Biography
William Petersen is an American actor of Danish ancestry. Petersen was born on February 21, 1953 in Evanston, Illinois.
Petersen graduated from Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho in 1972. He was accepted to Idaho State University on a football scholarship. Originally intending to boost his grade point average at Idaho State, Petersen took an acting course which changed the direction of his life. He left school, along with his wife, in 1974 and followed a drama professor to Spain where he developed his acting skills as a Shakespearean actor. Petersen went back to Idaho with dreams of being an actor but couldn't hold down a job. He travelled to Chicago to live with relatives; here he became active in theater and earned his actor's Equity card. He performed with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and was a co-founder of the Remains Theater Ensemble which also included other prominent Chicago actors Gary Cole and Ted Levine.
Petersen as Will Graham in Manhunter
His film career began with a small part in the 1981 film Thief, and in 1986 he starred as Will Graham in Manhunter (later to be remade as Red Dragon).
In a move perhaps indicative of his career choices, Petersen is alleged to have passed on a part in Oliver Stone's Platoon, as it would have kept him away from his family and in the Philippines. Instead, he worked on the 1987 made-for-TV movie Long Gone.
In the 2000 release The Contender, Petersen played the role of Governor Jack Hathway, an unscrupulous candidate for Vice President following the death of the incumbent. He also appeared uncredited in the noir thriller Mulholland Falls as a character who finds himself on the violent receiving end of Los Angeles cops.
From 2000 to the present, Petersen has starred as Dr. Gil Grissom, PhD in the successful CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Due to heart problems, Petersen's role on CSI is currently reduced to a minimum.
Petersen, who has one child from a previous marriage, married longtime girlfriend Gina Cirone in June of 2003.
Selected filmography
Thief (1981) (credited as William L. Peterson)
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) ... Richard Chance (credited as William L. Petersen)
Manhunter (1986) ... Will Graham
Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)Long Gone (TV) (1987)
Young Guns II (1990) ... Pat Garrett
Return to Lonesome Dove (mini series) (1993)
In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man With One Eye Is King (1995) ... Tony C.
Fear (1996) ... Steve Walker
The Beast (1996) (miniseries) ... Whip Dalton
12 Angry Men (1997) (TV) ... Juror #12
The Rat Pack (TV) 1998) ... John F. Kennedy
Kiss the Sky (1999) ... Jeff
The Skulls (2000) ... Ames Levritt
The Contender (2000) ... Gov. Jack Hathaway
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000) ... Gil Grissom
Trivia
In his movies, is usually credited without his middle initial (i.e. credited as "William Petersen" and not "William L. Petersen"). One notable exception to this is his first starring role in To Live and Die in L.A..
When Gary Sinise didn't get the part of Richard Chance in To Live and Die in L.A., he recommended Petersen to William Friedkin. Ironically, Sinise is currently the star of CSI: NY, the spin-off of Petersen's TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
After C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation, Petersen said he plans to return to Chicago, Illinois for his first love: theater which gave him his start.
Because his role in Manhunter was so emotionally exhausting, he did everything he could to rid himself of Will Graham after finishing principal photography. He shaved off his beard, cut his hair and dyed it blonde.
In a third season episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Gil Grissom pursues an illusionist played by Tom Noonan. Petersen and Noonan played hero and villain, respectively, in Manhunter.
Is an avid Chicago Cubs fan, and will drop by Wrigley Field at least once a year to sing the seventh inning stretch.
He has played two characters with the surname "Walker." He played Gideon Walker in Return to Lonesome Dove, and Steve Walker in Fear.
Played Missy Crider's father in the miniseries The Beast. Crider later appeared in the second season premeire of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
