| William Janowitz | |
| Birth Date: | 25 May 1980 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, New York |
| Occupation: | Actor, writer |
| Years Active: | 1999–present |
| Education: | University of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA) |
William "Will" Janowitz (born May 25, 1980) is an American actor and writer for film and television. He is best known for playing Meadow Soprano's fiancé, Finn DeTrolio, on The Sopranos, Hymie Weiss on Boardwalk Empire (2012–2013), and Trevor in Bikini Moon (2017).
Janowitz was born on May 25, 1980, in New York City and is a first-generation American. He has Eastern European and Jewish ancestry. His mother, Katherine Sborovy, a writer, was from Bratislava, Slovakia. His father, James Janowitz, an attorney, is from Berlin, Germany. His father’s family fled to New York City after their family’s window display factory was seized by the Nazis on Kristallnacht. Will is named after his great uncle who perished in the Minsk Ghetto. Janowitz’s mother’s family were also survivors of the Holocaust and sought refuge in New York City.
Janowitz grew up on the Upper West Side in New York City. Will graduated from high school at the Trevor Day School in Manhattan.
After training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2000, Janowitz began acting professionally.
He worked briefly as Mary-Louise Parker's personal assistant on several film and television projects. One of his earliest film credits was a role in David Gordon Green's George Washington (2000).
In 2002, Janowitz booked a recurring role on The Sopranos as Meadow Soprano's (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) boyfriend Finn DeTrolio.[1] He would appear in the fifth and sixth seasons of the show, portraying a novice's perspective of the organized crime ring. Janowitz's character notably disclosed the homosexuality of Vito Spatafore (Joe Gannascoli), one of Tony Soprano's (James Gandolfini) best-earning captains.
Janowitz has appeared in various independent features, including Backseat (2005) and Bristol Boys (2006). In 2005, he appeared in as the voice of Donald Love.
In 2009, Janowitz joined the ensemble cast of Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock and wore a blonde wig and mustache to play Chip Monck, the festival's production designer. That same summer, he went to Marietta, Georgia, to play the role of Leo Frank in The People v. Leo Frank (2009). The film explores the life and trial of Leo Frank, an American-born Jew who was lynched in Marietta, Georgia, on August 17, 1915, after being accused of the murder of a 13-year-old girl who worked in his pencil factory.
He played a comedian in "The Good News" episode of Mad Men in 2010 where he razzes the audience members: Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and Lane Pryce (Jared Harris). In 2011 he appeared as a green Goblin in Louie C.K.’s television show, Louie for the “Halloween/Ellie” episode.
Between 2012-2013 Janowitz portrayed a historically ruthless Chicago mobster, Hymie Weiss, on the Boardwalk Empire show. Along with Dean O'Banion (Arron Shiver), the North-Side gang from their flower shop lair, clashed with the Torrio-Capone gang.
In 2014, Janowitz played the character, Alex, in the film H. directed by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia set in Troy, NY. The film revolves around the aftermath of an apparent meteor strike. H. premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival and went on to play at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. He also appeared in the Broad City episode, "Destination Wedding" where he proclaimed to Abbi Jacobson that Penn Station was a “dealbreaker”. Janowitz played the ghost of a Confederate soldier named Josiah, in The Heart, She Holler(2014). He played Chef Christopher in the Deadbeat (2015) "Table for Sue" episode.
In the American Experience episode “Murder of a President” (2016), Janowitz depicted Charles J. Guiteau who shot President James A. Garfield.
In 2016, Janowitz portrayed Steve, in the film Little Boxes, which follows a family moving from the city life of Brooklyn to a small town in Washington state. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2016. He also appeared as the character, Ralph, in Youth in Oregon which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival as well.
On the T.V. series, Gotham, Janowitz plays an informant, named Wally Clarke. In the episode "Hog Day Afternoon" (2017) Janowtiz gives Gordon (Ben McKenzie) a tip, saying he retrieved pigs from a butcher and left them for a man known as the "Professor".
