William Brochtrup Jr. (born March 7, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his role playing PAA John Irvin, a gay police public assistant, on the ABC television drama ''

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 ...

''.

Early life and education

Born William Brochtrup Jr. in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, Brochtrup was raised in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

and graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

in 1985.

Career

After graduating from college, Brochtrup moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He was billed as "William Brochtrup" in some of his earliest roles in the 1980s. Theatre credits for Brochtrup include

David Marshall Grant David Marshall Grant (born June 21, 1955) is an American actor, singer and writer. Life and career Grant was born in Westport, Connecticut, to physician parents. Immediately after graduating from Connecticut College with an M.F.A. and receivin ...

's ''Snakebit'' (

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the Century Center and in Los Angeles at the Coast Playhouse),

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...

(''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of ''The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier f ...

'', ''

Taking Steps ''Taking Steps'' is a 1979 farce by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It is set on three floors of an old and reputedly haunted house, with the stage arranged so that the stairs are flat and all three floors are on a single level (hence the pla ...

'', ''

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

''), The Antaeus Company ('' Peace In Our Time'', ''

The Malcontent ''The Malcontent'' is an early Jacobean stage play written by the dramatist and satirist John Marston ca. 1603. The play was one of Marston's most successful works. ''The Malcontent'' is widely regarded as one of the most significant plays o ...

'', ''

Cousin Bette ''La Cousine Bette'' (, ''Cousin Bette'') is an 1846 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac. Set in mid-19th-century Paris, it tells the story of an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended family. Bette works wit ...

'', ''

Tonight at 8.30 ''Tonight at 8.30'' is a cycle of ten one-act plays by Noël Coward, presented in London in 1936 and in New York in 1936–1937, with the author and Gertrude Lawrence in the leading roles. The plays are mostly comedies, but three, '' The Astoni ...

'', Sinan Unel's ''Pera Palas''), Black Dahlia Theatre (Jonathan Tolins' ''Secrets of the Trade'', Richard Kramer's ''Theater District'', both directed by

Matt Shakman Matt Shakman is an American film, television, and theatre director, and former child actor. He produced and directed ''WandaVision'' and has directed episodes of ''The Great'', ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', '' Fargo'' and ''Game of Thro ...

), The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble (''Bach at Leipzig'', ''Small Tragedy''),

L.A. Theatre Works L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) is a not-for-profit American media arts organization based in Los Angeles founded in 1984. The intent of the organization is to produce, preserve, and distribute classic and contemporary plays of significance. Along with i ...

(''The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial'', ''

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial ''The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial'' is a two-act play, of the courtroom drama type, that was dramatized for the stage by Herman Wouk, which he adapted from his own 1951 novel, ''The Caine Mutiny''. Wouk's novel covered a long stretch of time ab ...

''), and

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

(''If Memory Serves''). He appeared in the feature films '' Life as We Know It'', ''

He's Just Not That Into You ''He's Just Not That Into You'' is a self-improvement book written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo that was published in 2004 and later adapted into a film by the same name in 2009. It was a New York Times bestseller and was featured on ''The ...

'', ''

Duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

'', '' Ravenous'', '' Man of the Year'', and ''

Space Marines The space marine, an archetype of military science fiction, is a kind of soldier who operates in outer space or on alien worlds. Historical marines fulfill multiple roles: ship defence, boarding actions, landing parties, and general-purpose hi ...

''. Brochtrup has been a series regular on three

Steven Bochco Steven Ronald Bochco Masterson (December 16, 1943 – April 1, 2018) was an American television writer and producer. He developed a number of television series, including ''Hill Street Blues'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Cop Rock'' ...

shows: CBS sitcom ''

Public Morals Public morality refers to moral and ethical standards enforced in a society, by law or police work or social pressure, and applied to public life, to the content of the media, and to conduct in public places. A famous remark of Mrs Patrick Ca ...

'', ABC drama '' Total Security'', and seven seasons on the ABC drama ''

''. He has appeared on television shows as varied as ''

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...

'', ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', the animated children's series ''

The Wild Thornberrys ''The Wild Thornberrys'' is an American animated series, animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, Steve Pepoon, David Silverman (animator), David Silverman, and Stephen Sustarsic for Nickelodeon. The series portrays a ...

'' (as the voice of a dolphin), '' Major Crimes'' (as Dr. Joe Bowman), and

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

's ''

Celebrity Poker Showdown ''Celebrity Poker Showdown'' is an American celebrity game show that aired on the cable network Bravo (US TV channel), Bravo. It was a limited-run series in which celebrities played poker, with eight Poker tournament, tournaments during its five-s ...

''. Brochtrup is a frequent guest host of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

newsmagazine ''

In The Life ''In the Life'' was a LGBT, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) television newsmagazine, broadcast on public television and produced by In The Life Media. It was created in 1991 by the Emmy Award-winning producer John Scagliotti. Premie ...

''. He has written for ''

Out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

'' magazine. The best-selling book of essays ''I Love You, Mom!'' includes his original stories at '' Un-Cabaret'' and numerous

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

events. He has hosted

AIDS Walk AIDS Walk is a walkathon fundraiser that raises money to combat the AIDS epidemic. Since 1985, AIDS Walk Los Angeles has drawn hundreds of thousands of supporters to walk, and millions more to donate, raising more than $90 million to combat HIV ...

s across the country, supports animal rescue organizations like the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...

, and has travelled the Persian Gulf, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Germany, Japan, Bosnia and Kosovo meeting servicemen and women during Handshake Tours for the

United Service Organizations The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

(USO) and

Armed Forces Entertainment Armed Forces Entertainment (A.F.E) is the official United States Department of Defense (D.o.D) agency for providing entertainment to U.S. military personnel overseas. Armed Forces Entertainment hosts over 1,200 shows around the world each ye ...

Filmography

Films

TV

Personal life

Brochtrup came out to ''People'' magazine as gay in 1997. He said, " sting directors have known

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

for years," and assured that being gay would have no "adverse effect" on his career, even with potential typecasting. In 2012, Brochtrup said that he has not regretted coming out back then."Happy Birthday to Bill Brochtrup! Read the ''NYPD Blue'' alum's interview with Greg In Hollywood!"
''Greg in Hollywood'' 7 March 2012.

References

External links

* * * * Cascone A., Sharpe M
"MCTV Exclusive - The Doctor Is In: Bill Brochtrup Talks LA Theatre, Dr. Joe, and Major Crimes"
MCTV, August 4, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brochtrup, Bill 1963 births American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from Inglewood, California Male actors from Tacoma, Washington American gay actors Tisch School of the Arts alumni People from Tacoma, Washington People from Inglewood, California