Before causing audiences to shudder in fear as a sadistic guard on
Prison Break, this imposing character actor made his name doing Shakespeare plays and musicals. A classically trained performer and singer who appeared both regionally and on Broadway, Williams began landing TV guest spots (usually as bad guys) in the late '90s and upped his profile with a recurring role as a curmudgeonly priest on
Bernie Mac. Off screen, he's an affable, fiddle-playing family man, the antithesis of his seminal character.
Wade Williams Fast Facts:
- Originally planned to study medicine at the University of Tulsa but opted to become an actor instead.
- Has appeared in a number of Broadway musicals, including Guys and Dolls, and Les Misérables.
- Made his television debut on an episode of NBC's crime drama Profiler and his big-screen debut in Garry Shandling's 2000 box-office bomb What Planet Are You From?
- Writes songs and plays the harmonica, guitar, banjo and fiddle.
- Has a wife and daughter.
- College:
- University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK (BA in Theatrical Arts); Rutgers' Mason Gross School of the Arts, New Brunswick, NJ(MA in Acting)
