Bell's movie debut was in the role as Ronsky in Alan Parker's drama
Birdy (1984). After
Birdy, he played Gerry Jones in the Fred Roos comedy
Seven Minutes in Heaven (1985). His first major role was as the cruel Coach Schneider in the
slasher/horror ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge'' (1985). Bell played Mr. Lachance, Gordie's grieving father, in the adventure/drama
Stand by Me (1986); the ruthless hitman, Webster, in the comedy
Twins (1988) starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger and
Danny DeVito; and George, who has
mutant Martian resistance leader, Kuato, attached to his stomach, in director
Paul Verhoeven's
blockbuster science fiction/adventure
Total Recall (1990) starring Schwarzenegger. He made his TV acting debut in the series
The Oldest Rookie in 1987, playing Det. Gordon Lane. Bell starred as Ford Plasko in the short-lived series
G vs E. His many
guest appearances include
Hill Street Blues,
Wiseguy,
Tales from the Crypt,
The X-Files,
Millennium,
Deadwood and
House. He has also appeared in a
TV commercial for
IBM. Other movie roles include Lips' Cop in the action/crime thriller
Dick Tracy (1990) opposite
Warren Beatty; the
title role of a frightening homeless man terrorizing
Bill Paxton's character in the comedy/thriller
The Vagrant (1992) opposite Paxton and
Michael Ironside; General Owen in the science fiction/adventure
Starship Troopers (1997); the warden, Marshall Krutch, in the award-winning
biopic Capote (2005) opposite
Philip Seymour Hoffman; John Leshing in the family/mystery
Nancy Drew (2007) opposite
Emma Roberts; and Principal Rocker in the comedy
Hamlet 2 (2008). Bell also played the
voice acting role as Mr. Sesehund in the animated feature feature
Heidi 4 Paws (2008). ==Personal life==