Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConOutfest LASTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Lee Tergesen

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,0001140
Lee Tergesen at an event for Wanted (2005)
Trailer for Silver Tongues
Play trailer1:13
Silver Tongues (2011)
20 Videos
65 Photos
He was born on July 8, 1965 in Ivoryton, Connecticut and is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. His brother, Chris Tergesen, is a music supervisor and music editor. Lee has been married three times and has been married to Yuko Otomo, an art therapist, since 2011. They have a daughter, Lily, born in 2012.

While working as a waiter, he did his first stage work in New York. He landed his first major movie parts in Point Break (1991), Wayne's World (1992) and Wayne's World 2 (1993). In 1993, he played a recurring character, Chris Thormann, on Homicide: Life on the Street (1993). Next year, he got a starring role as Chett Donnelly on Weird Science (1994), which lasted until 1998. In 1997, he got another starring tv role on HBO's Oz (1997), as Tobias Beecher. It lasted until 2003.

Since Oz, he has appeared mostly on tv. He has had recurring or starring roles on Rescue Me (2004), Wanted (2005), Desperate Housewives (2004), Generation Kill (2008), Army Wives (2007), The Big C (2010), Red Widow (2013), Longmire (2012), The Americans (2013), Alpha House (2013) and American Horror Story (2011). After the Wayne's World movies, he has appeared in movies like Shaft (2000), Monster (2003), The Forgotten (2004), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Silver Tongues (2011), Red Tails (2012) and The Collection (2012).

Lee has also been busy in commercials. His "I love you, man!" line from Wayne's World (1992) was used by Budweiser in its beer commercials. Between 2003-2004, he provided the voice-over in Advil's commercials. Between 2011-2012, he provided the voice-over of TV commercials in Ally Bank's "People Sense" ad campaign.
BornJuly 8, 1965
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJuly 8, 1965
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,0001140
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards
    • 3 wins

Photos65

Lee Tergesen in Defiance (2013)
Anna Gunn and Lee Tergesen in Equity (2016)
Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, and Lee Tergesen in The Americans (2013)
Travis Gutiérrez Senger and Lee Tergesen
Alexander Skarsgård, James Ransone, Lee Tergesen, Stark Sands, and Billy Lush in Generation Kill (2008)
Lee Tergesen in Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Lee Tergesen in Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Lee Tergesen in Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Lee Tergesen in Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Lee Tergesen in Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)
Trieste Kelly Dunn, Lee Tergesen, and Jaimie Alexander in Blindspot (2015)
Trieste Kelly Dunn, Sullivan Stapleton, Lee Tergesen, and Jaimie Alexander in Blindspot (2015)

Known for:

Oz (1997)
Oz
8.7
TV Series
  • Tobias Beecher
James Ransone and Lee Tergesen in Generation Kill (2008)
Generation Kill
8.5
TV Mini Series
  • Evan 'Scribe' Wright
Mike Myers and Dana Carvey in Wayne's World (1992)
Wayne's World
7.0
  • Terry
  • 1992
Christina Ricci and Charlize Theron in Monster (2003)
Monster
7.3
  • Vincent Corey
  • 2003

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Tracker
    • Ashton Shaw
    • Pre-production
    • TV Series
    • 2024
  • Rose Lane Sanfilippo in Cabin Girl (2023)
    Cabin Girl
    • Sheriff Mason
    • 2023
  • Jason Beghe, Marina Squerciati, and Tracy Spiridakos in Chicago P.D. (2014)
    Chicago P.D.
    • Richard Beck
    • TV Series
    • 2023
  • Jimmy Smits, Richard Kind, Kevin Rankin, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Amanda Warren in East New York (2022)
    East New York
    • U.S. Marshall David Westlake
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Anna Paquin, Colin Hanks, Jake Lacy, and Mckenna Grace in A Friend of the Family (2022)
    A Friend of the Family
    • Mr. Horstmann
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2022
  • Paul Walter Hauser and Taron Egerton in Black Bird (2022)
    Black Bird
    • Roger Nevins
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2022
  • Queen Latifah in The Equalizer (2021)
    The Equalizer
    • Deputy Barnes
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Ryan Eggold in New Amsterdam (2018)
    New Amsterdam
    • Robert Wilkinson
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    • Erik Garrison
    • Billy Skags
    • TV Series
    • 2010–2021
  • Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald in The Good Fight (2017)
    The Good Fight
    • Mr. Pezner
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • The Plot Against America (2020)
    The Plot Against America
    • Agent Don McCorkle
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2020
  • Regina King in Watchmen (2019)
    Watchmen
    • Mister Shadow
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2019
  • Bull (2016)
    Bull
    • ADA Lawrence Charles
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge in City on a Hill (2019)
    City on a Hill
    • Vito 'The Pig' Lupo
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Téa Leoni in Madam Secretary (2014)
    Madam Secretary
    • Governor Richard Barker
    • TV Series
    • 2018–2019
  • The Purge (2018)
    The Purge
    • Joe Owens
    • TV Series
    • 2018

Soundtrack

  • Weekend Express (2014)
    Weekend Express
    • performer: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Oz (1997)
    Oz
    • performer: "The Last Duet", "Days Like These"
    • performer: "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)"
    • TV Series
    • 1997–2002

Videos21

Red Tails
Clip 1:15
Red Tails
Red Tails
Clip 1:10
Red Tails
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:02
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 0:42
Trailer
Red Band Version
Trailer 2:01
Red Band Version
Theatrical Version
Trailer 2:11
Theatrical Version
2ND Take
Trailer 2:11
2ND Take
Desert Cathedral
Trailer 2:07
Desert Cathedral
Tooken
Trailer 1:37
Tooken
Monster
Trailer 2:15
Monster
Silver Tongues
Trailer 1:13
Silver Tongues
Helena from the Wedding
Trailer 2:12
Helena from the Wedding

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Official Site
  • Height
    • 5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)
  • Born
    • July 8, 1965
    • Ivoryton, Connecticut, USA
  • Spouses
      Yuko OtomoFebruary 2, 2012 - present (1 child)
  • Relatives
    • Chris Tergesen(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Played Owen Musser in "The Foreigner" by Larry Shue (Laura Pels Theatre, New York City, New York, USA).

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He has no feeling in one of his index fingers. He lost it while banging his hands on the prisons bars in his first scene as Tobias Beecher on Oz (1997) .
  • Quotes
    [About which is the better kisser: his real-life wife, or co-star Christopher Meloni] "Definitely Meloni. When I kiss my wife, I don't see any cash."

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Production art
List
The Best Movies and Series in July
See our picks
Production art
Photos
Brand New Movie & TV Posters
See more posters

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Demo reel thumbnail
Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel
Demo reel thumbnail

How much have you seen?

Keep track of how much of Lee Tergesen’s work you have seen. Go to your list.

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.