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Written by NF Mendoza
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Saturday, 15 August 2009 19:35 |
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Page 1 of 2  It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call William Sanderson a legendary character actor. Currently starring as confident Sheriff Bud Dearbourne in HBO’s returning hit series “True Blood,” Sanderson’s memorable characters have ranged from the acclaimed “Deadwood’s” sniveling depraved E.B. Farnum, to his nine-year run starting in the late 1980s as “Newhart’s” backwoods handyman “Larry,” whose constant-companions were “This is my brother Darryl, and my other brother Darryl.”
Sanderson’s instantly recognizable face was the isolated, but brilliant robot designer Sebestian in the now classic sci-fi/fantasy film “Blade Runner,” and as a solidly working actor since the mid-1970s, he guest-starred on numerous television series, and co-starred in a bevy of indie action films, high-profile telefilms (“The Executioner’s Song,” “Who Will Love My Children?,” “Lonesome Dove,” “Sometimes They Come Back”), as well as big-name mainstream movies like “The Onion Field,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Raggedy Man,” “Rocketeer.” “The Client,” and “Last Man Standing.”
The actor, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, refers to his frequently called upon specialized character roles as “prairie scum.” Sanderson, the son of an elementary school teacher and landscape designer, did a stint in the army and earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and a law degree from the University of Memphis. The bright lights of Broadway beckoned and Sanderson headed to New York to try his hand at acting, and later moved to Hollywood.
In between his many film and TV roles, Sanderson provides voice work for animated series, books-on-tape and radio commercials.
Now happily married to Sharon (with whom he shares homes in Burbank Calif. and Harrisburg, PA) for 16 years, Sanderson sat down with GroomsOnline to tell his personal love story and offer his own-brand of humble advice to prospective grooms.
GO: How did you meet your wife?
William Sanderson: We met in Las Vegas, at the Flamingo Hotel, near the small bar by the black jack tables. I was in Vegas to watch some cowboys, I met while doing “Lonesome Dove,” compete in the National Rodeo Championships. She was on a vacation with her mother.
GO: How did you know she was “the one”?
WS: I didn’t at first but there was definitely something special happening. There was a mystery to her. Actually, I had a similar reaction when I saw Dolly Parton on TV for the first time; and I adored Dolly, still do.
GO: Can you tell us how you proposed?
WS: Over the telephone, believe it or not. She was in Los Angeles and I was filming on location in Montana. It was a long, sort of depressing shoot…lots of time to think about what’s important in life. I called her and said something like “I guess we should do it, get married, what do you think?” Luckily she acquiesced, said yes.
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