Personal details
- Height: 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Birth Location: Dallas, Texas, USA
- Parents: William McNamara
- Professions: Actor, Producer, Director
William McNamara’s got one of those faces you’ve probably seen a hundred times, but can’t quite place. He trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, and since then, the guy’s racked up more than 165 credits in movies and TV. No big deal, right? One of his first gigs was playing Joel in the late ’80s flick Dream a Little Dream—yep, that weird teen movie with the two Coreys. Then he showed up in Stella with Bette Midler, which is a pretty solid springboard. The '90s were probably the sweet spot for him, though. He was killing it—sometimes literally—like when he played Derek Wolfe Jr. in Surviving the Game. That one’s a wild ride, a manhunt thriller loaded with heavy hitters like Gary Busey, F. Murray Abraham, Rutger Hauer... basically, a murderers’ row of character actors. And he wasn’t done with Busey—Chasers came out that same year, and this time he’s goofing off in a Navy comedy with Tom Berenger, all under Dennis Hopper’s direction. Not a bad lineup. His creepiest, most memorable role? Easy. Peter Foley in Copycat, the psycho-killer flick with Sigourney Weaver and Dermot Mulroney. He’s straight-up chilling in that one. After that, he did Stag with Andrew McCarthy and World War II drama The Brylcreem Boys with Gabriel Byrne. But his first big-screen role? Horror fans know—he popped up in Dario Argento’s Opera. Offscreen, though, dude’s all heart: hardcore animal rights activist, spiritualist, into yoga and rescue work. He’s got the grit and the soul, kind of a rare combo.
This dude didn’t just show up and wing it for Copycat (1995)—he went all in. Not only was he out there doing his own stunts (mad respect, honestly), but he actually hung out with Dr. Park Dietz, a pretty big name in forensic psychiatry. All that just to get into the twisted mindset of Peter Foley, the psycho killer he played. I mean, if you want to really freak out your audience, might as well learn from the best, right? Method acting on a whole other level—no faking it, no shortcuts. He wanted to make sure everything about Foley felt legit, from the creepy mannerisms down to the weird, uncomfortable vibe. You can totally tell when you watch the movie, too—there’s this unsettling edge to his performance. Makes you think twice about how far some actors will go just to nail a role. Not your average Hollywood phoning-it-in situation, for sure.
referencennSince I was a little kid, like seven or eight, I just *knew* acting was my thing. My mom and I were living out in LA at the time, which, come on, is basically just one big set. She had this close friend, Valerie Perrine—yeah, that Valerie Perrine, who was basically the Julia Roberts of the seventies, and I’m not even exaggerating. We’d always end up at her place, and it was wild, man. The house was just packed with the most fascinating people—actors, artists, people who were just...larger than life. I’d sit around, just soaking it all in, watching them do their thing. It was honestly like being at a circus or a carnival, with all the energy and weirdness and excitement swirling around. That kind of scene? Irresistible. That’s what pulled me in, made me realize—yeah, this is where I belong.
5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
Konidela Ram Charan
Dallas, Texas, USA
William McNamara and Surekha