The 59-year-old actor -- best known for playing tenacious insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the 1993 comedy 'Groundhog Day' and who has more recently stolen scenes in on the TV shows 'Deadwood' and 'Glee' -- has amassed some 200 credits since appearing in his first legitimate production, the 1983 made-for-TV movie 'Cocaine and Blue Eyes,' which starred none other than O.J. Simpson.
But Moviefone is also interested in Tobolowsky because, in his spare time, he has established himself as a stand-out humor writer and master storyteller -- as fans of his Slashfilm podcast The Tobolowsky Files know well. This past summer, The Awl featured his excellent two-part essay about auditions, and in 2012 Simon & Schuster will publish his memoir.
All of this makes us extremely happy to announce that Tobolowsky has joined the Moviefone fold as a columnist. But before you read the first installment of his semi-regular humor column, Stephen Tobolowsky Is The Best Expert Moviefone Could Find, let's find out a bit more about him.
9 Awesome Facts About Stephen Tobolowsky
1. He told us in a recent phone interview that, in 1976, when deciding which coast to relocate to from his hometown of Dallas, Texas, in order to pursue acting, he chose Los Angeles because "it was better to be poor in Los Angeles than New York because the weather was better."
2. After a string of starter roles, he landed the choice part of Captain of the Guards in the 1987 comedy 'Spaceballs.'
3. His breakout role came a year later, when he played a fanatical KKK leader in 'Mississippi Burning.'
4. A few years and about 15 parts after that, he turned up on 'Seinfeld,' as a kooky holistic healer.
5. Also in 1991, he appeared in 'Thelma and Louise,' including the iconic final scene.
6. In 1993, he dominated as Ned Ryerson in 'Groundhog Day.'
7. After almost literally a ton of roles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including scene-stealing parts in 'The Insider,' 'Memento,' and 'Freaky Friday,' he landed an outstanding role, as Hugo Jarry, on HBO's notoriously potty-mouthed 'Deadwood.'
[Warning: Clip is NSFW]
8. Sandy, his scheming character on 'Glee,' also has the last name Ryerson.
"It's a mystery to me about whether me doing that part was meant to be," said Tobolowsky. "The name Ned Ryerson was in the first version of the script that they sent out. So, did Ryan [Murphy, the creator of 'Glee'] always want me to be in the show? Was it kind of preordained? I don't know."
9. IMDB lists Tobolowsky as having been in 'Romeo Is Bleeding,' but he doesn't buy it.
"I wrote them and said, 'Am I in this movie?'," said Tobolowsky. "But you know, a lot of times you do a movie and they change the name. I've never seen it, so I don't know. Making a movie is a completely different experience than seeing a movie, and it doesn't usually interest me to go see it just because I'm in it."
"You do some jobs because they're jobs," he continued. "And you do some jobs because you love the script. You do some jobs because you want to meet sombody you've always admired. There's many reasons for doing a project, but one of them isn't so you can watch yourself on-screen afterwards! It usually hurts. It hurts."
Read Stephen Tobolowsky's first Moviefone column:
Episode #1: Craft Services
Stephen Tobolowsky is an award-winning character actor who has appeared in over 200 movies and TV shows. His podcast, The Tobolowsky Files, is absolutely worth your time, and you should totally follow him on Twitter.
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