Wade Williams

With the success of the TV action drama "Prison Break," Wade Williams established himself as a solid, dependable character actor who brought his talents to television, movies, cartoons, and more.

Wade Andrew Williams was born on December 24, 1961 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Williams originally studied medicine, but eventually earned a bachelor's degree in theater from the University of Tulsa, and he also got an MFA in acting from Rutgers.

When Williams moved to New York, he found steady work on the stage, performing in "Taming of the Shrew" with Morgan Freeman and Tracey Ullman at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. He also starred with Denzel Washington in a revival of "Richard III," and toured in revivals of "Guys and Dolls," "Les Miserables," "Kiss of the Spider Woman," Ragtime," and "Show Boat."

Williams's first TV role was on the crime drama "Profiler" (NBC 1996-2000), followed by a recurring role on "The Bernie Mac Show" (Fox 2001-05) as cantankerous preacher Father Cronin. When he was offered "Prison Break" (Fox 2005-09), Williams thought of passing on the role of Brad Bellick, a sadistic prison guard, because he didn't want his daughter to see him playing a bad guy.

Williams changed his mind, and "Prison Break" was his regular gig for four years. In addition to "Prison Break," Williams appeared on "Criminal Minds" (CBS 2005 - ), "Monk" (USA 2002-09), and "Bones" (Fox 2005- ), among other shows.

Williams also went on to featured roles in movies like "Flicka" (2006), "Collateral" (2004), "Ali" (2001), and "Erin Brockovich" (2000). In addition to his live action performances, Williams lent his vocal talents to the feature-length superhero cartoons "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" (2010), "Batman: Under the Red Hood" (2010), and "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" (2012).