Todman hails from New York City, New York, and is the son of game show producer Bill Todman. He spent 14 years as a television producer for current CBS president Leslie Moonves before moving to motion pictures. His first was 1988's Married to the Mob, which he executive produced. This film starred Star Trek: Enterprise guest actor Dean Stockwell in an Academy Award-nominated role. Afterward, Todman executive produced the Steven Seagal action film Hard to Kill, which also starred Branscombe Richmond and William Sadler.