William O. Campbell (born July 7, 1959 in Charlottesville, Virginia) is an American film and television actor.
Is a die-hard bachelor.
Dated Jennifer Connelly for 5 years following their 1991 teaming in Rocketeer, The (1991).
Parents divorced when he was two years old. He shuttled between his mother in Virginia and his father in Chicago.
He has six half-siblings.
Heir to the Champion spark plug fortune
He was the second choice for the role of William Thomas Riker on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987), but Jonathan Frakes won the part. However, he guest-starred in Episode #2.4, "The Outrageous Okona" 10 December 1988.
(2000) Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world
Dated and was also engaged to actress Virginia Madsen from 1981 until her marriage to Danny Huston (approx. 1989).
Rick Sammler, Campbell's character on "Once and Again" (1999), was ranked #36 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].
In early 2005, he took 13 months off from acting to circumnavigate the globe on a sailing trawler. He joined the crew of The Picton Castle which set sail from Nova Scotia to deliver charitable donations of school essentials, clothing and supplies throughout the South Pacific. The creators of 'the 4400' coped with his planned absence by having his character Jordan Collier assassinated.
The character, Billy Campbell, on "Melrose Place" (1992) was named after him.
