytime you have a chance to be a part of something that can stand the test of time, you relish it.(edit)
- Gil (about working on Ally McBeal): We have an opportunity here to do something that is ground-breaking, that doesn't come along very often.(edit)
- Gil (about starring in Ally McBeal): It's the role of a lifetime and she's incredibly good.(edit)
- In 2005, Gil landed his first job as a producer. He co-produced Sweet Land, a drama movie starring Alan Cumming & Lois Smith.(edit)
- In 2004, Gil appeared in another documentary as himself, this time in a short feature movie titled Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at 'The Shawshank Redemption', which reflected on the film in its 10th Anniversary.(edit)
- In 1996, Gil played himself in Al Pacino's documentary movie titled Looking for Richard, based on William Shakespeare's novel.(edit)
- Besides acting in America, Gil had a starring role in a French movie titled Un amour de sorcière, in 1997, along with Jean Reno and Dabney Coleman.(edit)
- Gil's first ever appearance on TV screen was in 1991 in an Law & Order episode titled The Violence of Summer.(edit)
- In 1999, Gil and his co-stars from Ally McBeal won a Screen Actors Guild Award for their performance in the acclaimed drama series.(edit)
- In 1998, Gil was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award along with his fellow co-stars from FOX's drama series Ally McBeal.(edit)
- When casting for Ally McBeal, the producers said that Gil will be a regular on the show only for a season, but the audience loved his character Billy and they decided to keep him for two more seasons.(edit)
- In 1994, Gil landed his first movie role in the prison drama The Shawshank Redemption.(edit)
- In January 1995, Gil was featured in a article in USA's version of Playboy titled Off Camera: Gil Bellows.(edit)
- In February 1998, Gil was featured on the TV Guide magazine cover photo.(edit)
- Gil attended high school with Carrie-Anne Moss.(edit)
- Gil was a reader on Exit to Eden, a Random House Audio Book by Anne Rice.(edit)
- In 1998, Gil starred in a TV commerical for Cadillac.(edit)
- Gil is 5' 9" (1.75 m).(edit)
Filmography
Actor:
- Unthinkable (2009) (filming) .... Vincent
- 24: Redemption (2008) (TV) (post-production) .... Frank Trammell
- Infected (2008) (TV) .... Ben
... aka They're Among Us (Australia)- Toronto Stories (2008) .... Henry
- Passchendaele (2008) .... Royster
- "The Cleaner" .... Mickey Efros (1 episode, 2008)
- Pilot (2008) TV episode .... Mickey Efros- bgFATLdy (2008) .... Sam
- Kill Kill Faster Faster (2008) .... Joey One-Way
- The Promotion (2008) .... Mitch
- Final Days of Planet Earth (2006) (TV) .... Lloyd Walker
- "Terminal City" .... Ari Sampson (10 episodes, 2005)
- Episode #1.10 (2005) TV episode .... Ari Sampson
- Episode #1.9 (2005) TV episode .... Ari Sampson
- Episode #1.8 (2005) TV episode .... Ari Sampson
- Episode #1.7 (2005) TV episode .... Ari Sampson
- Episode #1.6 (2005) TV episode .... Ari Sampson
(5 more)- The Weather Man (2005) .... Don
- Keep Your Distance (2005) .... David Dailey
- A Bear Named Winnie (2004) (TV) .... Col. John Barret
- Zeyda and the Hitman (2004) .... Jeff Klein
... aka Running with the Hitman (USA: video title)- Cooking Lessons (2004) (TV) .... Professor Mocha
- Childstar (2004) .... Isaac
- How's My Driving (2004) .... Jimmy
- Pursued (2004) .... Ben Keats
- "Karen Sisco" .... Special Agent Donny Pepper (1 episode, 2004)
- Dog Day Sisco (2004) TV episode .... Special Agent Donny Pepper- EMR (2004) .... Paramedic
- Blind Horizon (2003) .... Dr. Theodore Conway
- "The Twilight Zone" .... Rob Malone (1 episode, 2003)
- Homecoming (2003) TV episode .... Rob Malone- Fast Food High (2003) .... Dale White
- 1st to Die (2003) (TV) .... Chris Raleigh
... aka F1rst to Die (USA: promotional title)
... aka James Patterson's F1rst to Die (USA: promotional title)- Second String (2002) (TV) .... Dan Heller
- "Ally McBeal" .... Billy Thomas / ... (33 episodes, 1997-2002)
- Bygones (2002) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
