William Brochtrup Jr. (born March 7, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his role playing PAA John Irvin, a principal administrative 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 ca ...

''.

Early life and education

Born William Brochtrup Jr. in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, 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, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

and graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

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, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

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. South Coast Repertory was founded in 1964. It has three stages and presents plays from all eras. SCR producers new plays, Theatre for Young Audiences ...

(''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 farce 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 funni ...

'', ''

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 pl ...

'', '' The Real Thing''), The Antaeus Company ('' Peace In Our Time'', '' The Malcontent'', '' Cousin Bette'', '' Tonight at 8.30'', 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 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 Thrones''. He also directed the up ...

), The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble (''Bach at Leipzig'', ''Small Tragedy''), L.A. Theatre Works (''The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial'', ''

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial may refer to: * The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (play), a play by Herman Wouk, adapted from his novel ''The Caine Mutiny'' * The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1955 film), a TV play based on the play * The Caine Mutiny ...

''), and

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

(''If Memory Serves''). He appeared in the feature films '' Life as We Know It'', '' He's Just Not That Into You'', ''

Duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

'', '' Ravenous'', ''

Man of the Year __NOTOC__ Person of the Year, Man of the Year or Woman of the Year is an award given to an individual by any type of organization. Most often, it is given by a newspaper or other news outlet to annually recognize a public figure. Such awards hav ...

'', and ''

Space Marines A space marine is a science fiction concept, an analogue for military marines in outer space. Space Marine or Space Marines may also refer to: * Space Marine (''Warhammer 40,000''), a type of soldier in the ''Warhammer 40,000'' universe **'' Warha ...

''. Brochtrup has been a series regular on three

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

shows: CBS sitcom '' Public Morals'', 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: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

'', ''

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, and Stephen Sustarsic for Nickelodeon. The series portrays the zany hijinks of a family o ...

'' (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 compa ...

's ''

Celebrity Poker Showdown ''Celebrity Poker Showdown'' is an American celebrity game show that aired on the cable network Bravo from 2003 to 2006. It was a limited-run series in which celebrities played poker, with eight tournaments during its five-season run. In each s ...

''. Brochtrup is a frequent guest host of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

newsmagazine ''

In The Life ''In the Life'' is an American television newsmagazine program focused on issues related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, broadcast on public television from 1992 to 2012, and produced by In The Life Media. It was create ...

''. He has written for ''

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

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

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

events. He has hosted AIDS Walks 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 Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which was founded ...

, 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 ...

. From 2012 to September 2024, he served as Artistic Director of the Antaeus Theatre Company in Glendale, CA.

Personal life

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

hat A hat is a Headgear, 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 incorpor ...

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.

Filmography

Films

TV

References

External links

* * * {{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