Ted Bundy was a serial killer who confessed to killing 30 people in seven states during the ‘70s. He was eventually caught BUT he escaped police custody twice, and then he ended up in the electric chair in January of 1989.
What was unique about Bundy was that he was a good-looking and friendly man, so it was surprising to many that he could commit such horrible crimes. And over the years, his interesting story has been told through books, television shows, documentaries, podcasts, and several different films. That being said, here are the actors who have played the infamous Ted Bundy.
Mark Harmon
In 1980, Richard W. Larsen, a reporter for the Seattle Times, published The Deliberate Stranger, which focused on Ted Bundy’s crimes. In 1986, a two-part, made-for-TV movie adaptation of the book came on NBC.
It was filmed in Utah and Washington (at places like the Utah State Prison). It focused on Ted Bundy killing Georgann Hawkins (not his crimes before that) and beyond. And it starred Mark Harmon, who is best known for playing Simon Donovan on The West Wing and Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS.
Michael Reilly Burke
In 2002, another film about the life and crimes of this serial killer was released, and it was simply titled, Ted Bundy. It was directed and co-written by Matthew Bright, and the star of it all was Michael Reilly Burke.
This actor has appeared in numerous other works over the years, including Shameless, Criminal Minds, Charmed and NYPD Blue.
Billy Campbell
The Stranger Beside Me is one of the most known books about Ted Bundy. It is an autobiographical and biographical true crime book, and it was put out by Ann Rule in 1980. What makes it so unique is that Rule knew Bundy in real life.
This book was turned into a made-for-TV movie in 2003, and in this version, actor Billy Campbell portrayed Bundy. Campbell has been seen in shows such as Dynasty, The Killing, and Helix and films such as Bram Stoker's Dracula and Enough.
Cary Elwes
In 2004, a dramatic made-for-TV film came on A&E that was called The Riverman. It was based on a non-fiction book, The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer, which was by Robert D. Keppel and William J. Birnes and which was also released in 2004.
The movie’s story focused on Robert D. Keppel, a criminology professor who is asked to help profile a serial killer. Keppel goes on to interview Bundy who ends up confessing to some of the unsolved murder cases. The actor to play Bundy in this adaptation was Cary Elwes, who was/is Westley in The Princess Bride, Dr. Lawrence Gordon in the Saw films and Gavin Hawk in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Trey Parker
For several decades, South Park has been a very popular television series, and Ted Bundy has even been seen on it, with its unique styling. He was featured in an episode called "Hell on Earth 2006", which was the eleventh episode of the tenth season. As the 150th episode of this show, it came on the air in October of 2006, and it told the story of Satan throwing a Halloween costume party.
Bundy was not the only serial killer in this episode, though. Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy showed up, as well, and these three had sort of a Three Stooges thing going on throughout the story. Like many characters in South Park, Bundy was voiced by Trey Parker, one of the series’ creators.
Corin Nemec
Bundy: An American Icon, which is also called Bundy: A Legacy of Evil, is a horror flick from the year 2008. It was directed by Michael Feifer, and it focused on Ted Bundy’s life, including his childhood, his criminal career, and his trial. The film received several negative reviews, including one that said the actor who played Bundy, Corin Nemec, looked too old.
Nevertheless, Nemec was featured in this role, and he has played the main character in Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Jonas Quinn in Stargate SG-1 and Harold Lauder in The Stand.
James Marsters
Also in 2008, The Capture of the Green River Killer came on television. It was a two-part TV movie that aired on Lifetime Movie Network, in order to tell of the Green River serial killer, which was previously detailed in David Reichert's book, Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer. This made-for-TV film was called a top television production by Variety, and with two million viewers, it was the most-watched telecast on Lifetime Movie Network.
The Capture of the Green River Killer featured Detective Dave Reichert, killer Gary Ridgway, two teenage girls (who were not in the book) and James Marsters as Ted Bundy. This actor is best known for portraying Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
Adam Long
Ted Bundy: Serial Monster is a documentary-style crime series. There were two episodes of it in 2018, and they took a deep dive into Ted Bundy’s life.
The actor who portrayed this infamous man in Ted Bundy: Serial Monster was Adam Long. Some other things that Long has appeared in over the years include Deadwood: The Movie and the TV show I (Almost) Got Away with It.
Zac Efron
And, of course, there was Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile from 2019. This biographical crime thriller was based on a memoir, The Phantom Prince: My Life With Ted Bundy, by Elizabeth Kendall, who was once Ted Bundy's girlfriend. This film was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2019, and then it dropped on Netflix in May of 2019, as well as in some movie theaters.
Several big names appeared in it, such as Lily Collins, John Malkovich, Haley Joel Osment, Angela Sarafyan and Jeffrey Donovan, and Ted Bundy was portrayed by Zac Efron. As many know, Efron rose to fame by playing Troy Bolton in the High School Musical flicks, and since then, he has been seen in works such as 17 Again, The Lucky One, Baywatch and The Greatest Showman.