William Fichtner

William Edward Fichtner Jr. (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor who has appeared in a number of films and TV series. He is best known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay in Invasion and Alexander Mahone on Prison Break. His film credits include Heat, Contact, Armageddon, The Perfect Storm, Go, Crash, Blades of Glory, Black Hawk Down, The Longest Yard, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Dark Knight, Date Night, The Lone Ranger, Elysium, Independence Day: Resurgence and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Early life
Fichtner was born on Mitchel Air Force Base on Long Island, and was raised in Cheektowaga, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. He is the son of Patricia A. (née Steitz) and William E. Fichtner. He has German ancestry.

Fichtner graduated from Maryvale High School (Cheektowaga) in 1974. After graduating from Farmingdale State College in 1976 with an associate degree in criminal justice, he attended SUNY Brockport and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice in 1978. Fichtner then studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Fichtner credits his Farmingdale State College admissions counselor, Don Harvey, with his decision to study acting. Harvey, who became a lifelong friend, took Fichtner to his first Broadway show. On May 18, 2008, Fichtner was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Farmingdale State College.

Career
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, Ultraviolet and The Dark Knight. Mainly a character actor, one of Fichtner's few leading roles is in Passion of Mind, also starring Demi Moore and Stellan Skarsgård. 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. Fichtner currently appears in the sitcom "Mom" on CBS.

Credited as Bill Fichtner, he voiced the character Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Between 2005 and 2006, Fichtner also starred in the science-fiction TV series Invasion as Sheriff Tom Underlay. After Invasion was canceled, Fichtner played FBI Agent Alexander Mahone in the second through fourth seasons (2006–2009) of Prison Break. In 2009, he co-presented the Vezina Trophy (for goal tending) at the National Hockey League awards show. He also appears in The West Wing episode, "The Supremes" as Christopher Mulready, a conservative judge who is under consideration to be nominated to the Supreme Court. Fichtner also had a role as the Gotham National Bank manager in the feature film The Dark Knight, and as Jurgen in Equilibrium.

In June 2009, Fichtner signed on to guest star on Entourage playing TV producer Phil Yagoda, who is trying to remake his hit 1990s teen series. He also voiced Master Sergeant Sandman in the 2011 video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Fichtner played Eric Sacks in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014).

Personal life
Fichtner is a fan of the National Football League (NFL)'s Buffalo Bills, appearing in a commercial for the team before the 2014 season. More recently, Fichtner narrated the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary titled Four Falls of Buffalo, chronicling the Buffalo Bills' four consecutive Super Bowl appearances from 1990–93.