| William Sadler | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Thomas Sadler April 13, 1950 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse | Marni Joan Bakst (1977-present) 1 child |
| Website | |
| http://www.williamsadler.com | |
William Thomas Sadler (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor who works in film and television. His television and motion picture roles have included Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller in The Pacific, Luther Sloan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sheriff Jim Valenti in Roswell, convict Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption, and—perhaps most notably—the Grim Reaper in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, a role for which he was nominated for, and won, the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor,[1] and his role as the villainous Colonel Stuart alongside Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2.
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Sadler was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Jane and William Sadler.[2] From an early age, he took to performing in front of an audience. Armed with a variety of stringed instruments, Sadler found hometown success during his high school years at Orchard Park High School. He took on the persona as Banjo Bill Sadler,[3] a banjo wielding singer who could crack jokes while playing. Both students and teachers enjoyed his performances immensely, which led Sadler to audition for the senior play under English teacher Dan Larkin's persuasion. He won the role, which brought about his personal discovery of wanting to become an actor. After graduating high school, he enrolled in SUNY Geneseo. Following that, he spent two years at Cornell University where he earned his Master's degree in Acting with a minor in Speech Communications. He is a certified speech teacher and particularly skilled at accents. When his studies were done, Sadler began his auditions.
Sadler took his first post-school role in Florida and soon relocated to Boston, moving in with his sister while scrubbing the floors of a lobster boat by day and cutting his acting chops at night. Slowly working up the nerve to take a shot at the big time in New York, a chance meeting with an old schoolmate on a trip into the city resulted in Sadler's casting in an off-off-Broadway production of Chekhov's Ivanov. After a brief turn at the Trinity Square Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island, Sadler moved back to New York and rented an apartment in the East Village, beginning a grueling 12 years in which he appeared in over 75 productions, including originating the role of "Sgt. Toomey" in the Broadway run of Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues, opposite Matthew Broderick in 1985.
Sadler is best known for his roles in the 1990 action film Die Hard 2 as Colonel Stuart, as Heywood in the 1994 prison drama The Shawshank Redemption, the Grim Reaper in the 1991 comedy Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and as Brayker in Demon Knight. He was also a series regular on the television series Roswell as Sheriff Jim Valenti and in Wonderfalls as Darrin Tyler. Other film credits include Trespass, K-9, Project X, Disturbing Behavior, Kinsey, The Battle of Shaker Heights, Purple Heart and Jimmy and Judy.
Sadler's TV guest appearances include In the Heat of the Night, Roseanne, Tru Calling, CSI, Numb3rs, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He had a recurring role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Luther Sloan, a member of a covert organization called Section 31. He appeared in three episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in its final two seasons. In 2007, he played Carlton Fog on ABC's Traveler, and in 2008 he appeared in both NBC's Medium as well as Fox Television's Fringe. The 1989 pilot episode of the HBO horror anthology series Tales from the Crypt featured Sadler in its lead role. In March 2011, Sadler will make a guest appearance in NBC's Chase.[4]
He portrayed Julius Caesar in the contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar on Broadway alongside Denzel Washington at the Belasco Theatre. Recently, he finished shooting with American independent filmmakers Dylan Bank and Morgan Pehme on the film Nothing Sacred. Sadler portrayed the robot Victor in the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas.
While Sadler performed on the New York stage, he met Marni Joan Bakst. They married in 1978 and have one daughter.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Hanky Panky | Hotel Clerk | |
| 1986 | Off Beat | Dickson | |
| 1987 | Project X | Dr. Carroll | |
| 1989 | K-9 | Car Salesman Don | |
| 1990 | Hard to Kill | Senator Vernon Trent | |
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Colonel Stuart | |
| 1990 | The Hot Spot | Frank Sutton | |
| 1991 | Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey | Grim Reaper/English Family Member | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1991 | Rush | Monroe | |
| 1992 | Trespass | Don Perry | |
| 1993 | Freaked | Dick Brian | |
| 1994 | The Shawshank Redemption | Heywood | |
| 1995 | Tales form the Crypt: Demon Knight | Brayker | |
| 1996 | Bordello of Blood | The Mummy | |
| 1996 | Solo | Colonel Frank Madden/Improved Solo | |
| 1997 | RocketMan | Wild Bill' Overbeck | |
