William Petersen
Milestones
- Birthplace: Evanston, Illinois, USA
- Birthday: February 21, 1953
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2000 to 2008
Played Dr. Gil Grissom on the CBS crime drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"; also produced; earned Emmy (2002, 2003, 2004) nominations for Outstanding Drama Series as a producer and a Golden Globe (2004) nomination as an actor
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2000
Played the role of Gov. Jack Hathaway, an unscrupulous candidate for vice president in Rod Lurie's "The Contender"
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1998
Cast in a supporting role as as President Jack Kennedy in the HBO movie, "The Rat Pack"
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1997
Re-teamed with director William Friedkin for Showtime remake of "12 Angry Men"
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1996
Cast as Reese Witherspoon's overprotective father in the thriller, "Fear"
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1996
Made Broadway debut in revival of Tennessee Williams' "Night of the Iguana"
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1992
Producing debut, "Hard Promises" (also starred)
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1992
Television producing debut, the TNT movie, "Keep the Change" (also starred)
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1990
Portrayed Joseph P. Kennedy in the ABC miniseries, "The Kennedys of Massachusetts"
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1989
Played Isabella Rossellini's unfaithful husband in "Cousins," Joel Schumacher's American remake of the 1977 French comedy
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1987
Television debut, playing Cecil 'Stud' Cantrell in the HBO movie, "Long Gone"
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1986
Cast as a former FBI agent who captured the infamous Dr. Hannibal Lecktor in Michael Mann's "Manhunter"
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1986
Formed film production company called High Horse Productions with producer Cynthia Chvatal
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1985
First starring role in a feature, Friedkin's "To Live and Die in L.A."
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1981
Made feature debut in Michael Mann's "Thief" (billed as William L. Petersen)
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1974
Followed a drama professor to Basque country where he studied as a Shakespearean actor
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Chicago theatre debut, "Canticle of the Sun"
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Co-founded the Remains Theater Ensemble which also included other prominent Chicago actors
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Discovered by William Friedkin playing Stanley Kowalski in a Canadian production of "A Steetcar Named Desire"
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Returned to the Chicago area, and became active in the theater