William Thomas Sadler (born April 13, 1950) is a Saturn Award-winning American actor.
Biography
Early life
Sadler was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Jane and William Sadler.1 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,2 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's Fine Arts. When his studies were done, Sadler began his auditions.
Career
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, RI, 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
Sadler is 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 upcoming films 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 3 episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 in the 6th and 7th seasons.
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.
In 2007, he played Carlton Fog on ABC's Traveler.
Personal life
While Sadler performed on the New York stage, he met Marni Joan Bakst. They married in 1977 and have one child.
Filmography
Awards
Saturn Awards
- 1992: Won, "Best Supporting Actor" - Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
References
External links
