William Forsythe (born June 7, 1955) is an American actor, known for his portrayals of tough-guy, criminal characters.
He appeared in the films Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Dick Tracy (1990), American Me (1992), Gotti (1996), The Rock (1996), Blue Streak (1999), Blue Hill Avenue (2001), and The Devil's Rejects (2005). Forsythe was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film The Waterdance.
On television, he has played the roles of Al Capone on The Untouchables (1993-94), Manny Horvitz on Boardwalk Empire (2011-12), and J. Edgar Hoover on The Man in the High Castle (2018).
Early life Forsythe was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and grew up in its Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood.Dew, John. "Multiple Personality", Los Angeles Times, March 25, 1989. Accessed April 5, 2022. "Forsythe, who grew up in the tough Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, landed his first professional job after high school in the chorus of The Merry Widow at the Harvard Club in New York." He is of partial Italian descent with Italian (from his maternal grandfather), Scottish, English, Irish and German descent.
He began acting on stage as a teenager, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a film career, studying at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
Career Forsythe started out in minor film roles and guest appearances in TV shows including CHiPs (1977), Hill Street Blues (1981) and T. J. Hooker (1982). He appeared in Once Upon a Time in America (1984), co-starred with John Goodman in Raising Arizona (1987) and as a renegade soldier in Extreme Prejudice.
Forsythe also portrayed comic book villain "Flattop" in Dick Tracy (1990), co-starred with Steven Seagal in Out for Justice (1991) and appeared with former National Football League player Brian Bosworth in the biker action film Stone Cold (1991). He portrayed Al Capone in the short-lived '90s revival of the '60s TV crime show The Untouchables (1993), and also starred in The Waterdance (1992) and the film noir Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995). Forsythe portrayed real-life mobster "Sammy The Bull" Gravano in Gotti (1996) and supported another ex-NFL player's foray into film acting when L.A. Raider Howie Long debuted in Firestorm (1998).
Forsythe portrayed serial killer John Wayne Gacy in Dear Mr. Gacy, a 2010 film adaptation of The Last Victim, the memoirs of Jason Moss, a college student who corresponded with Gacy during his last year on death row.
Personal life Forsythe has three children, including actress Rebecca Forsythe. In 2024, he married Teresa Stevens.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1978 Coach Audience Member Long Shot Billy 1981 King of the Mountain Big Tom Smokey Bites the Dust Kenny 1983 The Man Who Wasn't There Pug Face Crusher 1984 Once Upon a Time in America Phil 'Cockeye' Stein Cloak & Dagger Morris1985 The Lightship Gene Savage Dawn Pigiron 1987 Raising Arizona Evelle Extreme Prejudice SGT. Buck Atwater Weeds Burt The Booster1988 Patty Hearst Teko 1989 Dead Bang Arthur Kressler Torrents of Spring Prince Ippolito Polozov Sons Mikey 1990 Dick Tracy Flattop 1991 Career Opportunities Custodian Out for Justice Richie Madano Stone Cold 'Ice' Hensley 1992 The Waterdance Bloss American Me J.D. The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag Billy Beaudeen 1993 Relentless 3 Walter Hilderman 1994 Direct Hit Hatch 1995 Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead Franchise Beyond Desire Ray Patterson Virtuosity William Cochran Palookaville Sid Dunleavy The Immortals Tim James Thriller Zone Marcus Deerfield 1996 The Substitute Holland For Which He Stands Johnny Rochetti The Rock FBI Agent Ernest Paxton Rule of Three Mitch1997 Big City Blues Hudson 1998 Firestorm Randall Alexander Shaye The Pass Charles Duprey Ambushed Mike Organski Soundman Frank Rosenfeld Hell's Kitchen Lou 1999 Row Your Boat Gil Meadows The Last Marshal DeClerc Four Days Milt Blue Streak Detective Hardcastle Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Detective Chuck Fowler 18 Shades of Dust Tommy Cucci Paradise Lost Mike Stark 2000 Luck of the Draw Max Fenton Civility Andrew LeBretian G-Men from Hell Dean Crept 2001 