Why Teddy Brimley From The Blacklist Looks So Familiar

Theodore "Teddy" Brimley (Teddy Coluca) is a recurring character on NBC's "The Blacklist" who works very closely with Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader). In "The Blacklist," Coluca's character has had a long-term working relationship with Red for nearly 20 years, and he is the person who Red turns to when he needs information extracted quickly and efficiently. As one may expect from the type of work that Teddy does, he's pretty proficient in his torture methods, though his techniques are somewhat unconventional (and sometimes even involve livestock). 

Teddy can be easily identified by fans from his oxygen tank, which he uses for medical purposes due to several serious conditions that range from asthma to congestive heart failure. Teddy is first introduced in Season 1 and has made appearances every season since his first introduction. As the man that Red often turns to, his importance to the ongoing story cannot be easily overlooked. However, fans may have recognized Coluca from his various other roles too.

Teddy Coluca is no stranger to crime television. In the late '90s and early '00s, Coluca guest starred in several episodes of "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

It's not shocking to "Law & Order" fans that they recycle the same actors for multiple roles. This is a practice the franchise has done for many years. With how massive the crime-fighting universe is, mixed with how many seasons some of these series have (like "SVU's" incredible 24 seasons in counting), it's only to be expected that the same actors may be reused for later episodes. In fact, "SVU's" newest detective, Grace Muncy, is portrayed by Molly Burnett, an actress who has appeared as other characters in the same universe.

Coluca's characters across the three series were completely different, with varying levels of importance, but they never drew any connections to one another. Coluca appeared in one episode of "SVU," credited as the landlord. He played Gaydos in a single episode of "Criminal Intent," and he played three different characters across three episodes of the original "Law & Order."

Tina Fey's "30 Rock" ran from 2006 to 2013 and was based on Fey's personal experience working on "Saturday Night Live." "30 Rock" was a unique show that angled the entire sitcom as a behind-the-scenes look at what working on such programs is actually like. For the time, it was highly influential for its hilarious-yet-elaborate deep dive into how networks such as NBC operate.

As the stage manager, Teddy Coluca played a reoccurring character in the series from 2006 to 2009. While the role of the stage manager wasn't a huge part and didn't show up in every episode, Coluca's performance still made him feel like an important figure in the world of "30 Rock." After all, you can't film a show like "Saturday Night Live," or, in the case of this series, the fictional "TGS with Tracy Jordan" (originally called "The Girlie Show"), without a stage manager.

As far as Spider-Man films go, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is probably one of the most poorly reviewed films of the lot. While fans loved Andrew Garfield's rendition of Peter Parker and most agreed that Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey was a perfect fit, the sequel to the highly well-received "The Amazing Spider-Man" didn't live up to the hype. With some odd casting choices, mainly Dane DeHann as Harry Osborn, and a narrative that seemed to tackle too many ideas in too short a time frame, it never met audience expectations.

Despite the film's struggles, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is still a massive Marvel film in the ever-popular superhero genre. It was ambitious and set up many future movies. Fans were disappointed that those potential sequels never got a chance to shine because of one misstep, and they rejoiced when Garfield returned as Peter in "No Way Home."

Teddy Coluca's role in this film wasn't massive; he played the cab driver who drove Gwen around. It may not have been a particularly influential role, but appearing in such an enormous franchise is nothing to sneeze at.

"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning Amazon Prime original comedy-drama that has taken the world by storm. Highly praised for being incredibly funny and inventive, the series follows Miriam "Midge" Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) as she explores her transition from perfect wife and mother of two to a stand-up comedian in the late 1950s. Due to the period and the expectations of a woman's role in a family dynamic, this show plays with upturning the norm as Midge steps out of her comfort zone.

Teddy Coluca plays Manny, a reoccurring character who appears in a handful of episodes. Manny is an employee at the Maisel and Roth Garment Company. Thanks to the popularity of the series, a deli based out of Chicago called Manny's Deli offered free pastrami sandwiches to celebrate the release of Season 2.

In addition to "The Blacklist" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Only Murders in the Building" is one of the more recent projects that Teddy Coluca has appeared in. "Only Murders" took the world by storm with its funny-yet-engaging murder mystery that teams up the elderly Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) with millennial Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez). Investigating a murder staged as a suicide that took place in the Arconia, the building the trio lives in, they bond over their fascination with murder mystery podcasts and join forces to create one of their own.

"Only Murders" has done exceptionally well on Hulu and has been renewed for Season 3 after two highly successful and rapidly released seasons. Coluca plays a significant side role in "Only Murders" as the doorman of the Arconia. He's the kind face of the building, with the residents trusting him with their packages, apartment keys, personal information, and much more. Many residents see him as a permanent fixture in the Arconia and couldn't imagine the building without him.