William Louis Petersen (born February 21, 1953) is an American actor
and producer. He is best known for his role as Gil Grissom in the CBS
drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000â€"2015), for which
he won a Screen Actors Guild Award and was nominated for a Golden
Globe Award; he was further nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards
as a producer of the show.He also starred in the films To Live and Die
in L.A. (1985), Manhunter (1986), Young Guns II (1990), Fear (1996),
The Contender (2000), Detachment (2011), and Seeking a Friend for the
End of the World (2012).Petersen was born in Evanston, Illinois, the
youngest of six children of June (née Hoene; 1909â€"2006) and Arthur
Edward Petersen (1901â€"2004), who worked in the furniture business.
Of Danish and German descent, he was raised in the Roman Catholic
faith of his mother. He has two brothers, Arthur Jr. and Robert, and
three sisters, Anne, Mary Kay, and Elizabeth.He graduated from Bishop
Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho, in 1972. He was accepted to Idaho
State University on a football scholarship. While at Idaho State,
Petersen took an acting course, which changed the direction of his
life. He left school along with his wife, Joanne, in 1974, and
followed a drama professor to the Basque country, where he studied as
a Shakespearean actor. Petersen was interested in Basque culture: He
studied the Basque language and gave his daughter the Basque name
"Maite Nerea" ("My Beloved"); she was born in Arrasate/Mondragón in
1975. Petersen returned to Idaho with the intention of being an actor.
Not wanting to work a nonacting job in Idaho, he returned to the
Chicago area, living with relatives. He became active in the theater
and earned his Actors' Equity card. He performed with the Steppenwolf
Theatre Company, of which he has been an ensemble member since 2008,
and was a co-founder of the Remains Theater Ensemble, which also
included other prominent Chicago actors Gary Cole and Ted Levine.
and producer. He is best known for his role as Gil Grissom in the CBS
drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000â€"2015), for which
he won a Screen Actors Guild Award and was nominated for a Golden
Globe Award; he was further nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards
as a producer of the show.He also starred in the films To Live and Die
in L.A. (1985), Manhunter (1986), Young Guns II (1990), Fear (1996),
The Contender (2000), Detachment (2011), and Seeking a Friend for the
End of the World (2012).Petersen was born in Evanston, Illinois, the
youngest of six children of June (née Hoene; 1909â€"2006) and Arthur
Edward Petersen (1901â€"2004), who worked in the furniture business.
Of Danish and German descent, he was raised in the Roman Catholic
faith of his mother. He has two brothers, Arthur Jr. and Robert, and
three sisters, Anne, Mary Kay, and Elizabeth.He graduated from Bishop
Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho, in 1972. He was accepted to Idaho
State University on a football scholarship. While at Idaho State,
Petersen took an acting course, which changed the direction of his
life. He left school along with his wife, Joanne, in 1974, and
followed a drama professor to the Basque country, where he studied as
a Shakespearean actor. Petersen was interested in Basque culture: He
studied the Basque language and gave his daughter the Basque name
"Maite Nerea" ("My Beloved"); she was born in Arrasate/Mondragón in
1975. Petersen returned to Idaho with the intention of being an actor.
Not wanting to work a nonacting job in Idaho, he returned to the
Chicago area, living with relatives. He became active in the theater
and earned his Actors' Equity card. He performed with the Steppenwolf
Theatre Company, of which he has been an ensemble member since 2008,
and was a co-founder of the Remains Theater Ensemble, which also
included other prominent Chicago actors Gary Cole and Ted Levine.
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