Joel Tobeck

Character actor Joel Tobeck specialized in ominous portrayals, particularly those in fantasy adventure sagas. From project to project, Tobeck's extremely unique and unconventional look set him apart from the pack, often (though not always) inclining him to creepy villainous roles. Tobeck's credits officially date back to the mid-'80s, but he first achieved a high profile during the following decade with guest work on the small-screen series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. On that program, Tobeck played a string of characters including the bellicose war god Strife and the malevolently prankish deity Deimos, both of whom caused extreme trouble for Hercules over the course of multiple episodes.

Next, Tobeck joined a cast of thousands and worked under the aegis of Peter Jackson on the fantasy opus The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), where he played an Orc lieutenant. If this assignment seemed a dramatic step up from what had preceded it, however, the best was still yet to come. The actor reached something of a career high in 2007, with a sequence of back-to-back roles in theatrical releases. That year, he tackled the offbeat part of Damien in the aggressively eccentric and offbeat character comedy Eagle vs. Shark, landed a supporting turn in the the vampire horror film 30 Days of Night, and also appeared in the mythical children's fantasy The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide