--- name: "William Petersen" canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-l-petersen" fi1m_id: "william-l-petersen" imdb_id: "nm0676973" tmdb_id: 52267 wikidata_id: "Q311892" roles: ["Actor"] born: "21 February 1953" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 73 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-10-05T02:10:37.678657+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # William Petersen ## Identity William Petersen - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/william-l-petersen - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** william-l-petersen - **IMDb ID:** nm0676973 - **TMDB ID:** 52267 - **Wikidata ID:** Q311892 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Petersen, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q311892, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0676973/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/52267 Actor. Born 21 February 1953 in Evanston, Illinois, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 21 February 1953, Evanston, Illinois, USA - **Active:** 1986–2000 - **Also known as:** William L. Petersen, William Peterson , William Louis Petersen - **SAG Awards:** 1 SAG Award (1 won) - **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as actor, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 84 (1), 1990s 72 (1), 2000s 64 (1) - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Crime 2, Drama 2, Thriller 2, Horror 1, Mystery 1 - **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $31m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Petersen, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q311892, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0676973/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/52267 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Manhunter*](https://film.one/film/manhunter.md) (84) - **Pluto TV:** [*The Contender*](https://film.one/film/the-contender.md) (64) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on William Petersen > William L. Petersen brings quiet authority to investigators and ensemble leaders. We value that steadiness, but *Manhunter* also exposes a limitation: the effort to suggest a man thinking can leave us watching an actor who seems stiff. In *Manhunter* (1986), William L. Petersen's Will Graham studies a killer, and we sometimes find the investigation more absorbing than the man doing it. Petersen makes the FBI profiler's concentration plain, but supplies less of the warmth that would make us care about him away from the job. That is our reservation about an actor whose quiet authority can be useful in a crime story. He can seem stiff when we need to understand what the work is costing him. We occasionally have to take Graham's importance on trust. The breakthrough pairing of *To Live and Die in L.A.* (1985), in which he plays Richard Chance, and *Manhunter* put him at the centre of films. Yet the later career did not depend on keeping him there. Pat Garrett in *Young Guns II* (1990) and Juror 12 in *12 Angry Men* (1997) were ensemble parts, before television supplied his defining long-running role. That movement towards ensemble work suits an actor whose authority need not depend on being the most expressive person present. Michael Mann, who writes and directs *Manhunter*, keeps the pursuit urgent enough to carry Petersen through those less persuasive stretches. We were unsettled by Graham's effort to understand a serial killer, because studying that mind starts to feel like an unhealthy occupation. The discomfort persists even when solving the case gives us something more reassuring to follow. Our enthusiasm for the film needs that qualification: its power does not mean we find its central performance consistently compelling. *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* (2000) made Gil Grissom his defining television role, with Petersen a series regular until 2009. The ensemble setting gives his quiet intensity a clear use: a leader can steady a programme without having to supply all its emotional interest. His return as Grissom in *CSI: Vegas* (2021) underlines how closely he became associated with investigative work. Choose *Manhunter* for Mann's grip on the investigation, and do not expect Petersen to make it a warmer evening. ## Biography William Petersen is an American actor. He is known for his role as FBI profiler Will Graham in the 1986 film *Manhunter*. Born William Louis Petersen on 21 February 1953 in Evanston, Illinois, he attended Idaho State University on a football scholarship before pursuing acting. He performed in Chicago theatre, including with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Petersen appeared in *To Live and Die in L.A.* (1985) as Richard Chance and later starred as Gil Grissom in the television series *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* (2000–2015). He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *The Contender* (2000), Fi1m 64, as Jack Hathaway — [page](https://film.one/film/the-contender.md) - *Fallen Angels* (1993), Fi1m 72, as Georgie — [page](https://film.one/tv/fallen-angels-1993.md) - *Manhunter* (1986), Fi1m 84, as Will Graham — [page](https://film.one/film/manhunter.md) ## Complete filmography (40) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *CSI: Vegas* (2021), series, as Gil Grissom · Executive Producer - *Three Short Plays by Tracy Letts* (2021), as Ted - *CSI: Immortality* (2015), as Gil Grissom · Executive Producer - *Manhattan* (2014), series, as Col. Emmett Darrow - *Seeking a Friend for the End of the World* (2012), as Trucker - *Blue* (2012), series, as Mitch - *Detachment* (2011), as Mr. 'Sarge' Kepler - *Blue Neon Night: Michael Connelly's Los Angeles* (2004), as Narrator - *Without a Trace* (2002), series, as Gil Grissom - *Wrigley Field: Beyond the Ivy* (2001), as Narrator - *Haven* (2001), as Jackson Connolly - *Haven* (2001), series, as Jackson Connolly - *The Contender* (2000), as Jack Hathaway — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/the-contender.md) - *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* (2000), series, as Gil Grissom · Executive Producer, Supervising Producer, Co-Executive Producer, Producer - *The Skulls* (2000), as Ames Levritt - *Kiss the Sky* (1998), as Jess - *The Rat Pack* (1998), as John F. Kennedy - *The Staircase* (1998), as Joad - *Gunshy* (1998), as Jake Bridges - *12 Angry Men* (1997), as Juror 12 - *The Beast* (1996), series, as Whip Dalton - *The Beast* (1996), as Whip Dalton - *Mulholland Falls* (1996), as Jack Flynn - *Fear* (1996), as Steve Walker - *In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye Is King* (1995), as Tony C. - *Return to Lonesome Dove* (1993), series, as Captain Gideon Walker - *Fallen Angels* (1993), series, as Georgie — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/fallen-angels-1993.md) - *Curaçao* (1993), as Stephen Guerin - *Keep the Change* (1992), as Joe Starling - *Passed Away* (1992), as Frank Scanlan - *Hard Promises* (1992), as Joey · Producer - *Young Guns II* (1990), as Patrick Floyd 'Pat' Garrett - *The Kennedys of Massachusetts* (1990), series, as Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. - *Cousins* (1989), as Tom Hardy - *Long Gone* (1987), as Stud Cantrell - *Amazing Grace and Chuck* (1987), as Russell - *Manhunter* (1986), as Will Graham — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/manhunter.md) - *To Live and Die in L.A.* (1985), as Richard Chance - *The Twilight Zone* (1985), series, as (segment "Need to Know") - *Thief* (1981), as Katz & Jammer Bartender ## Gallery - ![William Petersen](https://film.one/media/person/118684/gallery-44d7620892f6.jpg) William Petersen — Shane Saunders, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/WilliamPetersen.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![William Petersen](https://film.one/media/person/118684/gallery-860757090540.jpg) William Petersen — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### SAG Awards — 1 won - 2005: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (won), for *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-l-petersen