Archibald Marshall Bell (born September 28, 1942)
is an American
character actor. He has appeared in many
character
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
roles in
movies and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...
. He is known for roles in ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge'' (1985), ''
Stand by Me'' (1986), ''
Twins'' (1988), ''
Total Recall'' (1990) and ''
Starship Troopers'' (1997).
Early life and education
Bell was born in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, where he lived until age 13. His family then moved to
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
. Bell attended
boarding school at
St. Paul's,
Concord, New Hampshire, but was expelled. He then went to
Fountain Valley School
The Fountain Valley School of Colorado is a private, co-educational independent college preparatory school for students in 9th through 12th grades. The school's primary campus is located on of rolling prairie at the base of the Rocky Mountains in ...
in
Colorado Springs, where he became interested in
acting
Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode.
Acting involves a bro ...
after
performing
A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function.
Management science
In the work place ...
as Elwood Dowd in the
play ''
Harvey''.
Bell was discouraged by others, however, who told him he was not a good enough actor, and did not act again for over 20 years. He attended the
University of Colorado,
majoring
An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conc ...
in
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
, and served three years in the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. He eventually became a
consultant
A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization.
Consulting servi ...
, teaching
business executives to improve their speaking skills.
Career
Bell's movie debut was in the role as Ronsky in Alan Parker's
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
''
Birdy'' (1984). After ''Birdy'', he played Gerry Jones in the Fred Roos
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...
''
Seven Minutes in Heaven'' (1985). His first major role was as the cruel Coach Schneider in the
slasher/
horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction
**Korean horror, Korean horror fiction
* Horror film, a film genre
*Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...
''
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge'' (1985). Bell played Mr. Lachance, Gordie's grieving father, in the
adventure
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...
/drama ''
Stand by Me'' (1986); the ruthless
hitman
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may b ...
, Webster, in the comedy ''
Twins'' (1988) starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger and
Danny DeVito; and George, who has
mutant
In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
Martian resistance leader, Kuato, attached to his stomach, in director
Paul Verhoeven's
blockbuster
Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to:
*Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived.
Corporations
* Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain
** Blo ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
/adventure ''
Total Recall'' (1990) starring Schwarzenegger.
He made his TV acting debut in the series ''
The Oldest Rookie'' in 1987, playing Det. Gordon Lane. Bell starred as Ford Plasko in the short-lived series ''
G vs E''. His many
guest appearance
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
s include ''
Hill Street Blues'', ''
Wiseguy'', ''
Tales from the Crypt'', ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'', ''
Millennium'', ''
Deadwood
Deadwood may refer to:
Places Canada
* Deadwood, Alberta
* Deadwood, British Columbia
* Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia
United States
* Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communiti ...
'' and ''
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...
''. He has also appeared in a
TV commercial for
IBM.
Other movie roles include Lips' Cop in the
action/
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
thriller
Thriller may refer to:
* Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television
** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre
Comics
* ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
''
Dick Tracy'' (1990) opposite
Warren Beatty; the
title role of a frightening
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
man terrorizing
Bill Paxton's character in the comedy/thriller ''
The Vagrant'' (1992) opposite Paxton and
Michael Ironside; General Owen in the science fiction/adventure ''
Starship Troopers'' (1997); the warden, Marshall Krutch, in the award-winning
biopic ''
Capote
Capote may refer to:
People
* Capote Band of Utes, a branch of the Ute people
* Truman Capote, an American author, screenwriter, playwright, and actor
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Capote'' (film), a 2005 biographical film starring Philip S ...
'' (2005) opposite
Philip Seymour Hoffman; John Leshing in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
/
mystery ''
Nancy Drew'' (2007) opposite
Emma Roberts; and Principal Rocker in the comedy ''
Hamlet 2'' (2008). Bell also played the
voice acting role as Mr. Sesehund in the
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
feature ''
Heidi 4 Paws'' (2008).
Personal life
Bell is married to
Milena Canonero, a four-time
Oscar-winning
costume designer, and they live in
West Hollywood, California.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Marshall
American male film actors
American male television actors
University of Colorado alumni
Male actors from Tulsa, Oklahoma
Male actors from Denver
Male actors from Los Angeles
1942 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni