Blake Robbins
Born (1965-06-17) June 17, 1965
Karamürsel, Turkey
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States
Turkey
Alma materAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
Years active1996–present

Blake Robbins (born June 17, 1965) is an American actor and director of film and television. He appeared in the films Wind River, The Ugly Truth, Jayhawkers, and To Leslie. Robbins is also known for his guest-starring appearances as Officer Dave Brass on the HBO drama series Oz, Tom Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office, and Mitch Glender on the FX crime drama series Sons of Anarchy, as well as supporting roles in Firefly, Law & Order, 24, Entourage, and The Bling Ring.

After almost two decades working as an actor, Robbins stepped behind the camera and made his directorial debut with the independent drama The Sublime and Beautiful, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival. His second feature as director, the modern-day western The Scent of Rain and Lightning starring Maika Monroe, received critical acclaim.

Early life

Robbins was born in Karamürsel, Turkey, where his father served in the United States Navy.[1] Robbins has one brother. His parents divorced when he was little and his mother remarried. Robbins had a strong connection with his stepfather, who passed away in April 2013. Robbins's biological father along with his brother struggled with alcoholism.[2] After earning a degree in Business Marketing, Robbins attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.[1] Soon after, he began to perform on Broadway, working also as an acting coach for a while.[3] Robbins currently resides in Los Angeles.[4]

Career

Robbins began his career in 1996 with a guest appearance in an episode of the ABC soap opera All My Children. He went on to guest star in television series such as Law & Order, Third Watch and Firefly, before landing a recurring role as Officer Dave Brass in the HBO drama Oz between 2001 and 2003. During the 2000s, Robbins continued acting on the series Charmed, Strong Medicine, Medium, Crossing Jordan, The O.C., 24, Without a Trace, Criminal Minds and Private Practice. Robbins also appeared as Tom Halpert on the NBC's comedy The Office, opposite Steve Carell and John Krasinski.[5]

Robbins' first film role was in the independent drama Going Under. Since then, he appeared in other numerous other features including Love Comes to the Executioner, Bunker Hill, and the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, in which he stars alongside Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler.

Throughout the 2010s, Robbins guest-starred in several television series including FlashForward, The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles, CSI: NY, Sons of Anarchy, Masters of Sex and Legends. Simultaneously, Robbins worked on a number of independent films, namely Rubber, Jayhawkers, Martyrs and Wind River. More recently, he starred in the Marcel Sarmiento horror thriller Faceless.[6]

Robbins made his directorial debut with the independent drama The Sublime and Beautiful, which he also wrote and stars in as David Conrad, a father who loses his children in a car accident.[7] Shot in only 12 days on a budget of $30,000,[8] the film premiered at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival.[7] Writing for Variety, film critic Ronnie Scheib stated that Robbins "brings nothing new to Hollywood's dead-children genre".[9]

Robbins directed his second film, The Scent of Rain and Lightning, starring Maika Monroe. Based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Nancy Pickard, the story centers on Jody Linder (Monroe), a young woman who finds out the man responsible for murdering her parents has been released from prison.[10][11] Having its world premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival,[12] the film garnered a positive reception from critics; in his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Frank Scheck opined that it was "a well-acted, intelligent thriller".[13]

Filmography

Film

Denotes productions that have not yet been released
Year Title Role Notes
2004 Going Under Axel
2005 Alice The Intruder Short film
2006 Love Comes to the Executioner Stuttering Guard
Arc Thomas Blake
2007 The Son of Sam's Daughter Ben's Dad Short film
2008 Christmas Break Mr. Chatsworth Short film
Bunker Hill Delmar
2009 The Only Good Indian Moller
The Ugly Truth KPQU Big Wig
2010 Rubber Cop Eric
2011 Part Time Fabulous Dr. Carr
Dispatch Killer
2012 The Men's Room The Man Short film
Between the Forest and the Field Daniel Short film
Blackout Jimmy Short film
2013 Imprints Doctor Short film
Cliff Dr. Keanon Short film
The Lull Breaker Pa Short film
The Championship Rounds Phillip Short film
2014 The Sublime and Beautiful David Conrad also writer, producer and director
Jayhawkers Dick Harp
Buttwhistle Mr. Blancmange
Moths Mr. Cunningham Short film
2015 Martyrs Dad
2016 Ctrl Alt Delete Charlie
From Ashes to Immortality Jon Orr Short film
2017 Wind River Tim
The Scent of Rain and Lightning Sheriff Don Phelps also director and producer
DriverX Rick
2018 Funny Story Dan
Backpedals Hugo Short film
2019 Let's Scare Julie Uncle Vince
Things That Fall The Professor Short film
2021 Faceless Tom
2022 To Leslie The Handyman
2023 Line of Fire Bobby Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1996 All My Children Valet 1 episode
1999 Law & Order Heinrich Episode: "Marathon"
2000 Third Watch Peter Episode: "History"
2002 Push, Nevada Lexus Driver Episode: "Jim's Domain"
Firefly Agent McGinnis Episode: "Ariel"
2001–2003 Oz Officer Dave Brass 15 episodes
2003 10-8: Officers on Duty Dr. Lawrence Episode: "Late for School"
2004 Cold Case David Lake Episode: "Late Returns"
Charmed Patrol Officer Episode: "It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World: Part 1"
Strong Medicine Morgan Benedicto Episode: "Healing Touch"
2005 Medium Trooper Episode: "A Priest, a Doctor and a Medium Walk Into an Execution Chamber"
Crossing Jordan Peter Ellison Episode: "Embraceable You"
Wanted Martin Beckwith Episode: "The Promise of Darkness"
The O.C. Don 2 episodes
2006 E-Ring James Ogilvy Episode: "Five Pillars"
24 Ross Episode: "Day 5: 2:00 a.m.-3:00 a.m."
2007 Without a Trace Craig Dalton Episode: "Connections"
2008 Eli Stone Howard Masters Episode: "Heartbeat"
Criminal Minds Jonathan Morris Episode: "A Higher Power"
Private Practice Mark Miller Episode: "A Family Thing"
Entourage Guy on Plane Episode: "First Class Jerk"
2008–2009 The Office Tom Halpert 2 episodes
2010 The Forgotten Dr. Max Rayburn Episode: "Patient John"
FlashForward Special Agent Buckner 4 episodes
The Closer Mr. Witten Episode: "Heart Attack"
Secret Millionaires Dr. Cadillac 1 episode
2011 Rizzoli & Isles Scott James Episode: "Brown Eyed Girl"
The Bling Ring Mr. Bishop Television film
2012 CSI: NY Jimmy Portico Episode: "2,918 Miles"
NCIS Scott Martin Episode: "Gone"
2013 Monday Mornings Dr. David Martin Episode: "Pilot"
Sons of Anarchy Mitch Glender 2 episodes
Masters of Sex Security Guard Brown Episode: "Manhigh"
2014 Legends Dennis Evans 2 episodes
2015 The Ultimate Evil David Berkowitz unknown episodes
2017 Law & Order True Crime Harry 3 episodes
2021 Bad Vibes Rob 1 episode

