Biography for
William Forsythe (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

7 June 1955, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Nickname

Bill

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

Dynamically entertaining heavyset US actor with piercing eyes, William Forsythe has a superb talent for playing some truly unlikeable and downright nasty characters that dominate the films in which he appears! If you're cast as the "hero" against Forsythe's "villain", then you have your work cut out for you, as Forsthye's raw energy and menace on screen is second to none. He started out in a couple of minor film roles and guest appearance's in high-rated TV shows including "CHiPs" (1977), "Hill Street Blues" (1981) and "T.J. Hooker" (1982). He quickly moved into high-quality feature films, including playing a small-time hoodlum in Once Upon a Time in America (1984), an hilariously funny performance as a bumbling jail escapee alongside John Goodman in the knockout Raising Arizona (1987) and as a renegade soldier in Extreme Prejudice (1987).

The energetic Forsythe portrayed comic book villain "Flattop" in Dick Tracy (1990), was foolish enough to tangle with vengeful cop Steven Seagal in the hyper-violent Out for Justice (1991) and locked horns with ex-NFL linebacker Brian Bosworth in the biker action film Stone Cold (1991). With his expertise in playing icy villains, Forsythe was perfect to portray Prohibition mobster Al Capone in the short-lived '90s revival of the classic '60s crime show, "The Untouchables" (1993), and he continued the motif of playing edgy, nefarious individuals in the thought-provoking The Waterdance (1992), the oily film noir piece Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), as real-life mobster Sammy Gravano, aka "The Bull", in Gotti (1996) (TV) and supporting another ex-NFL player's foray into film acting, when L.A. Raider Howie Long debuted in Firestorm (1998).

Forsythe has remained perpetually busy in the new century with a plethora of feature film, telemovie and TV series appearances, and developing a minor cult following amongst film fans for his attention grabbing dramatic skills - check out his performances in City by the Sea (2002), The Devil's Rejects (2005) and Halloween (2007).

IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44@hotmail.com (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)

Spouse

Melody Munyon

(? - ?) (divorced) 3 children

Trade Mark

Deep Authorative Voice

Frequently plays tough Criminals or Law enforcement officers

Trivia

Studied acting at The Beverly Hills Playhouse.

Was in the alternate ending for Scary Movie 3 (2003) as Cindy's psychiatrist, but was left on the cutting room floor. (The scene is featured on the DVD.)

Began acting at age 10 and made his first acting appearance in the title role of "Julius Ceasar" in a school production at the same age.

Made his professional stage debut at age 16 in NYC.

Has co-starred with two former NFL players in their first starring roles. Brian Bosworth in Stone Cold (1991) and Howie Long in Firestorm (1998).

He has three daughters, Rebecca, born in 1990, Angelica, born in 1992 and another daughter named Chloe, born in 1993.

By age 17, he was appeared in over 40 plays in various dinner theaters, touring companies, stock and repertory before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a film career.

His personal favorite of all his roles is Burt the Booster in Weeds (1987).

He once confessed to disguising himself as a gas company worker and even a singing telegram performer in a gorilla suit to gain entry into casting sessions.

His interest in performing did not fully develop until a teacher forced him to play Caesar in a school production of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar.".

Personal Quotes

"I love what I do. And in the true sense, from my training, I try to create a character each time. It is something I do. But I don't want that term to limit what I can do. I prefer people to say to me, "You're one of my favorite actors," rather than "You're one of my favorite character actors." It sounds like a slam. At least it sounds that way to me." - On being referred to as a character actor.

Oh, please, please. I was never a "bad" kid, but I did get into minor juvenile trouble. Look, I grew up in Brooklyn. This was the 60's and the neighborhood was rapidly changing and not without its problems. All the kids of the neighborhood "did their thing," breaking windows and the like. I was no different. I went to Catholic school and there was this teacher, a Brother, who saw I could go either way, good or bad. He took an interest in me and got me to do a play. I got hooked on acting and it gave me something constructive to do. I had a lot of energy. (on his childhood days)

Well, this film came together faster than anything else I think I've ever done. I literally got a phone call at something like 10 o'clock in the morning. I was in New York and I was asleep. My agent said, "I don't know how to say this, but pack your bag. You may be leaving for Bulgaria today. I'm going to get the script over to you right now." So it was a very quick, strange thing. I got the script within the hour and read it. I really like doing science-fiction. I really like it, and it's only in the past couple of years that I've done it. So I said, "OK, Bulgaria. Let's go." That was the quickest decision I've ever made in my life. - On getting his part in SharkMan (2005) (TV) .

