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 SpotlightIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost 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)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Lee Tergesen

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,00091
Lee Tergesen at an event for Wanted (2005)
Trailer for Silver Tongues
Play trailer1:13
Silver Tongues (2011)
23 Videos
71 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 5,00091
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins total

    Photos71

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 65
    View Poster

    Known for

    Oz (1997)
    Oz
    8.7
    TV Series
    • Tobias Beecher
    James Ransone and Lee Tergesen in Generation Kill (2008)
    Generation Kill
    8.4
    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



    • Pellett
      • Clem Pellett
      • In Production
    • The Wrong Road
      • Peter
      • Post-production
      • Short



    • Jeremy Sisto, Alana De La Garza, Missy Peregrym, John Boyd, and Zeeko Zaki in FBI (2018)
      FBI
      7.1
      TV Series
      • Marshal Brad Kimble
      • 2025
    • Michael Chiklis, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Abigail Breslin, and Whitney Cummings in Accused (2023)
      Accused
      7.0
      TV Series
      • Rob
      • 2024
    • Lee Tergesen and Dean Winters in ZO (2024)
      ZO
      7.8
      Short
      • Tobias Beecher
      • 2024
    • Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan, Donnie Wahlberg, and Will Estes in Blue Bloods (2010)
      Blue Bloods
      7.7
      TV Series
      • Quinn
      • 2024
    • Justin Hartley in Tracker (2024)
      Tracker
      7.1
      TV Series
      • Ashton Shaw
      • 2024
    • Undertow: Narcosis (2022)
      Undertow: Narcosis
      7.0
      Podcast Series
      • Eddie
      • 2023
    • Rose Lane Sanfilippo in Cabin Girl (2023)
      Cabin Girl
      4.6
      • Sheriff
      • 2023
    • Jason Beghe, Patrick John Flueger, Marina Squerciati, and LaRoyce Hawkins in Chicago P.D. (2014)
      Chicago P.D.
      8.1
      TV Series
      • Richard Beck
      • 2023
    • Jimmy Smits, Richard Kind, Kevin Rankin, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Amanda Warren in East New York (2022)
      East New York
      7.3
      TV Series
      • U.S. Marshall David Westlake
      • 2022
    • Anna Paquin, Colin Hanks, Jake Lacy, and Mckenna Grace in A Friend of the Family (2022)
      A Friend of the Family
      7.3
      TV Mini Series
      • Mr. Horstmann
      • 2022
    • Paul Walter Hauser and Taron Egerton in Black Bird (2022)
      Black Bird
      8.1
      TV Mini Series
      • Roger Nevins
      • 2022
    • Queen Latifah and Florin Penișoară in The Equalizer (2021)
      The Equalizer
      5.6
      TV Series
      • Deputy Jim Barnes
      • 2022
    • Ryan Eggold in New Amsterdam (2018)
      New Amsterdam
      7.9
      TV Series
      • Robert Wilkinson
      • 2022
    • Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
      Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
      8.1
      TV Series
      • Erik Garrison
      • Billy Skags
      • 2010–2021
    • Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald in The Good Fight (2017)
      The Good Fight
      8.3
      TV Series
      • Mr. Pezner
      • 2020

    Producer



    • Lee Tergesen and Dean Winters in ZO (2024)
      ZO
      7.8
      Short
      • producer
      • 2024

    Soundtrack



    • Weekend Express (2014)
      Weekend Express
      3.8
      TV Series
      • performer: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
      • 2022
    • Oz (1997)
      Oz
      8.7
      TV Series
      • performer: "The Last Duet", "Days Like These"
      • performer: "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)"
      • 1997–2002

    Videos23

    Red Tails
    Clip 1:15
    Red Tails
    Red Tails
    Clip 1:10
    Red Tails
    Red Tails
    Clip 1:10
    Red Tails
    Official Teaser Trailer - Season 1
    Trailer 0:56
    Official Teaser Trailer - Season 1
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:02
    Official Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 0:42
    Trailer
    Red Band Version
    Trailer 2:01
    Red Band Version

    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

    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
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.