Tim Armstrong

Acting

Tim Armstrong

Born 1965-11-25 · Albany, California, USA

Timothy Ross Armstrong is an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and actor. Known for his distinctive hoarse and soulful voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. Prior to forming Rancid, Armstrong was in the ska punk band Operation Ivy. In 1997, along with Brett Gurewitz of the band Bad Religion and owner of Epitaph Records, Armstrong founded Hellcat Records. In 2012, through his website, Armstrong started releasing music that influenced him, along with stripped-down cover songs of his own under the name Tim Timebomb. Armstrong is also a songwriter for other artists. Armstrong won a Grammy Award for his work with Jimmy Cliff and Pink, and has also worked with Joe Walsh and the Interrupters. At the age of five, Armstrong met Matt Freeman while playing Little League Baseball. They grew up a few blocks apart in Albany, California, where Armstrong lived with his mother, father, and older brother, Jeff. Freeman and Armstrong formed bands many years later based on their shared love of bands such as the Clash and the Ramones. They both went to Albany High School. Armstrong's relationship with Bikini Kill drummer Tobi Vail inspired the Rancid song "Olympia, WA" from ...And Out Come the Wolves. He was married to musician Brody Dalle from 1997 to 2003. They met in 1995, when Dalle was 16 and Armstrong was 30, after Rancid and Dalle's band Sourpuss both played Summersault Festival in Australia. In 1997, when Dalle was 18, she moved to Los Angeles to live with Armstrong, and she formed the band the Distillers. The couple separated in 2003, after Armstrong saw a picture of Dalle kissing Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme in an issue of Rolling Stone magazine; she and Homme would later marry. Homme claimed he received death threats from Armstrong's fans. Dalle claimed Armstrong was very controlling of her and it took her three years to leave him. Some of Rancid's songs on 1998's Life Won't Wait ("Who Would've Thought", "Corazón de Oro") detail Armstrong and Dalle's relationship, and songs on 2003's Indestructible ("Fall Back Down", "Ghost Band", "Tropical London") deal with Armstrong's feelings about his divorce. Armstrong's cousin, Scott, was the guitarist for Canadian punk band Desperate Minds, but they did not know each other until they were introduced at a show in Chicago in 1988 by John Jughead of Screeching Weasel

Acting credits

Freaky Tales poster
6.3

In 1987 Oakland, a mysterious force guides The Town's underdogs in four interconnected tales: teen punks defend their turf against Nazi skinheads, a rap duo battles for hip-hop immortality, a weary henchman gets a shot at redemption, and an NBA All-Star settles the score.

Freaky Tales

2025

Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear poster
8.3

After surviving a devastating plane crash that nearly took his life, legendary and electrifying drummer Travis Barker embarks on a raw and redemptive journey in this intimate portrait of the man behind the tattoos who transformed pain into power.

Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear

2026

The Best Summer poster
NR

Immersive POV camera footage reveals electric performances, candid interviews, and intimate backstage life with the Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, Beck, The Amps, and Bikini Kill — an all-access view inside an era-defining moment in music.

The Best Summer

2026

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things poster
5.8

Young Jeremiah lives in a stable environment with loving foster parents until the day his troubled mother, Sarah, returns to claim him. Jeremiah becomes swept up in his mother's dangerous world of drugs, seedy hotels, strip joints and revolving lovers. Salvation comes in the form of the boy's ultrareligious grandparents, but soon Jeremiah's mother returns. Maternal love binds the pair together on the road until Sarah's desperate and depraved lifestyle finally consumes her.

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things

2004

Live Freaky! Die Freaky! poster
4.1

In a distant future, a cult forms around the Manson Family, when Charles Manson is mistaken for the messiah. Meanwhile, in 1969, Manson convinces his followers to murder Sharon Tate.

Live Freaky! Die Freaky!

2006

Ramones: We're Outta Here! poster
7.5

Documentary covering The Ramones' long and eventful history, with footage from their final ever show at the Palace in Hollywood, 6th August 1996. Interviews with Joey, Johnny and drummer Marky, tributes from other rock icons including Richard Hell, Debbie Harry and Lemmy.

Ramones: We're Outta Here!

2004

Larry is Dead poster
NR

After his friend Larry has died, Greg wanders the streets.

Larry is Dead

1995

Punk's Not Dead poster
6.1

On the edge of the 30th anniversary of punk rock, Punk's Not Dead takes you into the sweaty underground clubs, backyard parties, recording studios, shopping malls and stadiums where punk rock music and culture continue to thrive.

Punk's Not Dead

2007

One Nine Nine Four poster
6.0

Explore the birth, growth and eventual tipping point of punk rock during the 90s. Narrated by skateboarder Tony Hawk, the film features interviews and footage of various bands and figures in the punk scene.

One Nine Nine Four

2009

Last Fast Ride: The Life, Love and Death of a Punk Goddess poster
8.0

Henry Rollins narrates Lilly Scourtis Ayers' no-holds-barred profile of volatile Bay Area punk legend Marian Anderson, whose hypnotic beauty, devil-may-care rebellion and shocking sexual exploits onstage launched her to infamy before tragically dying of a heroin overdose at the tender age of 33.