When I grew into a teenager, I became obsessed with Marlon Brando, Montgomery Cliff, and James Dean. In my late teens, I had already started acting in theater. I walked into a movie theater by accident and saw the movie Mean Streets. I was so moved by it and I had no idea who Robert De Niro or Martin Scorsese were. I left the theater then went back and I got a job as an usher. I worked at the theater until the movie closed, and then I quit. Suddenly I was off in that world, the world of those guys, the guys who are real with very raw work. Those were my biggest influences. I really love Robert Duvall, who I think is maybe the best American actor. I love Robert Duvall because the ability that he has to change and do the most amazing work. You sit and watch Tender Mercies and then you watch Stalin and he has a real amazing power and diversity in his work. I got to work with most of these guys, so it's great. It's a wonderful thing. Al Pacino is one of those guys, as well as Dustin Hoffman. I was drawn to the guys who were just putting it out there and that whole reality thing.

(2010) Al Capone was an amazing example of research. I always loved the story of Al Capone and the Chicago beer wars. I began to do all of this research and actually began to meet all of these people who knew Al personally and people who lived very close to Al. By the time it was over with that I had met over a hundred people that knew Al and everybody liked him. Every single person said that he was a straight-shooter, and a likable guy but he obviously had a problem with betrayal, judging by the baseball bat moment, especially history. He was just a phenomenal character to get into and research. I really had the time of my life playing Capone. If you can imagine, I was living in Chicago for two years, playing Al Capone, so it was like Al was reborn. I don't know, what I have I learned? I learned that my Father gave me something very special, he gave me a sense, a work ethic. A very strong work ethic. It is something that I try and live up to every day. It does not matter what the project, what the film, what the budget, if it is an expensive huge movie or a small film, I always try to do the same job, whatever it is I come in and I gave a hundred percent. I try and do the very best job I can. Sometimes it works, sometimes the film doesn't but I always try my best.

(2010, on role preparation) It really depends what it is, if I do somebody that actually lived I do a complete research, I try to meet and find every person that ever existed that ever knew (the real person) if I can, for other parts you have to create it from scratch, you have to find something like that, something really solid you can get into, and you actually build a character from inside until you find something strong and ready to go, then you add the words.

(On his favorite roles) I'm not sure about favorite. You always have favorites. I loved playing Al Capone. I did a tremendous amount of research and I knew people that knew him very well. I got into a world of research that was fascinating, but there's other characters that have, of course, fit into that. I've done quite a few people who were living, and those are always interesting. You know, when we did Gotti, that was a really interesting piece, but it's hard to say. I mean, when I first started in the business, somebody once told me, "If you're lucky, one out of ten will be something very special." I think it really adds up to be about that. At the end of the day, I've probably done maybe ten or eleven jobs that stand out to me, and just feel like good, powerful pieces. When I did American Me, that was one, because we really created a real world and those are the ones that turn me on. Any time I get involved in something like that, there's commitment. Years ago, when I did Patty Hurst, we all lived for two weeks in an apartment in San Francisco and we trained like the S.L.A. [Simbionese Liberation Army] and those kind of things. When we had that kind of commitment and those characters, they are always the ones that stand out to me because of how far we went to get it. Nowadays, I could get the call at 3:00pm and be there at 6pm, and that's unfortunate because obviously you can't do much prep in three hours.

(On films of today) I started movies in 1980. I don't think anything's changed for the best. When it comes down to certain technologies and certain things that have afforded more people to maybe have a shot at making a movie or something like that, that's good. But you also end up with 50,000 times the amount of bad movies, because now anybody can make a bad movie. There's more opportunity that way. When it comes down to it, I'm always doing it real, real life. Anything that has irony in life is what I'm attracted to. Anything that makes the attempt at being real, I like that. But the whole formula movie and that world, it bores me to tears. I like a good comedy. I like to be scared and I like a good story. To be honest with you, I'm hung up. I can't stop watching black and white movies. I live in a world of Warner Brothers movies and all of that stuff from an older era, and I love them. I still love them. When I look at them, I sometimes think I was born in the wrong time.