William Petersen
Biography
William Louis Petersen was born on February 21, 1953, in Evanston, Illinois, to a Danish and German-American family. He attended Idaho State University on a football scholarship, joining the drama department before leaving to work as a Shakespearean actor in the Basque country, an experience that influenced his art and family. Petersen's breakthrough role came in the 1985 film To Live and Die in L.A., followed by a decade-long stint as Dr. Gil Grissom on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.