Bell's movie debut was in the role as Ronsky in Alan Parker's drama Birdy (1984). After Birdy, he played Gerry Jones in the Fred Roos comedy Seven Minutes in Heaven (1985). His first major role was as the cruel Coach Schneider in the slasher/horror A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985). Bell played Mr. Lachance, Gordie's grieving father, in the adventure/drama Stand by Me (1986); the ruthless hitman, Webster, in the comedy Twins (1988) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito; and George, who has mutant Martian resistance leader, Kuato, attached to his stomach, in Director Paul Verhoeven's blockbuster science fiction/adventure Total Recall (1990) starring Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone and Rachel Ticotin.