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William Fichtner

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William Fichtner
Fichtner in 2018
Born
William Edward Fichtner

(1956-11-27) November 27, 1956 (age 67)
Mitchel Air Force Base, New York, U.S.
EducationFarmingdale State College (AS)
SUNY Brockport (BS)
OccupationActor
Years active1987–present
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1987; div. 1996)​
  • Kymberly Kalil
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1998)​
Children2

William Edward Fichtner[1] (born November 27, 1956)[2] is an American actor. Born in New York, he started his career with supporting appearances in Virtuosity (1994), Heat and Strange Days (both, 1995). A prolific character actor in film, Fichtner is recognized for memorable performances in Contact (1997), Armageddon (1998), Go (1999), The Perfect Storm (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), Crash (2004) and The Longest Yard.

In 2005, Fichtner starred as Sheriff Tom Underlay in Invasion. He later appeared as Alexander Mahone in Prison Break, Carl Hickman in Crossing Lines, and Adam Janikowski in Mom.

Early life

[edit]

Fichtner was born on Mitchel Air Force Base[3] on Long Island and raised in Cheektowaga, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. He is the son of Patricia A. (née Steitz) and William Frederick Fichtner.[4][5][1] He has German ancestry.[6]

He graduated from Maryvale High School in 1974. After graduating from Farmingdale State College in 1976 with an associate degree in criminal justice, he attended the State University of New York at Brockport and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1978. In an interview with Michael Rosenbaum, Fichtner recalled he took a theatrical improvisation class initially to fill a fine arts requirement, and the professor recommended he consider taking further acting classes.[7] He then studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

On May 18, 2008, Fichtner received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Farmingdale State College.[8] In his acceptance address, he credited Farmingdale admissions counselor Don Harvey with his decision to study acting. Harvey, who became a lifelong friend, took Fichtner to his first Broadway show.

Fichtner in 2003

Career

[edit]

Fichtner began his acting career playing the role of Rod Landry in As the World Turns in 1987. He has also appeared in the films Contact, Heat, Armageddon, Go, Equilibrium, Black Hawk Down, The Perfect Storm, The Longest Yard, Crash, Ultraviolet, Drive Angry and The Dark Knight. Mainly a character actor, one of his few leading roles is in Passion of Mind, also starring Demi Moore and Stellan Skarsgård. His role in Crash won him a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award and a Best Acting Ensemble award from Broadcast Film Critics Choice. He appeared in the CBS sitcom Mom from 2015 to 2021.

Fichtner voiced Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He is credited as Willian Fichtner in Vice City and Bill Fichtner in San Andreas. Between 2005 and 2006, he also starred in the sci-fi TV series Invasion as Sheriff Tom Underlay. After Invasion was canceled, he played ruthless FBI Agent Alexander Mahone in three seasons of Prison Break (2006–2009).[9] In 2009, he co-presented the Vezina Trophy (for goal tending) at the National Hockey League awards show.[10][11] He later guest starred as judge Christopher Mulready in The West Wing episode "The Supremes." He also had a role as the corrupt Gotham National Bank manager in the feature film The Dark Knight and as Jurgen in Equilibrium.

In June 2009, Fichtner had a recurring role as TV producer Phil Yagoda on Entourage.[12] He also voiced Master Sergeant Sandman in the 2011 video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. He also played Eric Sacks in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014).[13] In September 2024, it was reported that Fichtner had joined the cast of The Talamasca as Jasper in a series regular role.[14][15]

Personal life

[edit]

Fichtner is a fan of the NFL team the Buffalo Bills, and appeared in a commercial for them before the 2014 season.[16] He narrated the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Four Falls of Buffalo, chronicling their four consecutive Super Bowl appearances from 1990–93.[17]

