William Earl Brown (born September 7, 1963) is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, musician, and songwriter. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Kenneth "Kenny" Brown in the film ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

'' (1996), Warren in the film ''

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men who ...

'' (1998), Dan Dority on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006), and the voice and motion capture of

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

in the video game ''

The Last of Us ''The Last of Us'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States. ' ...

'' (2013). He has appeared in films such as '' Backdraft'', '' The Master'', ''

Being John Malkovich ''Being John Malkovich'' is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut. The film stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich as a ...

'', '' The Sessions'', ''

Vanilla Sky ''Vanilla Sky'' is a 2001 American science fiction thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe. It is an English-language remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 Spanish film '' Open Your Eyes'', which was written by Amenábar ...

'', '' The Lone Ranger'', and '' Bloodworth'' (which he also wrote and produced), as well as series such as ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'', '' C.S.I.'', '' C.S.I. Miami'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'', '' Six Feet Under'', '' Preacher'', '' Bates Motel'', ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...

'', '' American Horror Story'', '' Chicago Fire'', and '' The Mandalorian''.

Early life

William Earl Brown was born in Golden Pond, Kentucky, on September 7, 1963. He gained a bachelor's degree from

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

before moving to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he received an MFA from DePaul University Theatre School in 1989.

Career

After his breakout performance in Steppenwolf Theatre Company's outreach staging of Arthur Miller's ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, and M ...

'', Brown began working in television and film. He appeared in films such as '' Backdraft'', ''

The Babe ''The Babe'' is a 1992 American biographical sports drama film about the life of famed baseball player Babe Ruth, who is portrayed by John Goodman. Directed by Arthur Hiller, written by John Fusco, it was released in the United States on April 1 ...

'', '' Excessive Force'', and '' Rookie of the Year''. In 1993, he moved to Los Angeles and was cast in '' Wes Craven's New Nightmare''. He also had a minor role in

Craven Craven may refer to: * Craven in the Domesday Book, an area of Yorkshire, England, larger area than the district ** Craven District, a local government district of North Yorkshire formed in 1974 Places * Craven, New South Wales, Australia, see ...

's '' Vampire in Brooklyn'', and a bigger one as a news cameraman working for Gale Weathers in Craven's ''

''. He played Warren in the 1998 comedy film ''

'' and later took roles in ''

'', ''

'', '' Dancing at the Blue Iguana'', ''

The Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

'', and''

The Big White ''The Big White'' is a 2005 black comedy film directed by Mark Mylod starring Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Woody Harrelson, Tim Blake Nelson, W. Earl Brown and Alison Lohman. In a podcast interview with Marc Maron in 2010, Will ...

''. In 2009, Brown wrote, produced, and appeared in the film '' Bloodworth''. His 2010s film credits include '' The Master'', '' The Sessions'', '' The Lone Ranger'', '' Brother's Keeper'', and ''

Wild Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

''. On television, he is best known for his portrayal of Dan Dority on the

series '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006). He has also guest starred on '' Bates Motel'', ''

Rectify ''Rectify'' is an American television drama series exploring the life of a man after he is released from prison after nearly 20 years on death row following a wrongful conviction. It was created by Ray McKinnon and is the first original series f ...

'', ''

Luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...

'', '' American Horror Story'', '' Justified'', '' Six Feet Under'', ''

'', '' X-Files'', '' The Mentalist'', ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'', ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

'', ''

'', and others. He also portrayed singer

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's television film ''Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back''. In 2013, he performed the voice and motion capture of

in the critically acclaimed video game ''

''. Brown also writes and performs with the country music band Sacred Cowboys. He is set to appear in the upcoming film ''Shirley'', which stars

Regina King Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her one ...

opposite

Lance Reddick Lance Reddick (born December 31, 1962) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Cedric Daniels in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Phillip Broyles in ''Fringe'' (2008–2013), and Chief Irvin Irving in '' Bosch'' (2014–2020) ...

, Lucas Hedges,

André Holland André Holland (born December 28, 1979) is an American actor, widely known for his 2016 performance as Kevin in the Academy Award-winning film ''Moonlight''. Throughout his career, Holland has acted in film, television, and theatre productions ...

, Terrence Howard and newcomer Ethan Jones Romero.

Personal life

Brown married Carrie Paschall in 1989. They live in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and have a daughter named Anna.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, W. Earl 1963 births Male actors from Kentucky American male film actors American male television actors Living people Murray State University alumni DePaul University alumni 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors American male stage actors American male video game actors American male voice actors