William Fichtner

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 (2005).

William Fichtner
Fichtner in 2018
Born	William Edward Fichtner (1956-11-27) November 27, 1956 (age 68) Mitchel Air Force Base, New York, U.S.
Education	Farmingdale State College (AS) SUNY Brockport (BS)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present
Spouses	Betsy Aidem ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1996)​ Kymberly Kalil ​ ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	2

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

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

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 the resistance leader 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: The Secret Order as Jasper in a series regular role.^[14][15][16] In January 2025, it was announced that Fichtner had joined the second season of Beef.^[17] In April, it was announced that Fichtner had joined the cast of Lucky.^[18]

Personal life

Fichtner is a fan of the NFL team the Buffalo Bills, and appeared in a commercial for them before the 2014 season.^[19] He narrated the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Four Falls of Buffalo, chronicling their four consecutive Super Bowl appearances from 1990–93.^[20]

He is a close friend of his Black Hawk Down co-stars Kim Coates and Eric Bana.^[21]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Reference(s)
1994	Quiz Show	Stage Manager		[22][23]
1995	Virtuosity	William Wallace		[22][23]
	Reckless	Rachel's Father		[23]
	Strange Days	Officer Dwayne Engelman		[22][23]
	Heat	Roger Van Zant		[22][23][24]
	The Underneath	Tommy Dundee		[22][23]
1996	Albino Alligator	Law		[22][23][24]
1997	Contact	Kent Clarke		[22][23][24]
	Switchback	Chief Jack McGinnis		[22][23]
1998	Armageddon	Colonel Willie Sharp		[22][23][24]
1999	Go	Burke Halverson		[22][23][24]
	The Settlement	Jerry		[22][23]
2000	The Perfect Storm	David "Sully" Sullivan		[22][23]
	Drowning Mona	Phil Dearly		[22][23][24]
	Passion of Mind	Aaron Reilly		[22][23]
	Endsville	Prince Victor		[25]
2001	Pearl Harbor	Mr. Walker		[22][23]
	Black Hawk Down	Sergeant First Class Jeff Sanderson	Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast	[22][23][24]
	What's the Worst That Could Happen?	Detective Alex Tardio		[22][23]
2002	Julie Walking Home	Henry		[22][23]
	Equilibrium	Jurgen		[22][23]
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	[22][23]
2005	Nine Lives	Andrew	Nominated—Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast	[22][23]
	The Chumscrubber	Dr. Bill Stifle		[22][23]
	The Amateurs	Otis		[22][23][24]
	The Longest Yard	Captain Brian Knauer		[22][23]
	Mr. & Mrs. Smith	Dr. Wexler	Voice; uncredited	[22][23][26]
2006	Ultraviolet	Garth		[22][23]
2007	Blades of Glory	Darren MacElroy		[22][23]
	First Snow	Ed		[22][23]
2008	The Dark Knight	Bank Manager		[22][23][24]
2010	Forehead Tittaes	Boss	Funny or Die sketch	[27]
	Date Night	District Attorney Frank Crenshaw		[22][23]
2011	The Big Bang	Detective Poley		[22][23][24]
	Drive Angry	The Accountant		[22][23][24]
2012	Wrong	Master Chang		[22][23]
	St. Sebastian	Jurgens	Unreleased	[22][28]
2013	Phantom	Alex Kozlov		[22][23]
	The Lone Ranger	Butch Cavendish		[22][23]
	Elysium	John Carlyle		[22][23]
2014	The Homesman	Vester Belknap		[22][23]
	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Eric Sacks / The Shredder		[22][23]
2016	Independence Day: Resurgence	General Joshua T. Adams		[22][23]
	American Wrestler: The Wizard	Coach Plyler		[23]
2017	Hot Summer Nights	Shep		[22][23]
	The Neighbor	Mike Prentis	Also producer	[22][23]
	Krystal	Dr. Lyle Farley		[22][23]
2018	12 Strong	Colonel John Mulholland		[23]
	Traffik	Carl Waynewright		[22][23]
	O.G.	Danvers		[22][23]
	Armed	Richard		[22][23]
	Cold Brook	Ted Markham	Also director and co-writer	[23][29]
	All the Devil's Men	Mike Brennan		[23]
2019	Josie & Jack	Joseph Raeburn		[23]
	Finding Steve McQueen	Enzo Rotella		[23]
2021	The Space Between	Donny Rumson		[23]
	The Birthday Cake	Uncle Ricardo		[23]
2023	Hypnotic	Lev Dellrayne		[23]
2024	French Girl	Peter Kinski		[23][30]
2025	The Embers and the Stars	TBA		[31]
TBA	That's Amore!	TBA	Post-production	[32]
	The Gettysburg Address	John George Nicolay	Voice; post-production	[33]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Reference(s)
1987–1994	As the World Turns	Rod Landry	79 episodes	[24]
1989	A Man Called Hawk	Boros	2 episodes
	Baywatch	Howard Ganza	Episode: "Rookie School"
1994–1995	Grace Under Fire	Ryan Sparks	8 episodes	[23]
1995	A Father for Charlie	Sheriff	Television film	[22][23]
2002	MDs	Bruce Kellerman	10 episodes	[23]
2004	The West Wing	Christopher Mulready	Episode: "The Supremes"	[23]
2005	Empire Falls	Jimmy Minty	2 episodes	[22][23]
	American Dad!	Harland	Voice; episode: "Homeland Insecurity"	[23][26]
2005–2006	Invasion	Sheriff Tom Underlay	22 episodes	[24]
2006–2009	Prison Break	Alexander Mahone	59 episodes	[23][24]
2009–2011	Entourage	Phil Yagoda	13 episodes	[23][24]
2010	Night and Day	Dan Hollister	Pilot
2012	Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden	Mr. Guidry	Television film	[22][23][34]
2013–2014	Crossing Lines	Carl Hickman	22 episodes	[23]
2015–2016	Empire	Jameson Henthrop	4 episodes	[23]
2016–2021	Mom	Adam Janikowski	Recurring (season 3), Main cast (seasons 4–8); 84 episodes	[23]
2016	Shooter	Rathford O'Brien	Episode: "Killing Zone"	[23]
2017	Porsche: Decades of Disruption	Narrator	Voice; documentary
	Top Gear America	Himself	Host; 8 episodes	[23]
2019	Veep	Felix Wade	Episode: "Discovery Weekend"
2020	Corporate	Brett	Episode: "Fuck You Money"	[23]
2022	Joe vs. Carole	Rick Kirkham	2 episodes	[35]
2023	The Company You Keep	Leo Nicoletti	Main role; 10 episodes	[23]
2025	The Talamasca: The Secret Order	Jasper	Main role	[14][15][16]
TBA	Beef	TBA		[17]
	Lucky	TBA		[18]

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Notes	Reference(s)
2002	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	Ken Rosenberg	Credited as Willian Fichtner	[26]
2004	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas		Credited as Bill Fichtner	[26]
2008	Turok	Logan
2011	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	Master Sergeant Sandman		[26][36]
2012	Infex	The Administrator
2013	Disney Infinity	Butch Cavendish		[26]
2014	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	The Shredder	Nintendo 3DS version	[26]
2021	Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition	Ken Rosenberg	Archival recordings Remasters of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas only	[26]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2005	32nd Saturn Awards	Best Actor on Television	Invasion	Nominated	[37]
2011	Buffalo Niagara Film Festival	Walk of Fame Trail of the Stars		Won	[38]
2012	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Drive Angry	Nominated	[37]
2017	Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival	Best Actor	The Neighbor	Won	[39][37]
2021	26th Critics' Choice Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Mom	Nominated	[40][37]