William Mapother

Photo of William Mapother

Biography

Plenty of individuals have landed gigs thanks to who they know, but the trick for success is to prove you've got more than connections. For William Mapother, cousin of Tom Cruise, that opportunity came when he was cast as the hot-tempered estranged husband of a woman (Marisa Tomei) having an affair with a much younger man (Nick Stahl) in Todd Field's feature directorial debut "In the Bedroom" (2001). With bleached blond hair and a beard, …
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Job Title

Actor, Consultants & Advisors, Below The Line

Born

April 17, 1965

Career Milestones

Between show business jobs, worked as a substitute teacher in L.A.

Raised in Louisville, Kentucky

1988

Worked as a production assistant on "Cocktail" and "Rain Man", both starring Tom Cruise

1989

Film debut in "Born on the Fourth of July"; also served as Cruise's assistant; billed as William R. Mapother

1998

Had featured role in "Without Limits"

2001

Breakthrough screen role, "In the Bedroom," as Richard Strout, the estranged husband of a woman having an affair with a younger man

2002

Appeared in "Minority Report", starring Cruise

2002

Starred in the ABC movie "The Pennsylvania Miners' Story" based on the real-life chronicle of the 'nine for nine' Pennsylvania coal miners who were rescued in the summer of 2002

2004

Cast opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in the thriller "The Grudge"

2006

Cast in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center"

2006

Starred in the thriller "Zodiac" with Justin Chambers and Rory Culkin

Awards

2002

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in In the Bedroom