William Fichtner Biography
Summary
"William Edward 'Bill' Fichtner" (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on "Invasion", as Alexander Mahone on "Prison Break" and as Ken Rosenberg in the video games "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas".
Fichtner also had a small role as the Gotham National Bank manager in the feature film "The Dark Knight", and as Jurgen in "Equilibrium"; both action movies feature Christian Bale.
Biography
Personal life
Fichtner was born in East Meadow, New York, and raised in Cheektowaga, New York, where he graduated from Maryvale High School. He is the son of Patricia and William E. Fichtner. He is of German heritage. He has four sisters, one of whom is a Colonel in the US Air Force while his nephew was a member of the band Sleepaway. After graduating from Farmingdale State College in 1976 with a associate degree in criminal justice, he attended SUNY Brockport and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1978, Fichtner decided to study 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 18 May 2008, Fichtner was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by his alma mater, Farmingdale State College. He is a Buffalo Sabres fan and periodically blogs for NHL.com.
Career
The German American 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 Skarsgard. 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.
Credited as 'Bill Fichtner', he lent his voice to the character Ken Rosenberg in the popular video games "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas". From 2005-2006, Fichtner also starred in the science fiction drama series "Invasion" as Sheriff Tom Underlay. After "Invasion" was cancelled, Fichtner was chosen to play Agent Alexander Mahone in the second, third and fourth seasons (2006-2009) of "Prison Break". Later that year, he also presented an award at the National Hockey League award show. He also appears in "The West Wing" episode, 'The Supremes' as Christopher Mulready, a brilliant conservative judge nominated to the Supreme Court.
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.
External links
(William Fichtner) at the official Contact movie website
(Random Roles) at the Onion A.V. Club
(Fichtner Firsthand) Yahoo Group
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about William Fichtner.