Camouflage Alton Owens Blue Hill Avenue Detective Torrance Sharkman Tom Reed Outlaw Ted Castle 2002 Coastlines Fred Vance Hard Cash Bo Young City by the Sea Spyder 2003 The Technical Writer Joe The Librarians Simon 2004 The Last Letter Mr. Griffith2005 The L.A. Riot Spectacular George Holliday The Devil's Rejects Sheriff John Quincy Wydell 2006 Freedomland Detective Boyle Jam Ted 2007 88 Minutes FBI Agent Frank Parks Southern Gothic Pitt Hack! Willy Halloween Ronnie White 2008 Stiletto Alex iMurders Professor Uberoth 2009 The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone Massimo Happy in the Valley Stewart 2010 Dear Mr. Gacy John Gacy The Rig Jim Fleming To Hell with You Smith Short 2011 L.A., I Hate You Uncle Rip Born to Ride Jack Steele Slip & Fall Jerry Inkubus Ret. Detective Gil Diamante Loosies Captain Tom Edwards Jesse Vince the Godfather 2012 Infected Dr. Ed Dennehey 2013 Road to Juarez Doug Hermann The Ghost Club: Spirits Never Die Stanley 2014 Tom Holland's Twisted Tales Mr. Smith Hidden in the Woods Uncle Costello 2015 Echoes of War Randolph McCluskey Laugh Killer Laugh Frank Stone The Networker Charles Mangano 2016 The Midnight Man Fairbanks The Bronx Bull Jake LaMotta The Hollow John 'Big John' Dawson The Unlikely's Jet Black 2017 Check Point The Sheriff 2019 Cold Pursuit Brock 'Wingman' Coxman Vault Buddy Providence Awake Roger Bower Run with the Hunted Augustus 2020 Roe v. Wade Potter Stewart I Am Fear Marco A Perfect Plan Grayson 2021 Ida Red Lawrence Twilley God's Not Dead: We the People Robert Benson 2023 Open Captain Edgar J. Steadman 2024 9 Windows Detective Tim Boyle 2025 The Roaring Game Coach Rhodes Rage Tony2026A Crime Story OrenTBDGodshot Post-productionStraight ShotPost-production
Television Year Title Role Notes1981The Miracle of Kathy MillerMarkTV movie 1982 CHiPs Thrasher Episode: "Battle of the Bands" Tales of the Gold Monkey Kurt Episode: "Tales of the Gold Monkey: Part 1 & 2" 1983 Hill Street Blues Richard Brady Episode: "Moon Over Uranus: Part 1 & 2" T.J. Hooker Wounded Assailant Episode: "A Child Is Missing" Fame Snake Episode: "Break Dance" 1985 The Long Hot Summer Isaac Episode: "Part 1 & 2"Command 5HawkTV movie1988Baja OklahomaTommy Earl BrownerTV movie 1990 Blind Faith Ferlin L'Heureux Episode: "Part 1 & 2" 1992 Cruel Doubt Police Chief John Crone Episode: "Part 1 & 2"Willing to Kill: The Texas Cheerleader StoryTerry HarperTV movie1993A Kiss to Die ForDetective Mike StollerTV movie 1993–94 The Untouchables Al Capone Main Cast1996GottiSammy GravanoTV movie1997First Time FelonSorleyTV movie 1998 Cybill Bruce Episode: "Dream Date"Dollar for the DeadDooleyTV movie 1999 Dead Man's Gun Harlan Riddle Episode: "A Just Reward" 2001 Mysterious Ways Luther Skoals Episode: "Condemned" 2001–02 UC: Undercover Sonny Walker Main Cast 2002–03 John Doe Digger Main Cast 2005 Wild Card Stuart Dresden Episode: "Zoe's Phony Matrimony"LarvaJacob LongTV movieHammerhead: Shark FrenzyTom ReedTV movie2006Prone to ViolenceNarrationTV movie 2007 Masters of Horror Buster Episode: "We All Scream for Ice Cream"Final ApproachSilas JansenTV movie Las Vegas Uncle Luke Recurring Cast: Season 5 2007–09 Entourage Eddie Kapowski Guest Cast: Season 4 & 6 2010 CSI: Miami Captain Chris Sutter Episode: "L.A." 2011–12 Boardwalk Empire Munya "Manny" Horvitz Recurring Cast: Season 2-3 The Mentalist Steve Rigsby Guest Cast: Season 3 & 5 2012–13 Mob Doctor Constantine Alexander Main Cast 2013 Twisted Tales Mr. Smith Episode: "To Hell with You" 2014 Justified Michael Episode: "Whistle Past the Graveyard" 2015–17 Hawaii Five-0 Harry Brown Guest Cast: Season 5 & 7 2016 Marvel's Daredevil Dutton Episode: "Seven Minutes in Heaven" The Making of the Mob: Chicago Himself Recurring Guest 2017 Chicago Justice David Zachariah Episode: "Double Helix" Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Oleg Antakov Episode: "The Ripper of Riga" 2018 The Man in the High Castle J. Edgar Hoover Recurring Cast: Season 3-4 2019 Magnum P.I. Harry Brown Crossover Cast: Season 2 2020 Primitive Caro Kann Episode: "Blind Sighted" 2021 Gravesend Santini Traffato 2 episodes
Awards and nominations +CeremonyCategoryWorkResultRef.8th Independent Spirit AwardsBest Supporting MaleThe Waterdance
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