William B. Davis Net Worth

What Is William B. Davis' Net Worth?

William B. Davis is a Canadian actor, writer, and director who has a net worth of $1 million. William B. Davis is best known for his iconic role as the Cigarette Smoking Man on the Fox series "The X-Files" (1993–2002; 2016–2018). He has also played David Choak on the Amazon Prime Video series "Upload" (2020–2023). Davis joined Britain's National Theatre in 1964, working with greats Maggie Smith and Laurence Olivier, then returning to Montreal the following year to become Assistant Artistic Director and, subsequently, Artistic Director of the National Theatre School of Canada. William later founded Vancouver's The William Davis Centre for Actor's Study. Davis has more than 130 acting credits to his name, including the films "The Dead Zone" (1983), "Look Who's Talking" (1989), "Unforgettable" (1996), "Possession" (2009), "Death Note" (2017), "Bad Times at the El Royale" (2018), and "It's a Wonderful Knife" (2023), the Stephen King miniseries "It" (1990), and the television series "Airwolf" (1987), "Robson Arms" (2005), "Continuum" (2012–2015), and "The Midnight Club" (2022). William also wrote and directed the short films "Exchange" (2003), "Packing Up" (2004), and "Reverse" (2008), and he co-wrote the 2000 "X-Files" episode "En Ami." He is highly regarded as a director in theatre as well. Davis released his memoir, "Where There's Smoke … The Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man," in 2011.

Early Life

William B. Davis was born William Bruce Davis on January 13, 1938, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His mother was a psychologist, and his father was a lawyer. William began his acting career in 1949, performing in summer stock theatre and radio dramas. His cousins ran the Ontario theatre company the Straw Hat Players, and they held rehearsals in the basement of his house. When they needed a boy for one of their productions, they cast Davis. During his youth, he was also an actor on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio. William studied philosophy at the University of Toronto and pursued an acting career while attending college. He also became interested in directing, and he ran the Straw Hat Players with Karl Jaffary for four years. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1959.

Career

In 1960, Davis enrolled at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He spent the next five years directing plays at acting schools and repertory theatres in the U.K. William served as the Dundee Repertory Theatre's artistic director, and he was the National Theatre of Great Britain's assistant director under Laurence Olivier. He returned to Canada in the mid-1960s and took a job with the National Theatre School of Canada, and when he was 28, he became the artistic director of the school's English acting section. In 1971, he joined the new drama department at Bishop's University in Quebec, and during his time there, he was the founding artistic director of the professional summer theatre Festival Lennoxville. Davis later became the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School's artistic director, and he founded the William Davis Centre for Actors Study. He made his onscreen acting debut in the 1983 Stephen King film "The Dead Zone," and he followed it with "Head Office" (1985), "Beyond the Stars" (1989), and "Look Who's Talking" (1989) and the TV movies "The Cuckoo Bird" (1985), "Deadly Deception" (1987), "Sworn to Silence" (1987), "The Little Match Girl" (1987), and "Matinee" (1989). William also guest-starred on "SCTV Channel" (1984), "Airwolf" (1987), "21 Jump Street" (1987–1991), "Wiseguy" (1988–1989), "MacGyver" (1991), "The Commish" (1991), "Sliders" (1995), and "The Outer Limits" (1995–2001).

Davis returned to the world of Stephen King in the 1990 miniseries "It," then he appeared in the films "The Hitman" (1991), "Dangerous Intentions" (1995), and "Unforgettable" (1998) and the TV movies "Diagnosis Murder: Diagnosis of Murder" (1992), "Heart of a Child" (1994), "Beyond Suspicion" (1994), "Don't Talk to Strangers" (1994), "Courting Justice" (1995), "Voyage of Terror" (1998), and "Murder Most Likely" (1999). In 1993, he began playing the Cigarette Smoking Man (aka Cancer Man or the Smoking Man) on the Fox science-fiction series "The X-Files," which aired for nine seasons during its original run and returned for two more seasons in 2016 and 2018. The series earned more than 60 Primetime Emmy nominations (winning 15) and won three Golden Globes for Best Television Series – Drama. Davis reprised his role in the 1998 film "The X-Files" and in 2001's "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."

In the 2000s, William has appeared in films such as "The Proposal" (2001), "Mindstorm" (2001), "The Messengers" (2007), "Passengers" (2008), "Possession" (2009), "Amazon Falls" (2010) "The Tall Man" (2012), "The Package" (2012), "Death Note" (2017), "Game Over, Man!" (2018), "Bad Times at the El Royale" (2018), and "It's a Wonderful Knife" (2023). He has also starred in numerous TV movies, including "Killing Moon" (2000), "Becoming Dick" (2000), "Damaged Care" (2002), "Saint Sinner" (2002), "Word of Honor" (2003), "The Secret of Hidden Lake" (2006), "Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf" (2010), "Behemoth" (2011), and "Stonados" (2013). Davis played Dr. Carlisle Wainwright on CTV's "Robson Arms" (2005), Older Alec Sadler on the Showcase science-fiction series "Continuum" (2012–2015), David Choak on Amazon Prime Video's "Upload" (2020–2023), and Mirror Man on the Netflix horror series " The Midnight Club" (2022), which was based on the 1994 Christopher Pike novel of the same name.

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Personal Life

Davis enjoys water skiing and is a former national champion in the sport. He attends fan conventions around the world and gives talks on climate change and skepticism. William married Emmanuelle Herpin in September 2001, and he has two daughters, Rebecca and Melinda, from a previous marriage. Though his most famous role is the Cigarette Smoking Man, Davis quit smoking in the '70s, long before "The X-Files" premiered. On the show, he was allowed to choose between tobacco cigarettes and herbal cigarettes; he initially chose tobacco cigarettes, but he later switched to herbal cigarettes because he didn't want to risk becoming addicted again. William was involved in the Canadian Cancer Society's anti-smoking campaigns.

Awards and Nominations

Davis and his "The X-Files" castmates shared Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 1997, 1998, and 1999. In 2002, William won a Jury Award for Best Actor for "Polished" at the Nickel Independent Film and Video Festival. At the 2018 Cyprus International Film Festival, "Daedalus" was named Best Veteran's Short Film (shared with his wife, Emmanuelle Davis). Emmanuelle wrote the film, and William directed it. In 2019, Davis earned a Best Actor nomination for "The Doctor's Case" at the Pitch to Screen Film Awards.

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