Teacher shows off his Belushi side
Watervliet educator and former hoop great stars in TV commercials, films
By Mike Piekarski, Special to the Times Union
Todd Birmingham has been spotted with singed clothing after a hibachi-style restaurant mishap, falling backward out of a desk chair and wearing a ballerina outfit while playing pickup basketball.
For a 6-foot-3, 215-pound ex-basketball standout, those incidents could be quite embarrassing. For Birmingham, however, they’re a source of pride.
The aforementioned scenarios were filmed commercial spots and are just a small part of his impressive acting resume. Despite a home far from Hollywood, he does not lack work.
“Even though I’m not in California, I’m still able to act,” said Birmingham, who has starred in more than 100 regional and national television commercials and a smattering of independent films since graduating from college in 1996.
“He’s a very humorous actor,” said Ann Marie Lizzi, production manager for Time Warner Cable media sales in Albany. “He takes the littlest thing and makes it a masterpiece.”
Lizzi, who produces TV spots shown primarily in the Northeast, has collaborated with Birmingham for at least 10 years.
Though they may not know his name, a number of Capital Region residents recognize him from TV. “They say, ‘Are you that funny guy in the commercials?’ ” Birmingham said. “I’ve gotten that a lot.”
The Troy native, coveted for his rubber face and impressive range of emotions, has drawn comparisons to John Belushi, Bill Murray, Matthew Perry and John Cusack.
The actor, who teaches seventh- and eighth-grade science and social studies at Watervliet Junior/Senior High School, shoots commercials around his school schedule.
Birmingham said his commercial footage propelled him “in many cases, to be hired sight unseen.
“Local casting directors, once they’d seen my footage, knew I had comedic talent, and they hired me. It was much easier for me to sell myself because I had so much experience,” Birmingham said.
For an all-state high school basketball star with no acting experience until college, he has come a long way. The affable family man — who lives with his wife, Lori, and 3-year-old daughter Kathleen — was a local legend on the court.
As a junior starter on the 1990-91 Watervliet varsity, he helped lead the school to a 28-0 record, the New York state basketball championship and the Federation title — the only Capital Region team to accomplish the latter feat thus far.
Following an injury-plagued senior year, he was recruited by Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire. It was there that he decided to try something different, auditioning for a play called “Reckless” as a freshman and immediately impressing the director.
“Whenever I would read something (in the script), he would laugh,” Birmingham recalled. “It got my juices flowing” and landed him a principal role in the play. “It was definitely an interesting experience.”
The next year, after transferring to Ithaca College in New York to study communications, he performed in 19 student films and one television show within a two-year period.
“I was so excited to be acting. I thought it was a way for me to express myself off the basketball court. I envisioned myself on television making people laugh or telling a story.”
After college, he hired a professional photographer and sent his 8-by-10 composites to 130 Northeast talent agencies. Of those, he said, “probably five or six contacted me and said, ‘Hey, we like your look.’ “
Dozens of auditions for commercials and public-service announcements yielded a few small roles, which Birmingham has parlayed into a burgeoning career.
“Murphy’s Law,” a short film in which he played the lead, and “Nate Dogg,” in which he had a supporting role, have won film-festival awards. He freelanced with talent agencies in NYC earning starring roles in commercials and also traveled to Philadelphia working 3 weeks in “Prison Song,” an independent feature film that was broadcast on the Black Entertainment Network (BET).
But commercials are his bread and butter. This month, he will star in a Time Warner spot for the federal tax rebate that will air nationally.
“My favorite commercial is always the last one I did,” Birmingham said. “It’s the most fun to me.”
See Todd Birmingham’s commercials at www.toddbirmingham.com.
Mike Piekarski is a freelance writer from Latham and can be reached at https://twitter.com/MikePiekarski
Photo by Will Waldron.