Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, perhaps better known as “The Unabomber,” has died. TheNew York Timesreports that Kaczynski was found unresponsive in his federal prison cell in Butner, North Carolina, on the morning of June 10. He waspronounced deadsoon after, though a specific cause of death is not yet known. Kaczynski was 81 years old.
Kaczynski was born on June 09, 2025. After working as a mathematic professor, he would retire from the field and live a much more reclusive life by the late 1960s. Investigators would later uncover how Kaczynski went on to harm people with letter bombs between 1978 and 1995, earning him the nickname of “The Unabomber” until his true identity was finally revealed. The domestic terrorist’s attacks would leave three people dead and another 23 injured, making him one of the FBI’s most-wanted criminals until he was apprehended.
Before his arrest, Kaczynski had penned a 35,000-word manifesto that he anonymously sent to the New York Times, detailing why he felt that his crimes were necessary. The letter’s publication led to his downfall, as Kaczynski’s brother recognized how it was written, going on to report his suspicions to investigators. That led to Kaczynski’s arrest in 1996, and he was ultimately sentenced to eight life terms in prison with no chance of parole. In 2021, he was transferred from a supermax prison in Colorado to the Federal Medical Center in North Carolina for health reasons.
Related:Ted K Review: A Disturbing Portrayal of the Infamous Unabomber
Sharlto Copley Played Ted Kaczynski in Ted K
Various feature films have been made depicting Kaczynski, and his story was told in a biopic not so long ago with the 2021 filmTed K. The film, directed by Tony Stone, featuredSharlto Copley in the lead role as Kaczynski. It focuses primarily on the period of time leading up to Kaczynski’s exposure and arrest. The reviews for the movie were relatively strong, and Copley’s performance in particularly drew a lot of acclaim from the critics.
“Lots of people in Hollywood are so judgmental about [playing] other people or public figures,” Copley said of playing the part in an interview last year withIndieWire. “For me, the job is really to look deep into human nature, and you can’t be too judgmental about characters, especially if you’re a character actor.”
On how playing Kaczynski and looking into his writings forced the actor to do some inner reflection, Copley added, “I realized, in reading the manifesto and in reading a lot of his notes, that I do care deeply about what’s happened to the environment. I’m deeply concerned about the level to which technology is controlling my life, and I feel very powerless in that situation. It wasn’t a huge stretch to relate to from a fiction point of view.”
WandaVision’s Paul Bettany also played Kaczynski in the first season of the Discovery Channel seriesManhuntin 2017. Horror genre favorite Tobin Bell, who plays the Jigsaw killer in theSawfranchise, also played Kaczynski in the 1996 TV movieUnabomber: The True Story.
