William Fichtner has ‘never’ regretted turning down roles and refuses to cross ‘certain lines’ in Hollywood

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Bashian, L., & Fink, L. (2026, September 6). William Fichtner has ‘never’ regretted turning down roles and refuses to cross ‘certain lines’ in Hollywood. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/william-fichtner-has-never-regretted-turning-down-roles-refuses-cross-certain-lines-hollywood

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Fox News · collected 2026-09-06 · by Lori Bashian, Larry Fink

Quick Summary

Actor William Fichtner, 69, discussed his approach to selecting roles in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. He stated that he has "never" regretted turning down a project and will only take on roles if they align with his personal boundaries. According to Fichtner, he has turned down roles for both artistic and financial reasons, including jobs that were "really good money." Fichtner currently stars in the Apple TV miniseries "Lucky", where he praised co-star Anya Taylor-Joy's performance as a standout moment in filming the series finale.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-06, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

William Fichtner, a 69-year-old actor, has spoken out about his approach to choosing roles. He claims to have "never" regretted turning down a project, even if it was successful, as long as he didn't believe in the script or felt it crossed certain boundaries. Fichtner, who stars in Apple TV's "Lucky," says he trusts his instincts and will pass on opportunities that don't align with his values. He has also admitted to turning down roles for good pay, rather than compromising his artistic vision. According to Fichtner, he can immediately tell when a script isn't right for him, and will often joke about throwing it away and going shopping at Costco instead.

Written for “Actor Stands Up for Integrity” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Actor Stands Up for Integrity
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
30
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
2 of 30 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 5031 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Lori Bashian
41 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "I took steps so I wouldn’t have to do that anymore.
🔮 "I remember being in Studio City with the two kids, and we couldn't afford to have a bigger place with a bigger backyard and neighborhoods like that.
🔮 They wouldn't give me anybody else, but this lady was very bad, and she was really hurt, and I had big blue marks
🔮 The "Small Town Swoon" themed event will bring together stars from "Virgin River," "One Tree Hill" and "The Way Home," providing fans with the warmth, romance, and community they see on television in real-life. WATCH:
🔮 Fans could not help but compliment the German supermodel in the comments section, with one calling her "greatest super model to ever do it" and another saying she is "Absolutely smoking hot."
🔮 Together they share their son Sam, who they welcomed in May 2016.
🔮 When playing Potsie Weber on "Happy Days" didn't pay well enough, actor Anson Williams came up with a side hustle: a music career.
🔮 She explained that while she still doesn't like working out and would "much rather be reclining on the couch and reading novels," that would help "feed my brain, but it doesn’t really do it for my body," so she chooses to go to the gym.
🔮 Her followers couldn't help but praise the star in the comments section, with one writing "You’re absolutely the most perfect woman 😍😍" and another adding, "So beautiful Ella."
🔮 The "One Day at a Time" star's post comes one day after she shared an old photo of herself and Van Halen on her Instagram in honor of the sixth anniversary of his death, which she captioned, "Photos may fade, like old photos do, but not the memories and never the love."
Also by Lori Bashian
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 41 articles by Lori Bashian →
Larry Fink
9 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "I remember being in Studio City with the two kids, and we couldn't afford to have a bigger place with a bigger backyard and neighborhoods like that.
🔮 The "Small Town Swoon" themed event will bring together stars from "Virgin River," "One Tree Hill" and "The Way Home," providing fans with the warmth, romance, and community they see on television in real-life. WATCH:
🔮 I could literally spend a half hour talking about injuries, the amount, not even like one, I'm talking about 30 hours, 30 minutes of just individual ones, because it becomes compounded.
🔮 The "Hell's Kitchen" star noted that as a father of six, he will have to experience those moments multiple times in the future.
🔮 And it was kind of like at a time where I needed to prove to myself that I could do it again.
🔮 The 74-year-old said he thinks may have "a couple" more action movies in him.
🔮 "Lucky" star William Fichtner has no problem turning down a role if it crosses his boundaries.
🔮 "I said, 'Well, that's cool, because when people get offended, they act like if you gave rednecks a billion dollars, they wouldn't be rednecks,'" he said.
Also by Larry Fink
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 9 articles by Larry Fink →

