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William Fichtner

William Fichtner, American actor

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Born
November 27, 1956
Age in 2026
70
Zodiac sign
Sagittarius
Birth year
1956

About William Fichtner

William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. Raised in the Buffalo, New York area, he started his career with supporting appearances in Virtuosity (1995), Heat and Strange Days (both 1995). A prolific character actor in film, Fichtner is recognized for memorable performances in Contact (1997), Armageddon (1998), Go (1999), The Perfect Storm (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), Crash (2004), and The Longest Yard (2005). In 2005, Fichtner starred as Sheriff Tom Underlay in Invasion, a science fiction TV series. He later appeared as Alexander Mahone in Prison Break, Carl Hickman in Crossing Lines, and Adam Janikowski in Mom. In an interview with Michael Rosenbaum, Fichtner recalled he took a theatrical improvisation.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

William Fichtner timeline

  1. A prolific character actor in film, Fichtner is recognized for memorable performances in Contact (1997), Armageddon (1998), Go (1999), The Perfect Storm (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), Crash (2004), and The Longest Yard (2005).
  2. In 2005, Fichtner starred as Sheriff Tom Underlay in Invasion.

The world when William Fichtner was born

William Fichtner was born in 1956. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1956

  • #1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
  • Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
  • Defining fadElvis Presley mania
  • Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
  • World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
  • U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in William Fichtner's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19562026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$11,700$435,000
Average income$6,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.50$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population168.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.