Janowitz took the role of mentor in the character, Tony, a manager of a bowling alley in the coming-of-age story, CRSHD (2019). Directed by Emily Cohn, CRSHD premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.
In 2019, Janowitz acted on Chicago P.D. in the “Brotherhood” episode as Mark Rollins. He played David Fallon in the Grudge episode (2020) on . Janowitz was the co-writer and appeared as the priest in a Chris Pine production called Doula (2022).
In the meta-film comedy short, Proof of Concept (2023), Janowitz acted alongside Richard Kind. It premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Terror Firmer | Partier | ||
| 2000 | George Washington | Railroad Worker | ||
| 2004 | Press Gang | Derrick | Short | |
| 2005 | Backseat | Frankie | ||
| David & Layla | Woody Fine | |||
| 2006 | Bristol Boys | Corey | ||
| 2007 | Bed Head | Will | Short | |
| Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux Universe | East European Lab Assistant | |||
| Gnome | Gnome | Short | ||
| 2009 | The People v. Leo Frank | Leo Frank | ||
| Taking Woodstock | Chip Monck | |||
| Two Birds | The Other Man | Short | ||
| 2010 | John Sharnhorst | John Sharnhorst | Short | |
| 2012 | Bottle Poppaz | DJ Lava | Short | |
| Exposed | Alexi Krustonovich | |||
| Ex-Girlfriends | Matt | |||
| 2013 | B-Side | Evan | ||
| The Volunteer | Joe | |||
| Junkie Doctors | Andersen Stevenson | Short | ||
| 2014 | Google Comes to Collect | Short | ||
| H. | Alex | |||
| 2015 | Lucky and the Long Walk Home | Turkey | Short | |
| 2016 | Little Boxes | Steve | ||
| Youth in Oregon | Ralph | |||
| Puppy Love | James | Short | ||
| 2017 | Bikini Moon | Trevor | ||
| Troll | Noah | Short | ||
| 2019 | Balk | Rob | Short | |
| Pitcher/Catcher | Valentine | Short | ||
| Crshd | Tony | |||
| 2020 | The Ride | Cole | Short | |
| 2022 | Doula | The Priest | ||
| 2023 | Proof of Concept | Eddie Cohen | Short |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Law & Order | Bill Horton | Episode: "Slaughter" | |
| 2002–06 | The Sopranos | Finn DeTrolio | Recurring Cast: Seasons 4-6 | |
| 2004 | Rico | Episode: "Shrink-Wrapped" | ||
| 2008 | Jacob Green | Episode: "Vanishing Act" | ||
| 2009 | Law & Order | Cal | Episode: "Skate or Die" | |
| 2010 | Mad Men | Comedian | Episode: "The Good News" | |
| 2011 | Louie | Goblin | Episode: "Halloween/Ellie" | |
| 2012–13 | Boardwalk Empire | Hymie Weiss | Guest: Season 3, Recurring Cast: Season 4 | |
| 2013 | Inside Amy Schumer | Sam | Episode: "Clown Panties" | |
| Officer Scott Graver | Episode: "Military Justice" | |||
| 2014 | Broad City | Will | Episode: "Destination Wedding" | |
| The Heart, She Holler | Josiah | Episode: "Groaning Amore" | ||
| 2015 | Deadbeat | Chef Christopher | Episode: "Table for Sue" | |
| 2016 | American Experience | Charles J. Guiteau | Episode: "Murder of a President" | |
| Jeremiah | Episode: "Paul W. Downs" | |||
| The Night Of | Dr. Ross | Episode: "Ordinary Death" | ||
| The Daily Show | Doug Bailey | Episode: "Common" | ||
| 2017 | Gotham | Wally Clarke | Episode: "Hog Day Afternoon" | |
| 2019 | Chicago P.D. | Mark Rollins | Episode: "Brotherhood" | |
| 2020 | David Fallon | Episode: "Grudge" | ||
| 2024 | Eric Bonner | 2 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Donald Love (voice) | |
| 2008 | Grand Theft Auto IV | The Crowd of Liberty City (voice) |
| Julian (voice) |