William J. Sanderson was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to an elementary school teacher mother and a landscape designer father. He volunteered for the U.S. Army when he was 18 and attended college after his discharge using the G.I. Bill. He holds business and law degrees from the University of Memphis, though he did not take the bar exam.
Career
Sanderson has appeared in many movies, and is known for his role in the 1982 classic science fiction filmBlade Runner as J. F. Sebastian. Sanderson appeared as one of the mechanics and regulars of the diner in The Rocketeer, who defies Nazi agents looking for the top secret rocket pack. He also portrayed a character named Deuce in an episode of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, and later reprised the role in the television movie'. He also voiced the recurring character Dr. Karl Rossum in '. Sanderson starred in the controversial film Fight for Your Life, which has a strict ban in the United Kingdom. As a guest, he has made appearances in television shows, and his credits include The Pretender, The X-Files, Knight Rider, Married... with Children, Babylon 5, ER, Coach, and Walker, Texas Ranger. He plays a key role in an audio dramatization of Ursula K. Le Guin's Vaster than Empires and More Slow in NPR's 2000X series. In 2001, Sanderson played the courageous bartender Dewey in the TNT film Crossfire Trail. Sanderson played Larry in Newhart from 1982 to 1990, famous for the catchphrase, "Hi. I'm Larry. This is my brother Darryl. This is my other brother Darryl." Sanderson returned to television playing E. B. Farnum in the HBO television series Deadwood from 2004 to 2006, later reprising the role in its. Farnum is a tragicomic hotelier and the first mayor of Deadwood. In 2008, Sanderson joined the cast of True Blood playing Sheriff Bud Dearborne. He later played Oldham, the resident interrogation expert of the DHARMA Initiative in an episode of the fifth season of the ABC series Lost. In May 2019, Sanderson released an autobiography about his career, Yes, I'm That Guy: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Character Actor. Following the release of his book, Sanderson and Nick "Saucey" Katsouros released a 6 Episode limited-run podcast, "Sanderson Says" to discuss and dive deeper into the autobiography. Sanderson announced his retirement from acting on his Facebook page on 13 May 2020.
