Bill Brochtrup (born March 7, 1963) is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is known for playing "P. A. A. John Irvin", the gay administrative aide, on NYPD Blue.
Brochtrup was born in Inglewood, California and raised in Tacoma, Washington, attending New York University's Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.
His theatre credits include David Marshall Grant’s Snakebit (Off-Broadway at the Century Center and in Los Angeles at the Coast Playhouse), Richard Kramer’s Theater District (Boston and LA), Jonathan Tolins’s If Memory Serves (Pasadena Playhouse), James Duff’s A Quarrel of Sparrows, Peter Hunt’s production of Death Takes a Holiday, and Joe Pintauro’s Raft of the Medusa. He has appeared in Los Angeles productions of Marivaux (The Triumph of Love), Strindberg (A Dream Play), and D. H. Lawrence (The Fox), and most recently in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing at South Coast Repertory, and Sinan Unel’s epic Pera Palas a co-production of the Theatre @ Boston Court and the Antaeus Company, of which he is a member.
He can be seen in the feature films Duck, Ravenous, Man of the Year, and Space Marines, the television movies Betrayed and Two Small Voices. He has appeared on television shows as varied as Without a Trace, The Wild Thornberrys (as the voice of a dolphin), and Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown.
Brochtrup is a frequent guest host of the PBS newsmagazine In The Life, and has been a series regular on three Steven Bochco shows, CBS sit-com Public Morals, ABC drama Total Security, and seven seasons on NYPD Blue. He has written for Out Magazine and the best-selling book of essays "I Love You, Mom!", hosted AIDS Walks around the country, supports animal rescue organizations like the SPCA and has traveled the Middle East, Far East, Mediterranean, and Balkans meeting servicemen and women during Handshake Tours for the USO.
Bill Brochtrup was raised in Tacoma, Washington, attending New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and NYU. he has proven his acting talent in a variety of roles on TV, film and on the stage. His first television role was in the series "Hot Pursuit" (1984) and he went on to appear in such series as "Dharma & Greg" (1997), "Picket Fences" (1992) and "Murder, She Wrote" (1984). Bill's movie credits include Ravenous (1999), in which he starred opposite Robert Carlyle (I) and Guy Pearce (I). He was originally cast for just two episodes of "NYPD Blue" (1993) during the show's second season. However, when his splendid portrayal of "P.A.A. John Irvin" won over the show's producers and audience alike, he was invited to reprise the very same role in comedy series "Public Morals" (1996). In 1998, Bill returned to "NYPD Blue" as Irvin, who continues to be a much-loved character.
