William Fichtner

William Fichtner

Fichtner at the 2011 USA Film Festival
Born William Edward Fichtner, Jr.
(1956-11-27) November 27, 1956
Mitchel Air Force Base, New York U.S.
Other names Bill Fichtner
Occupation Actor
Years active 1987–present
Spouse(s) Betsy Aidem (?–1996)
Kymberly Kalil (1998–present)
Children 2

William Edward "Bill" Fichtner, Jr. (born November 27, 1956)[1] is an American actor. He has appeared in a number of notable films and TV series. He is known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay in the cult favorite television series Invasion, Alexander Mahone on Prison Break, and numerous film roles, including: Quiz Show, Armageddon, The Perfect Storm, Crash, Blades of Glory, Black Hawk Down, Nine Lives, The Longest Yard, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Dark Knight, Date Night, The Lone Ranger, Phantom, Elysium, Independence Day: Resurgence, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014).

Early life

Fichtner was born on Mitchel Air Force Base[2] on Long Island, and was raised in Cheektowaga, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. He is the son of Patricia A. (née Steitz) and William E. Fichtner.[3][4] He has German ancestry.[5]

Fichtner graduated from Maryvale High School (Cheektowaga) in 1974. After graduating from Farmingdale State College in 1976 with an associate degree in criminal justice, he attended SUNY Brockport and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1978. Fichtner then studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Fichtner credits his Farmingdale State College admissions counselor, Don Harvey, with his decision to study acting. Harvey, who became a lifelong friend, took Fichtner to his first Broadway show. On May 18, 2008, Fichtner was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Farmingdale State College.[6]

Career

Fichtner began his acting career as Josh Snyder in As the World Turns in 1987. Fichtner's film credits include Contact, Heat, Armageddon, Go, Equilibrium, Black Hawk Down, The Perfect Storm, The Longest Yard, Crash, Ultraviolet and The Dark Knight. Mainly a character actor, one of Fichtner's few leading roles is in Passion of Mind, also starring Demi Moore and Stellan Skarsgård. For his role in Crash, he won a Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance Award and a "Best Acting Ensemble" Award from Broadcast Film Critics Choice.

Fichtner, 2003

Credited as Bill Fichtner, he voiced the character Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Between 2005 and 2006, Fichtner also starred in the science-fiction TV series Invasion as Sheriff Tom Underlay. After Invasion was canceled, Fichtner played FBI Agent Alexander Mahone in the second through fourth seasons (2006–2009) of Prison Break.[7] Later that year, he presented an award at the National Hockey League award show. He also appears in The West Wing episode, "The Supremes" as Christopher Mulready, a conservative judge nominated to the Supreme Court. Fichtner also had a role as the Gotham National Bank manager in the feature film The Dark Knight, and as Jurgen in Equilibrium.

In June 2009, Fichtner signed on to guest star on Entourage playing TV producer Phil Yagoda, who is trying to remake his hit 1990s teen series.[8] He also voices Master Sergeant Sandman in the 2011 video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.[9]

Fichtner played Eric Sacks in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014).[10][11]

Personal life

As of June 2014, Fichtner lives in Prague, Czech Republic, where he filmed the television series Crossing Lines.