| 1998 | Ambushed | Jim Natter | |
| 1998 | Disturbing Behavior | Dorian Newberry | |
| 1998 | Reach the Rock | Quinn | |
| 1999 | Stealth Fighter | Adm. Frank Peterson | |
| 1999 | The Green Mile | Klaus Detterick | |
| 2001 | Skippy | Ringo | |
| 2002 | Another Life | Man | Short film |
| 2003 | The Battle of Shaker Heights | Abraham 'Abe' Ernswiler | |
| 2004 | Kinsey | Kenneth Braun | |
| 2005 | Purple Heart | Colonel Allen | |
| 2005 | Devour | Ivan Reisz | |
| 2005 | Confess | Roger Lampert | |
| 2006 | Unspoken | Dad | |
| 2006 | Jimmy and Judy | Uncle Rodney | |
| 2006 | Premium | Cole Carter | |
| 2006 | The Wine Bar | Bartender | Short film |
| 2007 | A New Wave | Mr. Dewitt | |
| 2007 | August Rush | Thomas Novacek | |
| 2007 | The Mist | Jim Grondin | |
| 2008 | Eagle Eye | William Shaw | |
| 2008 | The Good Student | Honest Phil Palmer | |
| 2009 | Stream | Dr. Shelby | Short film |
| 2009 | Shadowheart | Thomas Conners | Direct-to-video |
| 2009 | The Hills Run Red | Wilson Wyler Concannon | |
| 2009 | Last Day of Summer | Mr. Crolick | |
| 2009 | Beyond All Boundaries | Lt. Col. Lewis "Chesty" Puller | Voice Role Short film |
| 2009 | Red & Blue Marbles | John | |
| 2010 | Melvin Smarty | Bob | |
| 2011 | Silent But Deadly | John Capper |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People | Episode: "Henry Winkler Meets William Shakespeare" | |
| 1978 | The Great Wallendas | Dieter Schmidt | Television film |
| 1981 | Charlie and the Great Balloon Chase | Joey | Television film |
| 1981 | Nurse | Dr. George Bradford | Episode: "Margin for Error" |
| 1982 | The Neighborhood | Television film | |
| 1983 | Newhart | Guest | Episode: "Lady & the Tramps" |
| 1985 | Assaulted Nuts | Various | |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Rick Dillon/Kevin Moore | Episode: "Shades of Darkness" |
| 1987 | Private Eye | Charlie Fontana | Television film/pilot |
| 1987 | Tour of Duty | Major Rigby | Episode: "Dislocations" |
| 1987–88 | Private Eye | Lieutenant Charlie Fontana | 7 episodes |
| 1988 | In the Heat of the Night | Ritchie Epman | Episode: "Blind Spot" 1 & 2 |
| 1988 | St. Elsewhere | Episode: "The Abby Singer Show" | |
| 1988 | Cadets | Colonel Tom Sturdivant | |
| 1988 | Dear John | Ben | Episode: "The Younger Girl" |
| 1989 | Roseanne | Dwight | Episodes: "Dan's Birthday Bash & "Saturday" |
| 1989 | Hooperman | Lanny Hardin | Episode: "Look Homeward, Dirtbag" |
| 1989 | Unconquered | Television film | |
| 1989 | Murphy Brown | Colonel Fitzpatrick | Episode: "Off the Job Experience" |
| 1989 | Hard Time on Planet Earth | Officer Rollman | Episode: "The Way Home" |
| 1989 | Gideon Oliver | Franklin Finney | Episode: "By the Waters of Babylon" |
| 1989 1994 |
Tales from the Crypt | Niles Talbot The Grim Reaper |
Epiosde: "The Man Who Was Death" Episode: "The Assassin" |
| 1990 | The Face of Fear | Anthony Prine | Television film |
| 1991 | Two-Fisted Tales | Mr. Rush (Presenter) | Television pilot |
| 1991 | The Last to Go | Treat | Television film |
| 1991 | Tagget | Yuri Chelenkoff | Television film |
| 1993 | Night Driving | Eddy | Television short film |
| 1993 | Jack Reed: Badge of Honor | Anatole | Television film |
| 1994 | Bermuda Grace | Sam Grace | Television film |
| 1994 | Roadracers | Sarge | Television film |
| 1995 | The Omen | Dr. Linus | Television pilot |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Frank Hellner | Episode: "Valerie 23" |
| 1996 | Poltergeist: The Legacy | Shamus Bloom | Episode: The Fifth Sepulcher |
| 1998–99 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Luther Sloan | Episodes: "Inquisition", "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" & "Extreme Measures" |
| 1999 | Witness Protection | Sharp | Television film |
| 1999–2002 | Roswell | Sheriff Jim Valenti | 58 episodes |
| 2003 | Ed | Lee Leetch | Episode: "The Case" |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Kyle Devlin | Episode: "Graansha" |
| HBO's Project Greenlight | Himself | unknown episodes | |
| 2004 | Wonderfalls | Darrin Tyler | Thirteen episodes |
| 2004 | JAG | Saul Wainwright | Episode: "Retrial" |
| 2005 | Third Watch | Scotty Murray | Episode: "Forever Blue" |
| 2005 | Tru Calling | Travis | Episode: "Enough" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Paul Rice | Episode: "Blue Wall" |
| 2005 | Law & Order | Kevin Drucker | Episode: "Life Line" |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Karl 'Red' Cooper | Episode: "Killer" |
| 2006 | The Path to 9/11 | Neil Herman | Miniseries |
| 2007 | Numb3rs | J. Everett Tuttle | Episode: "Democracy" |
| 2007 | The Black Donnellys | Munst | Episode: "All of Us Are in the Gutter" |
| 2007 | Jesse Stone: Sea Change | Gino Fish | Television film |
| 2007 | Traveler | Carlton Fog | 7 episodes |
| 2008 | Medium | John Edgemont | Episode: "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble" |
| 2008 | Fringe | Doctor Sumner | Episode: "The Equation" |
| 2009 | Jesse Stone: Thin Ice | Gino Fish | Television film |
| 2009 | Jesse Stone: No Remorse | Gino Fish | Television film |
| 2009 | Criminal Minds | Ray Finnegan | Episode: "Reckoner" |
| 2010 | The Pacific | Lt. Col. Lewis "Chesty" Burwell Puller, USMC | Miniseries |
| 2010 | Hawaii Five-0 | John McGarrett | Pilot episode |
| 2011 | Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost | Gino Fish | Television film |
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