Background and career
Lew Temple (born October 2, 1967) is an American actor known for roles in Domino and Waitress, and for playing Axel in the third season of The Walking Dead.
Temple was raised in Texas. He was the 1982 Baseball MVP at Rollins College, and graduated in 1985.
Though he was not good enough for the big leagues, he continued with his love for baseball, snagging roles as a minor league bullpen catcher for the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros. In 1986, he was a scout for the New York Mets, and would later go on to serve as assistant director of Minor League Operations and Scouting for the Astros until 1993.
Temple has had several film roles in the horror genre, appearing in Rob Zombie's horror film, The Devils Rejects as Adam Banjo, portraying Sheriff Winston in the prequel to the remake of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and as Noel Kluggs in Rob Zombie's slasher film, Halloween. Temple played Marv in Trailer Park of Terror, and Pete in the thriller/horror film House. In 2016, he starred in Rob Zombie's slasher film 31 as Psycho-Head. Temple's other film roles include Locus Fender in the action film Domino, a paramedic in the crime thriller Déjà Vu, Cal, the diner manager in the comedy-drama Waitress, Brian LaRue in a proof of concept for the science-fiction film The Three, Ned in the thriller Unstoppable and Montgomery Blair, a member of Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet, in the film Saving Lincoln, which tells the President's story through the eyes of Ward Hill Lamon, a former law partner, friend, and primary bodyguard.
Temple appeared in an episode of CSI: Miami as Billy Chadwick, a local loner in a grizzly bear murder case. In 2010, he appeared in an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles as Mr. Loobertz, and in 2011 he appeared in an episode of Criminal Minds, in which he played a former fisherman turned part-time deliveryman called Bill Thomas, who kidnaps Alison Sparks. His most notable television role was on The Walking Dead as Axel, a prisoner survivor of the zombie apocalypse.
In 2015, Temple received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Annual Gulf Coast Film and Video Festival. The award is given to a distinguished actor recognized for his continuing work in the industry of film and video.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