- The Wedding (2001) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
- Turning Thirty (2000) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
- I Will Survive (2000) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
- Boy Next Door (2000) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
(28 more)- "The Agency" .... Matt Callan (22 episodes, 2001-2002)
- Finale (2002) TV episode .... Matt Callan
- Doublecrossover (2002) TV episode .... Matt Callan
- The Understudy (2002) TV episode .... Matt Callan
- Peacemakers (2002) TV episode .... Matt Callan
- The Greater Good (2002) TV episode .... Matt Callan
(17 more)- Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story (2002) (TV) .... Mike De Guerin
- Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature (2001) (TV) .... Miles
... aka She Creature (USA)- The Agency (2001) (TV) .... Matt Callan
- "Night Visions" .... Keith Miller (1 episode, 2001)
- Renovation (2001) TV episode .... Keith Miller- Chasing Sleep (2000) .... Det. Derm
... aka Insomnies (Canada: French title) (France)- Beautiful Joe (2000) .... Elton
- The Courage to Love (2000) (TV) .... Dr. Gerard Gaultier
- "Ally" .... Billy Thomas (12 episodes, 1999)
- The Blame Game (1999) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
- Boy to the World (1999) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
- Fool's Night Out (1999) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
- Cro-Magnon (1999) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
- The Dirty Joke (1999) TV episode .... Billy Thomas
(7 more)- Say You'll Be Mine (1999) .... Mason
- Dinner at Fred's (1999) .... Richard
- Judas Kiss (1998) .... Lizard Browning
- "The Practice" .... Billy Thomas (1 episode, 1998)
- Axe Murderer (1998) TV episode .... Billy Thomas- The Assistant (1997) .... Frank Alpine
- Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) .... Will
... aka Snow White (USA: short title)
... aka Snow White in the Black Forest
... aka Snow White in the Dark Forest
... aka Snow White: A Tale of Terror (Canada: English title)
... aka The Grimm Brothers' Snow White- Un amour de sorcière (1997) .... Michael
... aka Witch Way Love- The Substance of Fire (1996) .... Val Chenard
- Radiant City (1996) (TV) .... Bert Kramer
- White Lies (1996) .... Punk Guy
- Miami Rhapsody (1995) .... Matt
- Silver Strand (1995) (TV) .... Brian Del Piso
- Black Day Blue Night (1995) .... Hitchhiker Dodge
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994) .... Tommy
- Love and a .45 (1994) .... Watty Watts
- "Going to Extremes" .... Ben (2 episodes, 1993)
- Bridesmaid Revisited (1993) TV episode .... Ben
- Body Language (1993) TV episode .... Ben- "Flying Blind" .... Gerard (1 episode, 1992)
- Single White Eurotrash (1992) TV episode .... Gerard- "Law & Order" .... Howard Metzler (1 episode, 1991)
... aka Law & Order Prime (USA: informal title)
- The Violence of Summer (1991) TV episode .... Howard Metzler
- The First Season (1988) .... Ronne
Producer:
- Untitled Temple Grandin Project (2009) (filming) (executive producer)
- Kill Kill Faster Faster (2008) (producer)
- Sweet Land (2005) (co-producer)
Thanks:
- Sweet Land (2005) (without whom this film would not be quietly breathing)
Self:
- Are We Alone? (2006) (V) .... Himself
- Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at 'The Shawshank Redemption' (2004) (V) .... Himself
- "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" .... Himself (3 episodes, 1999-2002)
- Episode dated 11 April 2002 (2002) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 3 December 1999 (1999) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 3 March 1999 (1999) TV episode .... Himself- The 28th Annual People's Choice Awards (2002) (TV) .... Himself
- McBeal Appeal (1999) (TV) .... Himself
- The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1999) (TV) .... Himself
- Looking for Richard (1996) .... Himself
from www.imdb.com
INTERVIEW
Let's talk about the story and the characters that you portray in "Infected"?