Awards and nominations

Award ceremony Year Work(s) Category Result Ref.
Cleveland International Film Festival 2017 The Scent of Rain and Lightning Best American Independent Feature Film Nominated [1]
Kansas City FilmFest 2014 The Sublime and Beautiful Heartland – Best Feature Narrative Won [14]
Heartland – Best Narrative Feature Won
2017 The Scent of Rain and Lightning Best Narrative Feature Won [15]
Milan International Film Festival 2014 The Sublime and Beautiful Best Actor Won [16]
Best Director Nominated
Best Best Screenwriting Nominated
Nashville Film Festival 2017 The Scent of Rain and Lightning Bridgestone Narrative Feature Competition Nominated [17]
Newport Beach Film Festival 2014 The Sublime and Beautiful Directing Won [18]
Best Feature Film Won
Best Actor Won
Slamdance Film Festival 2014 The Sublime and Beautiful Best Narrative Feature Nominated [19]
Narrative Feature Film Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Scent of Rain and Lightning". Clevelandfilm.org. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  2. "Blake Robbins' 'The Sublime and Beautiful' Is Anything But". TheBlot Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  3. Pattnosh, Lynn (December 16, 2014). "Blake Robbins Interview: 'The Sublime and Beautiful'". Concierge Questionnaire. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  4. Diab, Emma (February 23, 2014). "A Portrait of Grief: An Interview with Actor and Filmmaker Blake Robbins". GALO Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  5. Vanni, Olivia (December 8, 2008). "Blake Robbins ponders Sundance trip". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  6. Billington, Alex (January 27, 2021). "Mysterious Face Transplant Horror-Thriller 'Faceless' Official Trailer". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Iwasaki, Scott (January 18, 2014). "Blake Robbins wore many hats for 'The Sublime and Beautiful'". The Park Record. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  8. Lambie, Ryan (February 15, 2018). "Blake Robbins interview: The Scent Of Rain And Lightning, indie filmmaking". Den of Geek. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  9. Scheib, Ronnie (January 23, 2014). "Slamdance Film Review: 'The Sublime and Beautiful'". Variety. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  10. Sneider, Jeff (November 5, 2015). "Logan Miller, Mark Webber, Justin Chatwin Join 'The Scent of Rain and Lightning'". The Wrap. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  11. Collinson, Gary (February 18, 2018). "Exclusive Interview – Director Blake Robbins on The Scent of Rain and Lightning". Flickering Myth. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  12. McAllister, Cameron (March 13, 2017). "Atlanta Film Festival Announces 2017 Lineup of Features and Short Films". Atlanta Film Festival. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  13. Scheck, Frank (February 15, 2018). "'The Scent of Rain and Lightning': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  14. Melin, Eric (June 22, 2014). "The films of the Free State Festival". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  15. "Kansas City Film Fest: "The Scent of Rain & Lightning"". Kshb.com. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  16. "Vincitori 14ª Edizione – 2014". Miff.it. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  17. Wynn, Ron (April 20, 2017). "Reel Nashville: Your Guide to the 48th Annual Nashville Film Festival". Nashville Scene. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  18. Chang, Richard (May 5, 2014). "Newport Film Festival ends in black with record attendance". The Orange County Register. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  19. Hanna, Beth (December 3, 2013). "Slamdance Film Festival 2014 Unveils Feature Film Competition Lineup". IndieWire. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
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