Steve Railsback (born 16 November 1948) is an American theatre, film and television actor, born in Dallas, Texas. Railsback was born Stephen Hall Railsback, in Dallas, Texas, the son of Emerett Spencer (née Sanford) and Clyde Webb Railsback. Railsback was a student of Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio and in the late sixties and early seventies spent ten years working in theatre in New York. He made his film debut in The Visitors, directed by Elia Kazan. He played the parts of two notorious serial killers, appearing as Charles Manson in the 1976 television mini-series, Helter Skelter, and as Ed Gein in the 2000 film In the Light of the Moon. He also served as executive producer of the latter film. Other notable roles include the part of Cameron in The Stunt Man with Peter O'Toole, the astronaut in Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce, Duane Barry in two episodes of The X-Files and Joseph Welch in the Pilot episode of Supernatural. In 2008, he appeared in the science fiction/horror movie film Plaguers.