Gil Bellows : My character's name is Ben Mosher and he is the editor of the mystery and science supplement to the newspaper, The Boston Daily. He is not satisfied with his line of work, he looks at it as though it's not real journalism. He is also licking his wounds from a pretty nasty breakup with his ex-girlfriend Lisa but he is still hoping to reconnect with her. She also works for the Boston Daily, as a star reporter. Well, Ben and Lisa get swept up in a story about aliens trying to take over the world, by taking over people's bodies. They work together to try to figure out what is going on. While working together they rediscover their feelings for each other.
Judd Nelson : My character's name is Malcolm and let's say of the bad guys, I am the good guy. So I am the good bad guy. And I want to help the hero and the heroine and we have to do it fast because the bad guys are on a quick time schedule.
Isabella Rossellini : My character, Carla Plume is an editor-in-chief of a newspaper. She is a go-getter, a woman with a big career. She's very assertive. In the film, I am also being inhabited by an alien. People don't know that I have changed and that I am no longer Carla but am now an alien. And I use my power and my assertiveness to skew the news, or to control, this overtaking that is slowly happening in favor of the aliens.
As an actor, do you deliver a different sort of approach to a film depending on what genre it is?
Bellows: I think as an actor it is really important in terms of how you approach any genre that you believe in the circumstances that you are experiencing because if you believe in them, then the audience will believe in them. I think this is most important in a genre like Sci-Fi—to create a world of believability, to let what your character is experiencing and going through be something that the audience can identify with because I think that is what anyone who loves this genre gravitates to.
What is it about this project that captivated your attention?
Rossellini : I always found that alien stories were fascinating when I was a little girl. I really believed in, at the time we called them, Martians, thinking that maybe they would come from Mars. I always liked the B-movies from the 1950s. This script felt very much like those movies, in fact, when I read it, I thought it was a remake, but I was told that it was an original. It traces back to all those great traditions that we have on the mysteries. It was able to capture those thrilling feelings that I had when I was a little girl.
Gil what was it like working with such industry icons as Isabella and Judd?
Bellows : Well anytime you get a chance to work with people that you respect and that you have appreciated as a movie lover—it's one of the great perks of the job. And I think when you have someone like Isabella Rossellini in your film it gives the film a level of class and stature immediately just because of her presence. She is a lovely person who exudes class, poise and professionalism, and she's a beautiful woman. She's had a wonderful career and she's in our film so that's great! Judd's performance in "The Breakfast Club", I thought he should have be nominated, and granted, it is a teen movie, but he just blew away everybody in that movie. He was just unbelievable, and that movie was sort of the dawn of the teen drama. It brought it back to iconic films like "Splendor in the Grass" or "Rebel Without A Cause", I mean it had that much cultural relevance in the moment it came out and he was incredible in that film. So the opportunity to work with both of these two people in this movie is a huge bonus. And it is one of those things that your kids and your grandkids are going to get a kick out of—along with your friends, and I got a kick out of it as well, while I was working on the film.
What have been your favorite scenes to shoot?
Bellows : I have to say that I really enjoyed smashing the needle into my hip socket to pull the bone marrow out. It is so bizarre. And my whole goal was to gross out the people in front of the monitor and to make them think that I was in absolute utter agony and when I could see that they had lost a little color on their faces I thought we are getting someplace. So I enjoyed that.
