Gil Birmingham

Gilbert Birmingham (born July 13, 1953)^{[citation needed]} is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater on the Paramount Network series Yellowstone (2018–2024), George Hunter on Banshee (2014), Virgil White on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2017), and Billy Black in The Twilight Saga film series (2008–2012).

Early life

Birmingham was born in San Antonio, Texas, to a Comanche father and a mother of Spanish ancestry.^[1] 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 to be his "first love."^[2]

After obtaining a Bachelor of Science from the USC Price School of Public Policy,^[3] he worked as a petrochemical engineer, but later decided to become a bodybuilder and actor.^[4][5]

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, and recruited him for his first acting experience, a music video for Diana Ross's 1982 hit song "Muscles".^[6]

Theme parks

After that music video, Birmingham began to pursue acting as his primary career, studying 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.^[4]

Television

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. In 2018, he began portraying Chief Thomas Rainwater of the fictional Broken Rock Indian Reservation in Paramount Network's Yellowstone.

He has appeared in a number of other television series, including Animal Kingdom, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Veronica Mars, 10 Items or Less, Nip/Tuck, Castle, The Mentalist, House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Siren. He has also had roles in several television films, such as Gentle Ben (with Dean Cain) and Gentle Ben 2,^[7] Dreamkeeper, The Lone Ranger, and Love's Long Journey (with Erin Cottrell and Irene Bedard).

In 2022, Birmingham was cast as Detective Bill Taba, a Paiute man and non-Latter-day Saint, in the mini-series Under the Banner of Heaven.

In February 2021, Birmingham was cast as Charlie Bass in the Netflix thriller series Pieces of Her, adapted from the Karin Slaughter novel of the same name.^[8]

Films

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

In 2008, he was cast as the character Billy Black in The Twilight Saga film series. He performed in all five of the films.^[9][10]

The Twilight series led to 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.^[11]

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 Inuk elder) and the film Night at the Museum.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[12][13] Birmingham attended the film's premiere in Moore, Oklahoma, on September 13, 2016.^[14]

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.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

• 2001: The Doe Boy (in which Birmingham starred as Manny Deadmarsh) wins the Sundance International Filmmaker's Award^{[citation needed]}
• 2002: First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) award for an Outstanding Performance in a Recurring Role as Oz in Body & Soul^{[citation needed]}
• 2005: American Indian LA Film and Television Award for Outstanding Supporting Role as Sam in Dreamkeeper^[17]

References

1. ^ Leydon, Joe (August 14, 2018). "Gil Birmingham". Cowboys & Indians. Retrieved December 10, 2021. "...he was born to a Comanche father and a mother of Spanish ancestry"
2. ^ "Billy Black actor talks of role on eve of visiting LaPush". Peninsuladailynews.com. July 16, 2010. Archived April 6, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
3. ^ "Gil Birmingham adds 'Hell or High Water' to long resume". fresnobee
4. ^ Pond, Roscoe (April 2, 2003). "Through the Kindness of Strangers; Actor Gil Birmingham Arrives". Indian Country Today. 22 (42): D1.
5. ^ Gire, Dann (June 24, 2010). "Daily Herald | A little bit of job advice, courtesy of two 'Twilight' stars". Prev.dailyherald.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
6. ^ Kimberly Sherman (June 10, 2009). "An exclusive chat with Billy Black actor Gil Birmingham - Twilight Moonlighter". Blogs.hellomagazine.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
7. ^ "Gil Birmingham Biography". Filmreference.com. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
8. ^ Petski, Denise (February 5, 2021). "'Pieces Of Her': Gil Birmingham, Terry O'Quinn & Calum Worthy Join Netflix Series As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
9. ^ Ditzian, Eric (July 8, 2010). "'Breaking Dawn' Part Two Release Date Not Set For Summer 2012 - MTV Movie News". MTV. Archived from the original on January 6, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
10. ^ Kilpatrick, Christine (April 1, 2011). "Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart Married in Breaking Dawn". People. Archived from the original on April 3, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
11. ^ Rosenberg, Steven A. (August 11, 2011). "Local players add extra authenticity to movie about lacrosse - Boston.com". Articles.boston.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
12. ^ "Gil Birmingham". Te Ata. The Chickasaw Nation. October 9, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
13. ^ "Te Ata Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. October 9, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
14. ^ "Te Ata". Facebook. September 13, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
15. ^ Romano, Nick (February 15, 2024). "'X-Men '97' exclusive look reveals legacy costumes, Theo James casting". EW.com. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 26, 2025). "‘Y: Marshals’ Adds ‘Yellowstone’ Trio & Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, Brett Cullen, Tatanka Means". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
17. ^ "Bio"

External links

• Official website
• Gil Birmingham at IMDb