He is a close friend of his Black Hawk Down co-stars Kim Coates and Eric Bana.[18]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Reference(s)
1994 Quiz Show Stage Manager [19][20]
1995 Virtuosity William Wallace [19][20]
Reckless Rachel's Father [20]
Strange Days Officer Dwayne Engelman [19][20]
Heat Roger Van Zant [19][20]
The Underneath Tommy Dundee [19][20]
1996 Albino Alligator Law [19][20]
1997 Contact Kent Clarke [19][20]
Switchback Chief Jack McGinnis [19][20]
1998 Armageddon Colonel Willie Sharp [19][20]
1999 Go Burke Halverson [19][20]
The Settlement Jerry [19][20]
2000 The Perfect Storm David "Sully" Sullivan [19][20]
Drowning Mona Phil Dearly [19][20]
Passion of Mind Aaron Reilly [19][20]
Endsville Prince Victor [21]
2001 Pearl Harbor Mr. Walker [19][20]
Black Hawk Down Sergeant First Class Jeff Sanderson Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast [19][20]
What's the Worst That Could Happen? Detective Alex Tardio [19][20]
2002 Julie Walking Home Henry [19][20]
Equilibrium Jurgen [19][20]
2004 Crash Jake Flanagan Hollywood Film Festival Ensemble of the Year
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated—Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast 		[19][20]
2005 Nine Lives Andrew Nominated—Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast [19][20]
The Chumscrubber Dr. Bill Stifle [19][20]
The Amateurs Otis [19][20]
The Longest Yard Captain Brian Knauer [19][20]
Mr. & Mrs. Smith Dr. Wexler Voice; Uncredited [19][20][22]
2006 Ultraviolet Garth [19][20]
2007 Blades of Glory Darren MacElroy [19][20]
First Snow Ed [19][20]
2008 The Dark Knight Bank Manager [19][20]
2010 Forehead Tittaes Boss Funny or Die sketch [23]
Date Night District Attorney Frank Crenshaw [19][20]
2011 The Big Bang Detective Poley [19][20]
Drive Angry The Accountant Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor [19][20]
2012 Wrong Master Chang [19][20]
St. Sebastian Jurgens Unreleased [19][24]
2013 Phantom Alex Kozlov [19][20]
The Lone Ranger Butch Cavendish [19][20]
Elysium John Carlyle [19][20]
2014 The Homesman Vester Belknap [19][20]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Eric Sacks [19][20]
2016 Independence Day: Resurgence General Joshua T. Adams [19][20]
American Wrestler: The Wizard Coach Plyler [20]
2017 Hot Summer Nights Shep [19][20]
The Neighbor Mike Prentis Also producer [19][20]
Krystal Dr. Lyle Farley [19][20]
2018 12 Strong Colonel John Mulholland [20]
Traffik Carl Waynewright [19][20]
O.G. Danvers [19][20]
Armed Richard [19][20]
Cold Brook Ted Markham Also director and co-writer [20][25]
All the Devil's Men Mike Brennan [20]
2019 Josie & Jack Joseph Raeburn [20]
Finding Steve McQueen Enzo Rotella [20]
2021 The Space Between Donny Rumson [20]
The Birthday Cake Uncle Ricardo [20]
2023 Hypnotic Lev Dellrayne [20]
2024 French Girl Peter Kinski [20][26]
2025 The Embers and the Stars TBA [27]
TBA That's Amore! TBA Post-production [28]
The Gettysburg Address John G. Nicolay Voice; Post-production

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Reference(s)
1987–1994 As the World Turns Rod Landry 79 episodes
1989 A Man Called Hawk Boros 2 episodes
Baywatch Howard Ganza Episode: "Rookie School"
1994–1995 Grace Under Fire Ryan Sparks 8 episodes [20]
1995 A Father for Charlie Sheriff Television film [19][20]
2002 MDs Bruce Kellerman 10 episodes [20]
2004 The West Wing Christopher Mulready Episode: "The Supremes" [20]
2005 Empire Falls Jimmy Minty 2 episodes [19][20]
American Dad! Harland Voice; Episode: "Homeland Insecurity" [20][22]
2005–2006 Invasion Sheriff Tom Underlay 22 episodes
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television
2006–2009 Prison Break Alexander Mahone 59 episodes [20]
2009–2011 Entourage Phil Yagoda 8 episodes [20]
2010 Night and Day Dan Hollister Pilot
2012 Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden Mr. Guidry Television film [19][20][29]
2013–2014 Crossing Lines Carl Hickman 22 episodes [20]
2015–2016 Empire Jameson Henthrop 4 episodes [20]
2016–2021 Mom Adam Janikowski Recurring (season 3), Main cast (seasons 4–8); 84 episodes
Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series 		[20]
2016 Shooter Rathford O'Brien Episode: "Killing Zone" [20]
2017 Porsche: Decades of Disruption Narrator Voice; Documentary
Top Gear America Himself Host; 8 episodes [20]
2019 Veep Felix Wade Episode: "Discovery Weekend"
2020 Corporate Brett Episode: "Fuck You Money" [20]
2022 Joe vs. Carole Rick Kirkham 2 episodes [30]
2023 The Company You Keep Leo Nicoletti Main role; 10 episodes [20]
2025 The Talamasca Jasper Main role [14][15]

