Tim Blake Nelson

Tim Blake Nelson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Ruth and Don Nelson. He graduated from Brown University in 1989 as a classics major, then go on to study at Juilliard, graduating in 1990.

Tim is a multi-talented artist. He started his career as a cast member on the sketch comedy show, The Unnaturals, appearing on the show from 1989 to 1991.

In 1992, he became a playwright, when his debut play, Eye of God, was produced at Seattle Repertory Theatre. His second play, The Grey Zone, premiered at MCC Theater in New York in 1996. Tim would direct film versions of both his plays, with Eye of God (1997) earning him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for the "Someone to Watch Award."

His feature film debut came in This is My Life (1992), playing the role of Dennis. In 1996 he appeared in the mini-series Dead Man’s Walk with F. Murray Abraham. He had a featured role as Delmar in the Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and sang the song "In the Jailhouse Now" on the film’s soundtrack, which received a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002.

Tim played supporting roles in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report (2002) with Tom Cruise and in Holes (2003) with Shia LaBeouf and Sigourney Weaver.
He played Samuel Sterns in the superhero film The Incredible Hulk (2008) with Edward Norton.

Afterwards, he returned to the director’s chair for Leaves of Grass (2009) starring Edward Norton and Keri Russell. The film premiered at TIFF, and after struggling to find a distribution partner, was screened the following year at South by Southwest. The film was nominated for an Audience Award and ultimately debuted on six screens in its theatrical run.

Tim reunited with Spielberg to play the supporting role of Richard Schell in the Oscar-winning biopic Lincoln (2012) starring Daniel Day-Lewis.

In 2018, he played the titular character in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a western anthology film directed by the Coen Brothers. Tim had originally received the script 16 years prior, in 2002. The film was eventually released on Netflix after a limited theatrical run and received positive reviews — with many praising Tim’s performance.

The following year he played Ralph Myers in the legal drama film Just Mercy (2019) with Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson. That same year he appeared on the HBO series Watchmen with Regina King. He played the character of Wade Tilman and was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

In 2021 he appeared in Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed film, Nightmare Alley with Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett and Willem Dafoe. He worked with del Toro again the next year in a pair of projects. He was the voice of Black Rabbits in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) and played Nick Appleton on an episode of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.

In 2024 he played the lead role in the film Bang Bang. For his performance he won a Jury Award for Best Actor at the Rome International Film Festival.

In 2025, he reprised his role as Samuel Sterns in Captain America: Brave New World with Anthony Mackie taking on the role of Captain America.

Tim is married to Lisa Benavides. Together they have three sons, one of whom is a director himself. Tim serves on the Board of Trustees of Bryn Mawr College, the school from which his mother graduated in 1958.

Filmography (Actor):

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Atropia (2025)
Greedy People (2024)
Bang Bang (2024)
The Invisibles (2024)
The Bricklayer (2023)
Asleep in My Palm (2023)
Ghosted (2023)
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio (2022)
National Champions (2021)
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Ghosts of the Ozarks (2021)
Old Henry (2021)
Naked Singularity (2021)
The Jesus Rolls (2019)
The True Don Quixote (2019)
Just Mercy (2019)
Angel Has Fallen (2019)
The Hustle (2019)
Sequestrada (2019)
The Report (2019)
Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People (2018)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Monster (2018)
The Institute (2017)
The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017)
Deidra & Laney Rob a Train (2017)
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016)
Colossal (2016)
The Confirmation (2016)
Fantastic Four (2015)
Black Dog, Red Dog (2015)
Anesthesia (2015)
Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power (2014)
Kill the Messenger (2014)
The Sound and the Fury (2014)
The Homesman (2014)
Snake & Mongoose (2013)
Child of God (2013)
Bukowski (2013)
As I Lay Dying (2013)
Blue Caprice (2013)
Lincoln (2012)
Adventures in the Sin Bin (2012)
Big Miracle (2012)
The Big Year (2011)
Detachment (2011)
Yelling to the Sky (2011)
Flypaper (2011)
Leaves of Grass (2009)
Saint John of Las Vegas (2009)
American Violet (2008)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
Fido (2006)
Hoot (2006)
Come Early Morning (2006)
The Darwin Awards (2006)
Syriana (2005)
The Big White (2005)
Crazy for Love (2005)
The Amateurs (2005)
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Bereft (2004)
The Last Shot (2004)
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
Wonderland (2003)
Holes (2003)
2 Brothers & a Bride (2003)
Minority Report (2002)
Cherish (2002)
The Good Girl (2002)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Hamlet (2000)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Joe’s Apartment (1996)
Heavyweights (1995)
Amateur (1994)
This Is My Life (1992)

Filmography (Director):
Anesthesia (2015)
Leaves of Grass (2009)
The Grey Zone (2001)
O (2001)
Eye of God (1997)