Gil Birmingham
Gil Birmingham is a talented actor and musician of Comanche ancestry, renowned for his roles in the Twilight Saga and the acclaimed television series Yellowstone. Born on July 13 in San Antonio, Texas, he spent his formative years moving across various states due to his father's military service. While Birmingham initially pursued a degree in education administration at the University of Southern California, he later transitioned into entertainment, starting with music and bodybuilding before finding his calling in acting. His breakthrough role came in 2008 as Billy Black in Twilight, where he portrayed a character from the Quileute tribe, which allowed him to represent contemporary American Indian identities. Birmingham has appeared in numerous television series and films, including Into the West, The Lone Ranger, and Wind River, while also lending his voice to upcoming projects like X-Men '97. Beyond acting, he is committed to sharing the experiences and challenges faced by American Indians in modern society. Residing in Southern California, Birmingham continues to engage with his musical roots alongside his flourishing acting career.
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Subject Terms
Gil Birmingham
Actor
- Born: San Antonio, Texas
Contribution: Gil Birmingham is an actor and musician of Comanche ancestry, best known for his role in the Twilight Saga (2008–12) series of films and the popular drama series Yellowstone (2018-2024).
Background
Gil Birmingham was born in San Antonio, Texas, and is of Comanche ancestry. His birthday is July 13; his birth year has been variously reported as 1953 and 1966. Because his father was in the military, Birmingham spent much of his youth living in a number of different states. He began playing guitar at age ten. In interviews, Birmingham describes music and the guitar as being his first interest in the arts and says he modeled his style on players like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
Birmingham graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in education administration, but he did not begin working in this field. He has said that he was attempting to think practically as a young man and so took a job in petrochemical engineering, where he worked for several years.
After college, Birmingham took an interest in bodybuilding and competed in several bodybuilding competitions in Southern California. Bodybuilding led to Birmingham’s first acting role, an appearance in Diana Ross's 1982 music video “Muscles.” Taking an interest in acting, Birmingham decided to educate himself in the craft, and he studied with well-known acting coaches Larry Moss and Charles Conrad. Due to his muscular physique, he subsequently won a job playing Conan the Barbarian at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
Career
Birmingham’s first television role was as a police officer in a 1986 episode of the series Riptide. Other minor roles followed, including guest appearances on Falcon Crest (1987), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1997).
Birmingham’s first regular role was as Oz on the 2002 television series Body & Soul, about a group of doctors attempting to introduce spiritual and holistic healing to their practice. The show was canceled after nine episodes. In 2005, Birmingham costarred in the Steven Spielberg miniseries Into the West, which followed two families—one white, one American Indian—during the western expansion period of American history. The series was nominated for sixteen Emmy Awards and won two.
In 2008, Birmingham debuted in his most recognizable role to date: that of Billy Black in Twilight, the first film of the immensely popular series based on the novels of Stephenie Meyer. Billy Black is the father of one of the story’s main protagonists, Jacob Black, played by actor Taylor Lautner. In the books and film adaptations, the Blacks belong to the Quileute people, a group native to the Washington State area, with their largest population in La Push, Washington.
In 2010, Birmingham visited the Quileute Days festival in La Push, where he signed autographs as part of a fundraiser for the Quileute elders. In a 2010 interview for the Port Angeles Peninsula Daily News, Birmingham said that he spent time researching the Quileute in preparation for his role in the Twilight films, the last of which was released in 2012. He added that he was excited to play the role because it offered an opportunity to portray American Indians in a modern, rather than historical, setting.
Birmingham continued to make guest appearances in various television series, including Nip/Tuck (2009), Castle (2010), and The Mentalist (2010). In 2009, he had a minor role in the comedy film Love Ranch, alongside veteran stars Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci. Birmingham also appeared in the sports drama Crooked Arrows (2012), a film about an American Indian lacrosse team in a preparatory school tournament. The film received generally negative reviews but was considered to be an interesting exploration of the history of lacrosse in American Indian culture.
In 2013, Birmingham appeared as Red Knee, a Comanche warrior, in The Lone Ranger, a Disney action film based on the long-running television program. Though the film’s most prominent American Indian character, Tonto, is played by Johnny Depp—who is Caucasian, although he may or may not have some American Indian ancestry—the film attempted to provide a more culturally accurate view of the Comanche and to break from some of the stereotypical Hollywood portrayals of American Indians.
Birmingham continued to land roles both in film and on television. In addition to appearing in four episodes of the hit Netflix political drama House of Cards in 2014, he began a recurring role as the father of one of the characters in another popular Netflix series, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and appeared in that part in a number of episodes between 2015 and 2017. Furthermore, he took on a part as a Texas Ranger in the crime drama Hell or High Water in 2016 before having a prominent role in the critically acclaimed drama Wind River in 2017. After appearing in the biographical drama Saint Judy in 2018, he began portraying Sheriff Dale Bishop in the Freeform series Siren, which was renewed for a third season in 2019. At the same time, he started appearing in the popular Kevin Costner–helmed series, Yellowstone. Birmingham played the role of Thomas Rainwater through the show's five-season run.
In addition to his role on Yellowstone, Birmingham also starred in the 2023 film The Marsh King's Daughter and lent his voice to the animated TV series X-Men ’97 in 2024.
Impact
Birmingham is one of a small number of American Indian actors appearing in films, and he has said in interviews that he is proud to portray characters that help elucidate the lives of American Indians in the contemporary world and the challenges they face. Birmingham’s role as the father of Jacob Black in the Twilight series made him famous to a highly enthusiastic group of fans.
Personal Life
Birmingham lives in Southern California, where he continues to write and perform music between appearances in television and film.
Bibliography
“Biography.” Official Website of Gil Birmingham. 2024, gilbirmingham.wixsite.com/gilbirmingham/biography. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.
Dickerson, Paige. “Billy Black Actor Talks of Role on Eve of Visiting LaPush.” Peninsula Daily News, 16 July 2010, www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/billy-black-actor-talks-of-role-on-eve-of-visiting-lapush/. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.
"Gil Birmingham." IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm0083655/. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.
Gire, Dann. “A Little Bit of Job Advice, Courtesy of Two Twilight Stars.” Daily Herald, 24 June 2010, www.dailyherald.com/20100623/lifestyle/a-little-bit-of-job-advice-courtesy-of-two-twilight-stars/?print. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.
Pond, Roscoe. “Through the Kindness of Strangers: Actor Gil Birmingham Arrives.” Indian Country Today, 4 Apr. 2003, ictnews.org/archive/through-the-kindness-of-strangers-actor-gil-birmingham-arrives. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.