Biography
Eric Ruff is a staunch Midwesterner who grew up in Chicago. He is the youngest of eight boys of cafeteria worker Mertha and construction worker Elzie Lee, both from Tupelo Mississippi.
Early on Eric enjoyed watching his older brothers perform in talent shows, and his mother sing in the church choir, motivating him to seek creative outlets. During elementary, Jr. high, and high school he performed in numerous school choirs, talent shows, plays and was on the speech team.
After graduating from high school, Eric enrolled at the College of DuPage, intent on pursuing the arts. He performed in several plays and was mentored to succeed in public speaking, winning over 100 local, state, regional and national awards including 8 national titles, overall speaker and the fellowship award for consistently showing up to support his fellow competitors.
Eric continued his speech studies at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, competing on their National Championship speech team, winning national titles in Poetry Interpretation while performing in plays in the process. Upon graduation he returned home to Chicago to seek work as an actor.
His first paid acting role was playing the Prince in a condensed educational theatre production of "Romeo and Juliet"
Afterwards he began to pursue acting opportunities in earnest. With his acting versatility and powerful presence, he had no difficulty landing roles in "You Can't Take it with You" at the Steppenwolf Theatre directed by Jeff Perry, "Gertrude Stein" at The Goodman Theater directed by Frank Galati, "Fantastic Fantasy Factory" at The Second City Improv, and "Black Beauty" with Joe Spano at the Organic Theater. Regional Theatre includes "Angels in America" at The Human Race Theater, and "Daystar" at Bailiwick Rep.
While honing his craft in Chicago theater he was cast in 30 stage productions, 40 industrial films, several voice overs as well as regional commercials. He made his first screen appearance in "Since You've Been Gone" directed by David Schwimmer.
Since moving to Los Angeles, Eric has focused on pursuing television and has been seen in the hyper-dramatic, SYFY cult classic "Dead Still" playing a deranged college history professor. On a lighter note he appears in "Nathan for You" with Nathan Fillion and "Pet Judge: Gary Busey"
Award winning comedic film work includes "No. 7: with George Wendt, "Peej" with Debra Wilson, and "Tao of the Golden Mask" with Robert Townsend, directed by Faizon Love.
He can also be seen playing Tombstone, a villain in Insomniac Games "Spiderman" for Sony PlayStation, which is the highest grossing video game to date.
Eric lives in Los Angeles and continues to work in television while solidifying his mission of service to underprivileged individuals.