Last Fast Ride: The Life, Love and Death of a Punk Goddess

2011

Pick It Up!: Ska in the '90s poster
8.0

Pick It Up! is an independent documentary film about the rise in popularity of ska music in the 1990s and the subsequent return to the underground. The film features members of Reel Big Fish, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, No Doubt, Sublime, Save Ferris, Goldfinger, The Specials, Less Than Jake, Hepcat and many more.

Pick It Up!: Ska in the '90s

2019

Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk poster
7.4

Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk spans over 30 years of the California Bay Area’s punk music history with a central focus on the emergence of the inspiring 924 Gilman Street collective. This diverse group of artists, writers, organizers and musicians created a do-it-yourself petri dish that changed the punk scene... and the world at large.

Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk

2017

Give 'Em The Boot poster
7.5

Featuring eighty-two minutes of extremely rare, never-before-seen international concert performance footage of bands such as Rancid, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, Dropkick Murphys, The Slackers, Roger Miret and the Disasters and Tiger Army - to name just a few, the GIVE 'EM THE BOOT DVD is a gritty look into the underworld of Hellcat Records through the eyes of founder Tim Armstrong and a hoard of his Hellcat family members! Highlights include performances and extra footage from tours such as the Rancid/ NOFX tour, the first Lars Frederiksen And The Bastards tour, various headline tours and both Hellcat Records’ Punks VS. Psychos Tours.

Give 'Em The Boot

2005

Too Tough to Die: A Tribute to Johnny Ramone poster
7.1

On September 12, 2004, just two-and-a-half days before Johnny Ramone's death, a group of musicians and friends-among them Deborah Harry, The Dickies, X, Eddie Vedder, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers-staged a benefit concert to celebrate The Ramones' 30th anniversary and to raise money for cancer research. Mandy Stein's touching rockumentary captures that unforgettable evening.

Too Tough to Die: A Tribute to Johnny Ramone

2006

924 Gilman Street poster
NR

Starting with its inception in 1986, the all-ages nonprofit punk venue at 924 Gilman St. in Berkeley, Calif., was a mainstay of a thriving music scene. In this punk-tastic documentary, filmmaker Jack Curran takes a loving look at the historic club. Chronicling the DIY roots of the volunteer-run establishment, the program features interviews with Jello Biafra, Ian McKaye, Lars Frederickson and Matt Freeman, as well as many live performances.

924 Gilman Street

2007

Punk Rock Summer Camp poster
NR

Step into the Vans Warped Tour world of Punk Rock Summer camp with NOFX, Rancid, Bad Religion, Deftones, No Use For A Name, Ozomatli, H20, Unwritten Law, US Bombs, All, the Specials, Hepcat and more! Punk Rock Summer Camp takes you behind the scenes while you were in the mosh pit. Meet the people behind the drums, on the stages, under the helmets and inside the buses on the 82 Minute DVD. Also features the world’s Best extreme athletes.

Punk Rock Summer Camp

1999

Punk Rock Holocaust poster
5.0

It is about a serial killer on the loose at the Vans Warped Tour who tries killing off the bands one by one, and features bands such as Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Less Than Jake, The Used, Big D and the Kids Table, Rancid, The Horrorpops, The Suicide Machines, Dropkick Murphys, The Phenomenauts and many more. It was principally filmed during the summer of 2003 on the Vans Warped Tour, and features live performances from many of the bands.[1][2] The director also appears as the bandana-wrapped killer. With 110 onscreen deaths, it held the record for individual deaths in a horror film.[3] Four of the five members of Simple Plan are individually killed, making them the only band to get such individual treatment. According to the director's commentary, bassist David Desrosiers did not want to be killed. The Phenomenauts' actual tour bus, the "Phenomebomber" was blown up specially for the film.

Punk Rock Holocaust

2004

Rancid: The Music Videos: 1993-2003 poster
NR

Showcasing a decade's worth of music videos from legendary punk band Rancid, this electrifying collection features such awesome tracks as "Ruby Soho," "Time Bomb," "Who Would've Thought," "Golden Gate Fields" and "Salvation." Ranging from simple performance pieces to more elaborate productions, each of these videos reaffirms Rancid's reputation as one the most important punk acts of the 1990s.

Rancid: The Music Videos: 1993-2003

2008

Under The Influence: New York Hardcore poster
NR

From Noisey: We go from the streets of the Lower East Side all the way to South Korea to examine one of the most distinctive genres to sprout from the concrete of New York City: hardcore. Along the way, we’ll meet with everyone from tattoo shop owners to chefs to government workers—all of whom have been inspired by the teachings at musical meccas like CBGB’s and A7 and found ways to apply the lessons learned from the scene to their own lives. Join us—as well as members of Agnostic Front, Title Fight, Youth of Today, Incendiary, and more—as we explore a world living under the influence of New York Hardcore.

Under The Influence: New York Hardcore

Rancid: Zepp Tokyo Japan poster
NR

Rancid gig in Zepp Tokyo, featuring DJ Hikaru as opening act, the famed Japanese punk band SA as support and SPACE SHOWER TV as closing band.

Rancid: Zepp Tokyo Japan

2009

No artwork available
NR

Operation Ivy Live from the Boilermaker, St. Louis, MO April 25th 1988

Operation Ivy - Live at the Boilermaker

Behind the camera