Fichtner is a fan of the National Football League (NFL)'s Buffalo Bills, appearing in a commercial for the team before the 2014 season.[12] More recently, Fichtner narrated the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary titled Four Falls of Buffalo, chronicling the Buffalo Bills' four consecutive Super Bowl appearances from 199093.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1994 Quiz Show Stage Manager
1995 Virtuosity Wallace
Reckless Rachel's Father
Strange Days Dwayne Engelman
Heat Roger Van Zant
Underneath Tommy Dundee
1996 Albino Alligator Law
1997 Contact Kent
Switchback Chief Jack McGinnis
1998 Armageddon Colonel William Sharp
1999 Go Burke
The Settlement Jerry
2000 The Perfect Storm David "Sully" Sullivan
Drowning Mona Phil Dearly
Passion of Mind Aaron
Endsville[13] Prince Victor
2001 Pearl Harbor Danny's Father
Black Hawk Down SFC Jeff Sanderson Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
What's the Worst That Could Happen? Detective Alex Tardio
2002 Julie Walking Home Henry
Equilibrium Jürgen
2004 Crash Flanagan Hollywood Film Festival Ensemble of the Year
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated—Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast
2005 Nine Lives Andrew Nominated—Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast
The Chumscrubber Dr. Bill Stifle
The Moguls Otis
The Longest Yard Captain Knauer
Mr. & Mrs. Smith Dr. Wexler (voice) Uncredited
2006 Ultraviolet Garth
2007 Blades of Glory Darren MacElroy
First Snow Ed
2008 The Dark Knight Bank Manager
2010 Forehead Tittaes[14] Boss Short skit
Date Night D.A. Frank Crenshaw
2011 The Big Bang Detective Poley
Drive Angry The Accountant Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor
2012 Wrong Master Chang
2013 Phantom Alex Kozlov
The Lone Ranger Butch Cavendish
Elysium John Carlyle
2014 The Homesman Vester Belknap
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Eric Sacks
2016 Independence Day: Resurgence General Joshua T. Adams
The Gettysburg Address John G. Nicolay (voice) Documentary
2017 Finding Steve McQueen Enzo Rotella

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1987–1994 As the World Turns Josh Snyder Unknown episodes
1989 A Man Called Hawk Boros 2 episodes
Baywatch Howard Ganza Episode: "Rookie School"
1994–1995 Grace Under Fire Ryan 8 episodes
1995 High Lonesome: A Father for Charlie[15] Sheriff Television film
2002 MDs Bruce Kellerman 10 episodes
2004 The West Wing Christopher Mulready Episode: "The Supremes"
2005 Empire Falls Jimmy Minty 2 episodes
American Dad! Harland (voice) Episode: "Homeland Insecurity"
2005–2006 Invasion Sheriff Tom Underlay 22 episodes
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television
2006–2009 Prison Break Alexander Mahone 59 episodes
2009–2011 Entourage Phil Yagoda 8 episodes
2010 Night and Day Dan Hollister Pilot
2012 Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden[16] Mr. Guidry Television film
2013–2014 Crossing Lines Carl Hickman 22 episodes
2015–2016 Empire Jameson Henthrop 4 episodes
2016–present Mom Adam Recurring Season 3; Regular Season 4

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Ken Rosenberg Credited as Bill Fichtner
2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
2008 Turok Logan
2011 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Master Sergeant Sandman
2012 Infex The Administrator
2013 Disney Infinity Butch Cavendish
2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Shredder In the 3DS version only

References

  1. "William Fichtner Biography (1956-)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  2. Silverman, Stephen M. (2002-01-17). "'Black Hawk Down' Comes Up in D.C.". People. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  3. David Niles. "Worcester Telegram & Gazette Archives". Nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  4. The Post-Journal (2009-12-29). "Patricia A. Fichtner - post-journal.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Jamestown". Post-Journal. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  5. "FAQs and Q&A with William Fichtner". WilliamFichtner.org (official site). Archived from the original on June 18, 2007. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  6. "About William Fichtner". Farmingdale State College. 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011.
  7. Clean 'Break' for Fichtner Reuters. June 19, 2006. Retrieved June 19, 2006.
  8. "Entourage Admits Caan, Fichtner, Letscher". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  9. Gaudiosi, John (2011-04-11). "Actor William Fichtner is Modern Warfare 3's Sandman". IGN. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  10. 'Crossing Lines': William Fichtner Reveals 'Sons Of Anarchy' Star Joining Show
  11. ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Adds William Fichtner
  12. Fichtner, William (September 4, 2014). VIDEO: What It Means to Be a Bills Fan. Buffalo Bills. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  13. Endsville at the Internet Movie Database
  14. "Forehead Tittaes w/ Marion Cotillard". Funny Or Die. 9 March 2010.
  15. "A Father for Charlie (1995)". FamousFix.
  16. Kaufman, Alexander C. (4 October 2012). "National Geographic Channel to Show Osama bin Laden Thriller 'Seal Team Six'". TheWrap.
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