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William Petersen

  • Birthplace: Evanston, Illinois
  • Birthday: February 21, 1953

Handsome, athletic and wiry, this veteran of the Chicago stage entered movies convincingly playing edgy, implacable pursuers but soon seemed just as credible in sports dramas and light comedies. Petersen simmered as the morally ambiguous protagonist of William Friedkin's scalding crime drama, "To Live and Die in L.A." (1985). Sporting alarmingly tight pants and a bad attitude, he was a Secret Service agent who lavishly breaks the law to snare a master counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe). The following year, Petersen brought a nearly palp…more

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Credits

Actor
Producer
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NEWS

Career Milestones

  • 2000 to 2008

    Played Dr. Gil Grissom on the CBS crime drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"; also produced; earned Emmy (2002, 2003, 2004) nominations for Outstanding Drama Series as a producer and a Golden Globe (2004) nomination as an actor

  • 2000

    Played the role of Gov. Jack Hathaway, an unscrupulous candidate for vice president in Rod Lurie's "The Contender"

  • 1998

    Cast in a supporting role as as President Jack Kennedy in the HBO movie, "The Rat Pack"

  • 1997

    Re-teamed with director William Friedkin for Showtime remake of "12 Angry Men"

  • 1996

    Cast as Reese Witherspoon's overprotective father in the thriller, "Fear"

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Awards

  • 2005

    Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

  • 2001

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Award: For artistic excellence by illuminating issues of great social and political importance

Upcoming Appearances

In CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Tomorrow at 03:00 pm SPK

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