Brimley was born in Salt Lake City to a father who worked as a real estate broker. He has three sons with wife Lynne Brimley: Billy Brimley, Jimmy Brimley and Johnny Brimley.

Outside of film and advertisements, Brimley is also known as an activist, paying from his own funds for ads to have Utah allow horse-race gambling, and he was actively opposed to the banning of cockfighting. He has campaigned in Arizona and New Mexico against laws banning cockfighting. Brimley enjoys playing poker and has played in the World Series of Poker Main Event. Brimley has lent his support to John McCain in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. In the days leading up to his selection of Vice President, McCain jokingly stated that he would pick Brimley. "He's a former Marine and great guy and he's older than I am, so that might work," McCain said.

Before his career in acting, Brimley worked as a ranch hand, wrangler, blacksmith, and a bodyguard for Howard Hughes. He then began shoeing horses for film and television. His first acting roles, in the 1960s, were as a riding extra in Westerns and as a stunt man. At that time he was known as Anthony (Tony) Brimley.

Brimley became famous later in life for appearing in such films as The Hotel New Hampshire, John Carpenter's The Thing, and Cocoon. In 2001 he starred in the Turner Network Television film Crossfire Trail with Tom Selleck. He had an important role in The China Syndrome. He often plays a gruff or stodgy old man, notably on the 1980s drama series Our House. His first characterization was in Absence of Malice, in which he played a small but key role as a curmudgeonly, outspoken James A. Wells, Assistant U.S. Attorney General. He expanded on this characterization in The Natural, as the world-weary manager of a hapless baseball team. He is known to Star Wars fans as Noa Briqualon in George Lucas' 1985 made-for-TV movie Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.

In a change from his "good guy" roles such as those in Our House, he played William Devasher, the ominous head of security for Bendini, Lambert & Locke in the 1993 Tom Cruise film The Firm, based on the novel by John Grisham. Brimley has frequently appeared in commercials, notably a series of commercials he did for Quaker Oats Oatmeal throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The Quaker commercials were famous for their slogan: "It's the right thing to do and the tasty way to do it." These commercials were parodied on the short-lived Fox sketch comedy show The Ben Stiller Show, portraying him as testy and mentally unbalanced.He also made an appearance on Seinfeld as the United States Postmaster General, a takeoff on his role of U.S. Assistant Attorney General in Absence of Malice.

Brimley has diabetes and serves as the spokesperson for the diabetes testing-supplies company Liberty Medical. Commercials run frequently on daytime TV and Brimley has gained notoriety for his distinct pronunciation of the disease: "di-a-beet-us". Brimley admonishes viewers to "check their blood sugar, and check it often".

• Bandolero! 1968 Stunts (uncredited)
• True Grit 1969 Stunts (uncredited)
• Lawman 1971 Stunts (uncredited)
• The China Syndrome 1979 Ted Spindler
• The Electric Horseman 1979 Farmer
• Brubaker 1980 Rogers
• Borderline 1980 Scooter Jackson
• Absence of Malice 1981 Asst. U.S. Atty. Gen. James A. Wells
• Death Valley 1982 The Sheriff
• The Thing 1982 Dr. Blair
• Tender Mercies 1983 Harry
• 10 to Midnight 1983 Captain Maline
• High Road to China 1983 Bradley Tozer
• Tough Enough (1983 film) 1983 Bill Long
• Harry & Son 1984 Tom Keach
• The Hotel New Hampshire 1984 Iowa Bob
• The Stone Boy 1984 George Jansen
• The Natural 1984 Pop Fisher
• Country 1984 Otis
• Cocoon 1985 Benjamin Luckett
• Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins 1985 Harold Smith
• Shadows on the Wall 1985 Theater Owner
• Murder in Space - Showtime 2 part mini-series 1985 Dr. Andrew McAllister
• Jackals 1986 Sheriff Mitchell
• End of the Line 1987 Will Haney
• Cocoon: The Return 1988 Benjamin Luckett
• Eternity 1989 King/Eric
• The Firm 1993 William Devasher
• Hard Target 1993 Uncle Douvee
• Heaven Sent 1994 Security Guard
• Mutant Species 1995 Devro
• Last of the Dogmen 1995 Narrator (uncredited)
• My Fellow Americans 1996 Joe Hollis
• In & Out 1997 Frank Brackett
• Lunker Lake 1997 The Storyteller
• A Place to Grow 1998 Jake
• Progeny 1998 Dr. David Wetherly
• Chapter Perfect 1998 Chief Hawkins
• All My Friends Are Cowboys 1998 Charlie
• Summer of the Monkeys 1998 Grandpa Sam Ferrans
• Comanche 2000
• PC and the Web 2001
• Brigham City 2001 Stu
• The Ballad of Lucy Whipple 2001 Deputy Sheriff Ambrose Scraggs
• Crossfire Trail 2001 Joe Gill
• Resurrection Mary 2002 Morty
• The Round and Round 2002 Governor
• The Road Home 2003 Coach Weaver

You can edit this page to add links to blogs, sites, and other information... If this page has a "PageType" set above - that will determine where the page is listed on SideReel. You can add text, a picture, links or more by editing the page... Check out the links above if you need help.