Filmography William Sadler

William Thomas Sadler (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor who works in film and television. His television and motion picture roles have included Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller in The Pacific, Luther Sloan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sheriff Jim Valenti in Roswell, convict Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption, and—perhaps most notably—the Grim Reaper in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, a role for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, and his role as the villainous Colonel Stuart alongside Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2. 
 
Sadler was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Jane and William Sadler. 
From an early age, he took to performing in front of an audience. Armed with a variety of stringed instruments, Sadler found hometown success during his high school years at Orchard Park High School. He took on the persona as Banjo Bill Sadler, a banjo wielding singer who could crack jokes while playing. Both students and teachers enjoyed his performances immensely, which led Sadler to audition for the senior play under English teacher Dan Larkin's persuasion. He won the role, which brought about his personal discovery of wanting to become an actor. After graduating high school, he enrolled in SUNY Geneseo. Following that, he spent two years at Cornell University where he earned his Master's degree in Acting with a minor in Speech Communications. He is a certified speech teacher and particularly skilled at accents. When his studies were done, Sadler began his auditions. 
 
While Sadler performed on the New York stage, he met Marni Joan Bakst. They married in 1978 and have one daughter.