Nelson : Well it is pretty funny actually. My schedule has been pretty front-loaded. So my first few days I pretty much did all my scenes where I do a lot of exposition. Talking about why we are here, what the purpose of our plan is, what they should be aware of, and what they need to do if they might want to survive. So it all happens for me on the first day. Since then I just sneak in the back of scenes, show up at the end of scenes, and what is left for me is some of the action stuff, which for me is very minor. I have a big win and a big loss. And that is what is coming up.
Rossellini : I don't have a favorite scene but what I like about this film is that it constantly throws you off. You think it is a romantic comedy, you think you are following two people in love, it twists and turns. But really the story is, that the world, the human world is slowly being taken over.
What have been the most difficult scenes to shoot?
Bellows : So far the challenges haven't been specific to any scene. When you are doing a film when you start at a certain level of tension and then you have to sustain it all the way through. In terms of your vision with the director and the whole team about how you are going to capture each scene one after another because you are not doing it in sequence. So that has been a real pleasure here with this production because I think Francois the producer, Adam the director, and all the cast seem to have the same vision of what we are trying to execute and how we are trying to do it.
Nelson : The most challenging scene was certainly the first day where I had 12 pages of dialogue! You normally have the first day to meet the camera crew, say hello to the sound guys, get your bearings, and know the names of the people you will be working with. So that was challenging, because I didn't want to not know it and then slow every one down. You look at the call sheet and go that is a lot of work to do today. So it was challenging to deal with the time constraints.
What kinds of special effects are being used on this film?
Bellows: There are a number of visual effects that will be used in telling this story as well as special effects. So we are working with some great prosthetics make-up artists as well as computer effects people. The computer effects people line the scene up well in advance and they highlight to both Adam Weissman, the director, and the actors what we need to be conscious of when we are actually shooting the scene so that they can most effectively execute what their part is. The closer and the clearer that you can be with the effects team the better the outcome is ultimately going to be, and fortunately we have some very performance sensitive people that we are working with.
Talk about working with the director, Adam Weissman. Have you ever worked with him before?
Bellows : I have never worked with Adam Weissman before. Though we have a great ability to communicate and understand what the other person is trying to do. I really enjoy his energy on set, his vision of what he thinks this film is, his clarity, plus he has a great sense of humor, and he is very open for ideas and I think that is always a good sign when you are working with a director. I hope I get a chance to work with him again.
Nelson : No I never have. But I hope it is the first of many, because he just has a good manner. I really think that is the most important thing. There are these subtle relationships that you don't know really until you work on one. He's very nice, he treats people well, doesn't get all riled, and the days get made so he engenders hospitality. And as an actor you love a situation where people aren't yelling and screaming although in my life people always seem to be yelling and screaming at me so it doesn't really bother me anymore. Adam is a good guy to work for, and the first few scenes that I had there were some kind of strange lines and stuff, and he was like ‘look, however you want to say them do it, and if it doesn't hurt the story and it gets the exposition out a bit easier then he was all for it.'Adam seems to get along with everyone and you want to work hard for someone like that.
You have worked with RHI Entertainment previously, what has you experience been like?
Bellows : Having an opportunity to work with Mr. Halmi and his son and their whole company is a rite of passage. Robert Halmi, Sr. has probably made close to 300 movies. So my goal is for every 100 of his movies that he makes, I want to do one of them. I am guessing he's at about 300 so he owes me one more movie!
Rossellini : I did "Earthsea" with the Sci Fi Channel, a few years ago, and I've worked with Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr. several times. From "Odyssey" to "Merlin" to "Don Quixote". I think Bob Halmi's goal is to create a body of work that is meant for the family, not just the young, but also the parents, and even the grandparents. Which I think is a very consistent mission that he had throughout "Earthsea". And it is a great pleasure to be part of a film that you can see with your children or with the older ones of the family. It is a film that everybody would enjoy. It's a very hard note to strike and I have always admired Bob for seeking a body of work that he dedicates to the whole family. And always the best crew, the best locations, the best make-up, the best costumes, the best actors, just the best quality of the work is always great.