Tobin Bell

Bell at the premiere of Saw 3D on October 27, 2010.

In 1982, Bell had a short uncredited scene in the Sydney Pollack film, Tootsie, playing a waiter at the Russian Tea Room. He told Movieline, "You know, when you're talking about Tootsie, it's the tip of the iceberg, because those other twenty-nine films I did aren't even on IMDb."[12] He worked on The Verdict (1982) for two weeks as a courtroom reporter in the trial. He recollected it being a "great opportunity" watching Sidney Lumet and Paul Newman, while also learning the technical aspect of acting.[12] For every role he plays, starting with the initial reading of the script to the final shot of a production, he keeps a journal of various questions about and motivations for his character. "I write all kinds of stream-of-consciousness things that help me."[9]

In 1982 Bell landed his first speaking role in the last few moments of the drama Sophie's Choice, starring Meryl Streep. In the mid-1980s, Bell said "I was doing off-Broadway plays three nights a week, working on my craft. And a director at the Actors Studio said, 'You know, Tobin you've been doing that for a while. I think you should go to Hollywood and play bad guys.'" Bell moved to Los Angeles and was cast in his first feature film, Alan Parker's Mississippi Burning (1988), as a "tough, street smart, FBI agent".[11] Bell played an assassin called "The Nordic Man" in another Pollack film, The Firm (1993). The same year, he played Mendoza in In the Line of Fire, where he attempts to taunt an undercover Clint Eastwood into proving his loyalty by murdering his partner, played by Dylan McDermott. He went on to appear in an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld titled "The Old Man" playing a record store owner. He appeared in two episodes of NYPD Blue playing different characters.

In 1994, Bell played a hospital administrator in the second episode of the first season of ER and went on to appear in an episode of another medical drama Chicago Hope, playing a terminally ill inmate on death row. That same year, he portrayed the "Unabomber" in the made-for-television film Unabomber: The True Story. In 1997, Bell guest starred in an episode of La Femme Nikita and Nash Bridges. The following year, he guest starred in an episode of Stargate SG-1 and a two-part episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. He also appeared as the villain Peter Kingsley during the second season of 24.

In 2004, Bell was cast as John Kramer, known as Jigsaw, an engineer who wants others to appreciate the value of life via twisted "games", in the horror film Saw.[10][13] The low-budget film was a box office success, spawning seven sequels: Saw II (2005), Saw III (2006), Saw IV (2007), Saw V (2008), Saw VI (2009), Saw 3D (2010), and Jigsaw (2017). He provided his voice for the Jigsaw character in the Saw video game (2009) and its sequel, Saw II: Flesh & Blood (2010), to which he provided his likeness.[14] Even though Bell spent three weeks lying on a floor and had very few lines, his role was pivotal to the first film.[15][16] For his role as "Jigsaw", Bell received MTV Movie Awards nominations in 2006 and 2007 for "Best Villain", won "Best Butcher" in the Fuse/Fangoria Chainsaw Awards and was given the "Best Villain in a Film Series" title at the 2010 Chiller-Eyegore Awards.[17] Although he considers his role in Saw to have been "a great blessing", he hopes to soon have the opportunity to be cast against type.[18] In 2016, he starred as hermit Yo Ling on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, revealed to be John Black's long lost father. He starred as the voices of the villain Doctor Alchemy and the malicious speed god and main antagonist Savitar on the third season of The Flash, in an uncredited role.