Most of the time, they’re not headlining movies nor TV shows. They’re not regulars on TMZ, Entertainment Tonight nor other Hollywood hype machines. And they’re not reality show attention whores who are famous for simply being famous…or trying to be famous. What they are is all too frequently the unheralded; the people whose solidly consistent work affects and often delights us. They’re the ones who don’t always get the credit when the credit is due. We aim to change that.

CHUD Salutes:

Nick Chinlund / Bruce McGill / J.T. Walsh / Keith David & David Keith Brion James / Al Leong / Anthony De Longis / Mykelti Williamson


Name: Anthony Tiran Todd

Vital Stats:
– Date of Birth: December 4, 1954
– From: Washington, DC
– 6′ 5″ tall

IMDB Page

Official Site

Notable Roles: Warren, Mr. William Wright, Vietnam Vet, Ben, Kurn, The Candyman, Grange, Jake Sisko, Mr. Bludworth, CIA Director Graham, Alpha Hirogen, Gilgamesh, General Benjamin Juma, The Fallen, Reverend Zombie, Captain Darrow, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.

Career Hiccup(s): Cop Rock

Notable Quotes:

– “This is something no one’s ever heard about, and no one’s ever seen before. This is hell on earth.”
– “Tell me, Worf, does Starfleet ever make mistakes? Even in their furniture?”
– “They will say that I have shed innocent blood. What’s blood for, if not for shedding?”
– “I saw him too. He had a guitar. He winked at me before he jumped out a fourth floor window like he had wings.”
– [pulls his combat knife] “You know how this shit works?”
– “In death there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mishaps, and no escapes.”
– “Such fire in you now. People are always most alive just before they die. Don’t you think?”
– “If you resist, we will destroy the world as you know it.”

Why We’re Saluting:

How could we not celebrate this wholly unique performer, distinctive by his size, but much more noteworthy for having arguably the most devastatingly cool voice in modern film?  Equally adept as a lead performer or a supporting one, this veteran of over 150 film and television roles over the past 25 years has carved not a niche, but a cave system in genre circles.  He can chill you with but a word and although a towering figure, can also convey a tenderness that belies his foreboding presence.  But make no mistake, when the role calls for someone to intimidate, he’s more than up to the task.

With a career which saw an early appearance in Platoon, Todd has been a regular on the silver screen, with appearances in Colors, Bird and Wishmaster, and more recent turns in the Hatchet films.  He gave a respectable central performance in the 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake as Ben.  He was Michael Wincott’s right hand man, Grange, in The Crow, where he was an element of cool in an otherwise chaotic narrative filled with revenge and violent death. But it was his 1992 turn as the suave yet vicious Candyman where he made people regret saying his name three times…like really regret it.  He would reprise that role in two subsequent sequels.  And in the first two Final Destination films, he was far creepier as Mr. Bludworth than the unseen Grim Reaper ever was.  He voiced the Devil in the third film of that series and will be making a return to Bludworth in the upcoming fifth installment.

Todd’s genre roots in television go all the way back to one of Fox’s inaugural shows, Werewolf, in which he had a guest role.  Since then, there have been numerous guest appearances on shows such as 21 Jump Street, Night Court, MacGyver, The X-Files, Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, Psych, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, 24, Chuck, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, Masters of Horror, Stargate SG-1, Criminal Minds, Night Stalker, The District,  Boston Public, CSI: Miami, Charmed, Andromeda, Crossing Jordan, Smallville, UC: Undercover, Angel, Soldier of Fortune, Inc., NYPD Blue, Beverly Hills, 90210, New York Undercover, Murder, She Wrote and The Event.  Todd has done repeat business on the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess franchises, with separate turns as Gilgamesh and Gladius on Hercules and Cecrops the Mariner on Xena.  He’s also co-starred in a trilogy of Black Fox telemovies as the titular former slave in 1860s Texas with Christopher Reeve.

Todd has been a favorite in several roles for the modern Star Trek TV series.  On The Next Generation, he portrayed Worf’s younger brother, Kurn, in three memorable episodes: “Sins of the Father” and the two-parter about a Kilngon civil war, “Redemption.”  Todd repeated the role on Deep Space Nine in the episode, “The Sons of Mogh.”  However, one of the best episodes of that series occurred in the simply excellent, “The Visitor.” In it, Todd did a one-off portrayal of an older Jake Sisko who was tormented by the phantom-like reappearances over a span of 50 years by Avery Brooks’ Captain Sisko due to a fateful warp core accident.  That episode was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1996 and remains a favorite of many fans.  Todd also made an appearance on Voyager as an Alpha Hirogen hunter in the episode, “Prey.”

Todd has capitalized on his iconic voice in several media, voicing roles such as The Fallen in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Pokemon, Sym-Bionic Titan, Star Trek: Elite Force video game, The Legend of Dragoon video game, Half-Life 2: Episode Two and DC Universe Online as Darkseid.  He’ll also be returning to his Night of the Living Dead role in the upcoming Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D.  On portraying so many dark characters, this charismatic actor once commented, “It’s very interesting that most of the roles I’ve gotten are grim, when I’m actually a very well-adjusted man and had a happy upbringing. I guess there are some dark shadows somewhere in there, but I’m a big kid.”

Tony Todd  Factoids

Reportedly, Todd beat out such future notables as Laurence Fishburne, Ving Rhames and Eriq La Salle for the role of Ben in the Night of the Living Dead remake.  But he would ultimately lose out to La Salle for the role of Dr. Peter Benton in ER four years later.

 

 

 

 


 

Mr. Todd, we salute you.