| William Forsythe | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 7 1955 Brooklyn, New York |
William Forsythe (born June 7, 1955) is an American actor whom has been busy in feature films since the early '80s. Forsythe began his acting career on stage. The stocky, moon-faced, and gap-toothed Brooklyn native began acting in local productions in his early teens and by age 16, had become a professional, appearing on and off Broadway. As a young man, Forsythe moved to Southern California. Shortly after his film debut, he also made his first television appearance in the TV-movie The Miracle of Kathy Miller. This started him on a series of guest-starring roles on shows ranging from CHiPS to Fame. At this early stage, Forsythe was usually cast in villainous roles, as in his breakthrough feature Once Upon a Time in America (1984), in which he played the sweet-faced but ruthless gangster Cockeye. One of Forsythe's most memorable performances was also his first lead, that of a rebellious wheelchair-bound patient who turns a hospital ward topsy-turvy, in the ensemble piece The Waterdance (1991). Since the 90's however Bill is frequently cast in "tough guy" roles such as criminals or law enforcement officers. He portrayed organized crime figure Sammy "The Bull" Gravano in the HBO motion picture Gotti, as well as Al Capone in the 1993 television series The Untouchables. His most notable films include Once Upon a Time in America, Blue Streak, Raising Arizona, Extreme Prejudice, Big City Blues, "Direct Hit",Savage Dawn, Dead Bang, Out for Justice, Stone Cold, The Rock, The Devil's Rejects, First Time Felon, The Waterdance, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Gotti, Dick Tracy, Entourage, Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy, American Me, Rob Zombie's (2007 film) Halloween & We All Scream for Ice Cream (Masters of Horror episode). Presently he is filming the movie Stiletto which is set for release in 2008.


