---
name: "William Russ"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-russ"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "20 October 1950"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 81
updated: "2026-09-16T21:18:15.155233+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 Russ

Actor. Born 20 October 1950 in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 20 October 1950, Portsmouth, Virginia, USA
- **Active:** 1983–2004
- **Also known as:** Rusty Russ

## Biography

William Russ is an American actor and television director. Born on 20 October 1950 in Portsmouth, Virginia, he trained at the University of Michigan and began his career on the New York stage before moving into film and television.

He is best known for playing Alan Matthews in the sitcom *Boy Meets World* (1993–2000), a role he also directed episodes of, and for his performance as Dennis Vinyard in the film *American History X* (1998). Other notable credits include the series *Wiseguy* (1987–1990) and films such as *The Right Stuff* (1983) and *Pastime* (1990).

Russ has directed episodes of series including *Lizzie McGuire* and *Rude Awakening*. He is married to actress Clare Wren and they have two children.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Deadwood* (2004), Fi1m 91, as Otis Russell — [page](https://film.one/tv/deadwood.md)
- *American History X* (1998), Fi1m 67, as Dennis — [page](https://film.one/film/american-history-x.md)
- *The Right Stuff* (1983), Fi1m 86, as Slick Goodlin — [page](https://film.one/film/the-right-stuff.md)

## Also known for

- *The Mentalist* (2008), Dooley Gerber
- *Grimm* (2011), Scott Mudgett
- *9-1-1* (2018), Chuck Summers
- *NCIS* (2003), Philip Wickes
- *Ghost Whisperer* (2005), Bill Bristow
- *Stargate SG-1* (1997), Jonas Hanson
- *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* (2000), Jonah Quinn
- *NCIS: Los Angeles* (2009), Martin Lake

---
© 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-russ