Gil Birmingham (Comanche Nation)

Gilbert Birmingham was born in San Antonio, Texas. He identifies his father as being of Comanche descent.  His family moved frequently during his childhood due to his father’s career in the military. Birmingham learned to play the guitar at an early age and considers music to be his “first love.”After obtaining a Bachelor of Science from the USC Price School of Public Policy, he worked as a petrochemical engineer, but later decided to become an actor. In the early 1980s, a talent scout spotted Birmingham at a local gym, where he had been bodybuilding and entering bodybuilding contests, and recruited him for his first acting experience, a music video for Diana Ross’s 1982 hit song “Muscles’. After that music video, Birmingham began to pursue acting as his primary career, studying with Larry Moss and Charles Conrad. He portrayed the character of Conan the Barbarian in Universal Studios Hollywood’s theme park attraction The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular. He’s known for his roles such  as Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater in the Paramount Network’s television series Yellowstone. He is also known for his portrayal of Billy Black in The Twilight Saga film series and recurring television roles as George Hunter in Banshee and Virgil White in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.