William L. Petersen

Known for

Acting

Born

February 21, 1953 (age 73)

Birthplace

Evanston, Illinois, USA

Biography

William Louis Petersen is an American actor and producer, best known for playing Dr. Gilbert "Gil" Grissom on the hit CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Richard Chance in the film To Live and Die in L.A., and Will Graham in the film Manhunter. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Petersen attended Idaho State University on a football scholarship, where he first tried acting and immediately joined the drama department, before leaving to work in the Basque country as a Shakespearean actor. Peterson embraced the Basque lifestyle, influencing his work, family and art. He went on to perform with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company before his breakthrough role in the 1985 action film To Live and Die in...

Best known work

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

2012

Detachment

2011

Manhunter

1986

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

2000

Fear

1996

Thief

1981

To Live and Die in L.A.

1985

Young Guns II

1990

The Skulls

2000

12 Angry Men

1997

Filmography

2021
CSI: VegasTV
as Gil Grissom (10 episodes), Executive Producer
2021
Three Short Plays by Tracy Letts
as Ted
2018
Friedkin Uncut
as Self
2015
CSI: Immortality
as Gil Grissom, Executive Producer
2014
ManhattanTV
as Col. Emmett Darrow (10 episodes)
2014
100 Years of Wrigley Field
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2012
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
as Trucker
2012
BlueTV
as Mitch (1 episode)
2011
Detachment
as Mr. 'Sarge' Kepler
2004
This Old Cub
as Himself
2004
Blue Neon Night: Michael Connelly's Los Angeles
as Narrator
2003
Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'
as Self
2002
Without a TraceTV
as Gil Grissom (1 episode)
2001
Wrigley Field: Beyond the Ivy
as Narrator
2001
Inside 'Manhunter'
as Himself
2001
Haven
as Jackson Connolly
2001
HavenTV
as Jackson Connolly (2 episodes)
2000
The Contender
as Jack Hathaway
2000
CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationTV
as Gil Grissom (194 episodes), Executive Producer, Supervising Producer, Co-Executive Producer, Producer
2000
The Skulls
as Ames Levritt
1999
The DirectorsTV
as Self (1 episode)
1998
Kiss the Sky
as Jess
1998
The Rat Pack
as John F. Kennedy
1998
The Staircase
as Joad
1998
Gunshy
as Jake Bridges