Steve Railsback
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Steve Railsback (born November 16, 1945, in Dallas, Texas) is an American theatre, film, and television actor. He is best known for his performances in the films The Stunt Man and Lifeforce, and his portrayal of Charles Manson in the 1976 television mini-series Helter Skelter. Railsback was a student of Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio and in the late 1960s and early 1970s spent 10 years working in theatre in New York City. He once said that he found Strasberg extremely difficult to work with. He made his film debut in The Visitors, directed by Elia Kazan. He portrayed two notorious murderers, appearing as Charles Manson in the 1976 television miniseries Helter Skelter and as Ed Gein in the 2000 film In the Light of the Moon. He also served as executive producer of the latter film. Other notable roles include the part of Cameron in The Stunt Man with Peter O'Toole, the astronaut Tom Carlsen in Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce, Duane Barry in two episodes of The X-Files, and Joseph Welch in the pilot episode of Supernatural. In 2008, he appeared in the science fiction/horror movie film Plaguers.
Known for
Credits
In the Line of Fire (1993)
as CIA Agent David Coppinger (uncredited)
Lifeforce (1985)
as Col. Tom Carlsen
Barb Wire (1996)
as Colonel Pryzer
The Devil's Rejects (2005)
as Sheriff Ken Dwyer
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love (2009)
as Alumnus Guy #5
Armed and Dangerous (1986)
as The Cowboy
Storytelling (2001)
as Mr. Kirk
Disturbing Behavior (1998)
as Officer Cox
Turkey Shoot (1982)
as Paul Anders
The Stunt Man (1980)
as Cameron
Scissors (1991)
as Alex Morgan / Cole Morgan
Save Me (1994)
as Robbins
Best Served Cold: How a Revenge Film was Buried for Decades (2026)
as Himself
Calendar Girl (1993)
as Eddie Darpinian
Helter Skelter (1976)
as Charles Manson
Vanishing Point (1997)
as Sergeant Preston
Angela (1977)
as Jean
Blue Monkey (1987)
as Det. Jim Bishop
Alligator 2: The Mutation (1991)
as Vinnie Brown
Wild in Blue (2014)
as Charlie's Father
The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting (2003)
as Deputy Jessup (uncredited)
Once Fallen (2010)
as Aryan Boss
Not Quite Hollywood (2008)
as Self
Gone Are the Days (2018)
as Jaden
Good Cops, Bad Cops (1990)
Actor
Ed Gein (2000)
as Ed Gein
Final Mission (1994)
as Colonel Glen Anderson
King of the Lost World (2005)
as Larry
Street Corner Justice (1996)
as Sergeant Ryan Freeborn
Neo Ned (2005)
as Mr. Day
Me and Will (1999)
as Rob
Made Men (1999)
as Kyle
Rest Stop: Don't Look Back (2008)
as The Owner
UnConventional (2004)
as Self
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault (2020)
as (archive footage)
Deadly Intent (1988)
as Jeff Kirkwood
Unspeakable: Beyond The Wall of Sleep (2024)
Actor
Sunstroke (1992)
as Biggs
Pressure Point (1997)
as Arno Taylor
Intermedio (2005)
as Old Man
The Forgotten (1989)
as Lt. Jesse Brady
Stranger in the House (1997)
as Jack Derby
Scenes from the Goldmine (1987)
as Harry Spiros
Cockfighter (1974)
as Junior
Bonds of Love (1993)
as Ken Smith
The Visitors (1972)
as Mike Nickerson
Slash (2002)
as Jeremiah
The Wind (1986)
as Kesner
Ready or Not (2009)
as Pilot
Trick or Treats (1982)
as Bret
The Box (2003)
as Jake Ragna
Night Caller (2022)
as Andrew Lubitz
Plaguers (2010)
as Tarver
The Making Of Lifeforce (1985)
as Self
The Assassin (1990)
as Hank Knight
Great Transport (1983)
as Pavle Paroški
Separated by Murder (1994)
as Jesse Dixon
Deadly Games (1982)
as Billy Owens
The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man (2000)
Actor
Zigs (2001)
as Charlie
Forever (1992)
as William Desmond Taylor
Spearfield's Daughter (1986)
as Tom Border
Private Wars (1993)
as Jack Manning
Distortions (1987)
as Scott Marshall
Nukie (1987)
as Dr. Eric Harvey
The Golden Seal (1983)
as Jim Lee
Follow the Prophet (2009)
as Senator Stanton
The Last Escape of Billy the Kid (1972)
as Billy the Kid
The Cross of Iberia (1990)
as Novak
The Survivalist (1987)
as Jack Tillman
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #2: Later in L.A. (2020)
as (archive footage)
Infiltrators (2014)
as Sebastian Koenig
Quake (1992)
as Kyle
Termination Man (1998)
as Dylan Pope
H: The Story of a Teen-Age Drug Addict (1951)
as Bill
Torchlight (1984)
as Jake Gregory