William Edward "Bill" Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor.
Fichtner was born in East Meadow, New York, and raised in Cheektowaga, New York, where he graduated from Maryvale High School. He is the son of Patricia and William E. Fichtner. He has German ancestry. His sister is a Colonel in the USAF and his nephew was a member of Sleepaway.
After graduating from Farmingdale State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1978, Fichtner decided to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. On 18 May 2008, Fichtner was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by his alma mater Farmingdale State College.
Mr. Fichtner began his acting career as "Josh Snyder" in As the World Turns in 1987. Fichtner's film credits include Contact, Heat, Armageddon, Go, Equilibrium, Black Hawk Down, The Perfect Storm, The Longest Yard, Crash and The Dark Knight. For his role in Crash he won a Screen Actors Guild Outstanding performance Award and a "Best Acting Ensemble" Award from Broadcast Film Critics Choice.
Credited as "Bill Fichtner", he lent his voice to the character Ken Rosenberg in the popular video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. From 2005-2006, Fichtner also starred in the science fiction drama series Invasion as Sheriff Tom Underlay. After Invasion was cancelled, Fichtner was chosen to play Agent Alexander Mahone in the second, third and fourth seasons (2006-2008) of Prison Break. Later that year, he also presented an award at the National Hockey League award show. He also appears in The West Wing episode, "The Supremes" as Christopher Mulready, a brilliant conservative judge nominated to the Supreme Court.