Video games

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes Reference(s)
2002 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Ken Rosenberg Credited as William Fichtner [22]
2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Credited as Bill Fichtner [22]
2008 Turok Logan
2011 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Master Sergeant Sandman [22][31]
2012 Infex The Administrator
2013 Disney Infinity Butch Cavendish [22]
2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Shredder Nintendo 3DS version [22]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2005 32nd Saturn Awards Best Actor on Television Invasion Nominated [32]
2011 Buffalo Niagara Film Festival Walk of Fame Trail of the Stars Won [33]
2012 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Supporting Actor Drive Angry Nominated [32]
2017 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival Best Actor The Neighbor Won [34][32]
2021 26th Critics' Choice Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Mom Nominated [35][32]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Faris, Anna (host) (2019-11-25). "Bill Fichtner". Unqualified. Event occurs at 0:30. William Edward Fichtner—not a 'junior', my father's middle name was Frederick—...
  2. ^ "William Fichtner Biography (1956-)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  3. ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (January 17, 2002). "'Black Hawk Down' Comes Up in D.C." People. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  4. ^ David Niles. "Worcester Telegram & Gazette Archives". Nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  5. ^ The Post-Journal (December 29, 2009). "Patricia A. Fichtner". Post-Journal. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  6. ^ "FAQs and Q&A with William Fichtner". WilliamFichtner.org (official site). Archived from the original on June 18, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  7. ^ "This made William Fichtner switch from a career in criminal justice to acting #insideofyou #actor". 30 June 2022 – via www.youtube.com.
  8. ^ "About William Fichtner". Farmingdale State College. 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011.
  9. ^ Clean 'Break' for Fichtner[dead link] Reuters. June 19, 2006. Retrieved June 19, 2006.
  10. ^ "Official Site of the National Hockey League". NHL.com.
  11. ^ "NHL Awards Winners". nhl.com. NHL. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  12. ^ "Entourage Admits Caan, Fichtner, Letscher". TVGuide.com. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
  13. ^ Patten, Dominic (May 9, 2013). "'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Adds William Fichtner". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (September 17, 2024). "Anne Rice's 'Talamasca' Series at AMC Adds William Fichtner to Cast (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Flook, Ray (September 17, 2024). "Anne Rice's The Talamasca Taps William Fichtner as Series Regular". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  16. ^ Fichtner, William (September 4, 2014). VIDEO: What It Means to Be a Bills Fan. Buffalo Bills. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  17. ^ Warren, Matt (10 December 2015). "Buffalo Bills '30 for 30' documentary, 'Four Falls of Buffalo,' premieres". Buffalo Rumblings. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  18. ^ "Interviews with COLD BROOK Stars William Fichtner and Kim Coates". 8 November 2019.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw "William Fichtner". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt "William Fichtner List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Endsville at IMDb
  22. ^ a b c d e f g "William Fichtner (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  23. ^ "Forehead Tittaes w/ Marion Cotillard". Funny Or Die. March 9, 2010.
  24. ^ The Deadline Team (May 11, 2012). "Locomotive Selling Danny DeVito-Directed Thriller At Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  25. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (8 June 2017). "William Fichtner To Make Directing Debut On 'Cold Brook'". Deadline. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  26. ^ Kroll, Justin (November 3, 2022). "Zach Braff, Vanessa Hudgens, Evelyne Brochu And William Fichtner To Star In 'French Girl'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  27. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (November 1, 2024). "Constance Wu, Mark O'Brien & William Fichtner Wrap Under-The-Radar Sci-Fi Pic 'The Embers And The Stars'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  28. ^ Clement, Nick (November 1, 2023). "John Travolta and Katherine Heigl's Musical Rom-Com 'That's Amore!' From 'Green Book' Writer Has Recorded Seven Songs". Variety. Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  29. ^ Kaufman, Alexander C. (October 4, 2012). "National Geographic Channel to Show Osama bin Laden Thriller 'Seal Team Six'". TheWrap. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  30. ^ Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (July 1, 2021). "Peacock's 'Joe Exotic' Series Replaces Dennis Quaid With William Fichtner as Rick Kirkham". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  31. ^ Gaudiosi, John (April 11, 2011). "Actor William Fichtner is Modern Warfare 3's Sandman". IGN. Archived from the original on 2018-10-25. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  32. ^ a b c d "William Fichtner Awards". imdb (index source only). Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  33. ^ Staff Sgt. Joseph McKee (April 9, 2011). "Walk among the stars". niagara.afrc.af.mil. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  34. ^ "HRIFF 2017 Award Winners". hollywoodreelindependentfilmfestival.com. 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  35. ^ Pete Hammond (November 19, 2020). "Inaugural Critics Choice Super Awards; Netflix Lands 35 Nods". deadline. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
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