Topics

Apple Costco FBI Fox News Digital

Subjects

Fichtner PERSON · 4× William Fichtner PERSON · 4× Anya Taylor-Joy PERSON · 2× Taylor-Joy PERSON · 2× Apple ORG · 1× Costco ORG · 1× FBI ORG · 1× Fox News Digital ORG · 1× Luciana "Lucky" Armstrong PERSON · 1× Wayne Whittaker PERSON · 1×

Narrative

When it came time to filming the chaotic scene, Fichtner joked that when he arrived on set and saw "this very beautiful, petite woman standing there with these incredible eyes that look right through you," he thought, "We're in the middle of all of this like havoc and this did that," referring to Taylor-Joy.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-06
🔮 "Lucky" star William Fichtner has no problem turning down a role if it crosses his boundaries.

Claims (30 extracted, 2 hedged)

"Lucky" star William Fichtner has no problem turning down a role if it crosses his boundaries. asserted
it → have → boundaries
During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the 69-year-old actor shared that he has "never" regretted saying no to a project, even if it turned out to be a big success. asserted
it → share → project
"I've been a bit pickier and choosier at moments in my life where I probably didn't have a right to be," he said. asserted
he → have → right
"But if I didn't believe it, if I didn't think that I could do something with it, and there are certain lines that I just don't cross. uncertain
I → believe → that
But, if I don't have a belief in it, then I have a little bit of a fear that I don't want to be bad, and I just won't take the journey." asserted
I → have → journey
He explained that he doesn't "hold it as a badge of honor," that he has said no to a few "jobs that were really good money," and described knowing immediately that "this isn't happening" when reading something he doesn't like. " asserted
he → explain → something
Then my wife looks at me and goes, 'You like it, right?' asserted
You → look → it
Are we going to the store now? asserted
we → go → store
We've got to go to Costco, right? asserted
We → get → Costco
'" he said. asserted
he → say → ?
Fichtner plays Wayne Whittaker in the Apple TV miniseries, which aired its series finale, titled "All Good Things," on Wednesday, Aug. 19. asserted
which → play → Wednesday
WATCH: William Fichtner has never regretted turning down a role The show stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Luciana "Lucky" Armstrong, a reformed criminal who is forced to engage in unlawful activities one last time, in order to secure her freedom and permanently leave behind her former life of crime. asserted
who → watch → crime
In the finale, Fichtner and Taylor-Joy's characters have a showdown, with the actor praising "The Queen's Gambit" star, noting "she plays it perfectly," as he recalled what it was like to film the scene. " asserted
it → have → scene
I remember it was five days in this like high desert. asserted
it → remember → desert
But I gotta tell you something, man, it was hot. asserted
it → got → something
And I just remember that it just it fed into all of this intensity," he said. asserted
he → remember → intensity
"She plays it perfectly. asserted
She → play → it
It's written perfectly. asserted
It → write → ?
She is not backing down. asserted
She → back → ?
She's going to throw some things at me and there's a curveball in there that is like, okay, all right, I gotta give this woman her due. asserted
I → go → due
When it came time to filming the chaotic scene, Fichtner joked that when he arrived on set and saw "this very beautiful, petite woman standing there with these incredible eyes that look right through you," he thought, "We're in the middle of all of this like havoc and this did that," referring to Taylor-Joy. asserted
this → come → Joy
William Fichtner described working with Anya Taylor-Joy on the final episode of 'Lucky' Fichtner started his acting career in the 1990s, going on to become one of the most recognizable supporting actors of the 2000s. asserted
Fichtner → describe → 2000s
His most recognizable role is FBI Special Agent Alexander Mahone in "Prison Break," which he starred in from 2006 to 2009. asserted
he → star → 2009
Having worked on both a miniseries and a series with multi-season arcs, he was able to compare how he prepared for each. asserted
he → work → each
You could be finishing up season two, episode 10. uncertain
You → finish → season
Your last shooting day is on a Wednesday and Wednesday afternoon you get episode 11 and you start tomorrow asserted
you → get → episode
," he said. asserted
he → say → ?
"You're putting the pieces together, but you know your character, you just don't know what road he's gonna walk down in the next episode. asserted
he → put → episode
" WATCH: William Fichtner compares working on a limited series to a multi-season show He added: "It's different with a limited series. asserted
It → watch → series
You do have the scripts, you do see the arc of the character." asserted
you → have → character
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