Blake Robbins (born June 17, 1965) is an American actor and director of film and television. He appeared in the films ''
Wind River'', ''
The Ugly Truth
''The Ugly Truth'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. The film was released in North America o ...
'', ''
Jayhawkers
Jayhawkers and red legs are terms that came to prominence in Kansas Territory during the Bleeding Kansas period of the 1850s; they were adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause during the American Civil War. These gangs ...
'', and ''
To Leslie
''To Leslie'' is a 2022 American drama film directed by Michael Morris in his feature directorial debut, and written by Ryan Binaco. The film stars Andrea Riseborough as Leslie Rowland, a single mother and alcoholic who squanders all the prize m ...
''. Robbins is also known for his guest-starring appearances as Officer Dave Brass on the
HBO drama series ''
Oz'', Tom Halpert on the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
sitcom ''
The Office'', and Mitch Glender on the
FX crime drama series ''
Sons of Anarchy
''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club o ...
'', as well as supporting roles in ''
Firefly
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
'', ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...
'', ''
24'', ''
Entourage'', and ''
The Bling Ring
''The Bling Ring'' is a 2013 crime film written and directed by Sofia Coppola featuring an ensemble cast led by Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, and Claire Julien. It is based on the 2010 '' Vanity Fair'' articl ...
''.
After almost two decades working as an actor, Robbins stepped behind the camera and made his directorial debut with the independent drama ''The Sublime and Beautiful'', which premiered at the
Slamdance Film Festival
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...
. His second feature as director, the modern-day western ''
The Scent of Rain and Lightning
''The Scent of Rain and Lightning'' is a 2017 American drama film directed by Blake Robbins and written by Jeff Robison and Casey Twenter, based on the novel of the same name by Nancy Pickard. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Maika Mo ...
'' starring
Maika Monroe, received critical acclaim.
Early life
Robbins was born in Karamürsel, Turkey, where his father served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.
Robbins has one brother. His parents divorced when he was little and his mother remarried. Robbins had a strong connection with his stepfather, who passed away in April 2013. Robbins's biological father along with his brother struggled with alcoholism. After earning a degree in Business Marketing, Robbins attended the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ar ...
in New York City.
Soon after, he began to perform on
Broadway, working also as an acting coach for a while. Robbins currently resides in Los Angeles.
Career
Robbins began his career in 1996 with a guest appearance in an episode of the
ABC soap opera ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...
''. He went on to guest star in television series such as ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...
'', ''
Third Watch
''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced b ...
'' and ''
Firefly
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
'', before landing a recurring role as Officer Dave Brass in the HBO drama ''Oz'' between 2001 and 2003. During the 2000s, Robbins continued acting on the series ''
Charmed'', ''
Strong Medicine
''Strong Medicine'' is an American medical drama with a focus on feminism, feminist politics, health issues and class conflict that aired on the Lifetime Television, Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It was created and produced in part by Who ...
'', ''
Medium'', ''
Crossing Jordan
''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Kring, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001, to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed i ...
'', ''
The O.C.
''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initialis ...
'', ''
24'', ''
Without a Trace
''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...
'', ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
'' and ''
Private Practice Private practice may refer to:
* Private sector practice
** Practice of law
* ''Private Practice'' (TV series), an American medical drama
* ''Private Practice'' (album), released in 1978 by Dr. Feelgood
{{disambig
pt:Private Practice ...
''. Robbins also appeared as Tom Halpert on the NBC's comedy ''
The Office'', opposite
Steve Carell
Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in '' The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where C ...
and
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom '' The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its ni ...
.
Robbins' first film role was in the independent drama ''
Going Under''. Since then, he appeared in other numerous other features including ''
Love Comes to the Executioner'', ''
Bunker Hill'', and the romantic comedy ''
The Ugly Truth
''The Ugly Truth'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Nicole Eastman, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. The film was released in North America o ...
'', in which he stars alongside
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that brought her recognition and a ...
and
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film '' Tomorrow Never ...
.
Throughout the 2010s, Robbins guest-starred in several television series including ''
FlashForward
A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward, and more formally known as prolepsis) is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards a ...
'', ''
The Closer
''The Closer'' is an American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Brenda has a reputation as a cl ...
'', ''
Rizzoli & Isles
''Rizzoli & Isles'' is an American crime drama television series starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles. Based on the series of ''Rizzoli & Isles'' novels by Tess Gerritsen, the plot follows Boston Homicide poli ...
'', ''
CSI: NY'', ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''
Masters of Sex
''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography ''Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s through th ...
'' and ''
Legends''. Simultaneously, Robbins worked on a number of independent films, namely ''
Rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, a ...
'', ''
Jayhawkers
Jayhawkers and red legs are terms that came to prominence in Kansas Territory during the Bleeding Kansas period of the 1850s; they were adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause during the American Civil War. These gangs ...
'', ''Martyrs'' and ''Wind River''. More recently, he starred in the
Marcel Sarmiento
Marcel Sarmiento is a film director and writer who has created both comedy and horror films and commercials. He wrote and directed the 2007 comedy '' Heavy Petting'', co-produced and directed the 2008 horror film '' Deadgirl'', and directed a se ...
horror thriller ''Faceless''.
Robbins made his directorial debut with the independent drama ''The Sublime and Beautiful'', which he also wrote and stars in as David Conrad, a father who loses his children in a car accident.
Shot in only 12 days on a budget of $30,000, the film premiered at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival.
Writing for ''
Variety'', film critic Ronnie Scheib stated that Robbins "brings nothing new to Hollywood's dead-children genre".
Robbins directed his second film, ''
The Scent of Rain and Lightning
''The Scent of Rain and Lightning'' is a 2017 American drama film directed by Blake Robbins and written by Jeff Robison and Casey Twenter, based on the novel of the same name by Nancy Pickard. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Maika Mo ...
'', starring
Maika Monroe. Based on the 2010 novel of the same name by
Nancy Pickard, the story centers on Jody Linder (Monroe), a young woman who finds out the man responsible for murdering her parents has been released from prison. Having its world premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival, the film garnered a positive reception from critics; in his review for ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'', Frank Scheck opined that it was "a well-acted, intelligent thriller".
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Blake
1965 births
American male film actors
American male television actors
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Living people