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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 by AI on 2026-09-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

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 2026-11-01, 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
69/100
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 · 6141 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Lori Bashian
50 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "I know E.T. wanted to go home, but I hope that if the movie took place in 2024, that my favorite extra terrestrial would come to my party instead."
🔮 The sighting comes ahead of the actress' 63rd birthday on Nov. 5 and more than six years after she had a near-fatal stroke in May 2020 following an overdose on morphine, opiates and pain medication.
🔮 The 54-year-old actress said her lawyers had advised her not to say anything because of the ongoing legal matter, but added that she could say: "Not one day ever have I intended to hurt or frighten anyone a day in my life.
🔮 Amy Grant is opening up about her relationship with her husband, Vince Gill, after over 20 years of marriage, saying he will always stand up for her.
🔮 While she is nervous, Glanville is hopeful the surgery will be a success, as facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Honrado, "comes highly recommended."
🔮 The kiss was enjoyed by both her and De Niro, with Stone telling Andy Cohen that when director, Martin Scorsese, asked if they wanted to film the scene again, "We both looked at him and went, 'Yeah, I think maybe we need one more.'" Sylvester Stallone
🔮 "On race, let me just say at any of these award shows, I saw a clip the other day saying, 'And this gentleman won, and he's the first black director to win for this documentary,' I wish they would quit saying that because I think everyone we can't all be equal to you," Spade said.
🔮 They continued: "When people attack You, it might sting for a moment, but it can never shake who You are.
🔮 "No, it's a very tough business, it is a very capricious business at times, but Paris has the strength and the stamina, he has a talent there, he's got a charisma, and he's got good sense and intuition, he really has a talent there that will need to be nurtured and worked on," he said.
🔮 "I took steps so I wouldn’t have to do that anymore.
Also by Lori Bashian
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 50 articles by Lori Bashian →
Larry Fink
11 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Amy Grant is opening up about her relationship with her husband, Vince Gill, after over 20 years of marriage, saying he will always stand up for her.
🔮 "No, it's a very tough business, it is a very capricious business at times, but Paris has the strength and the stamina, he has a talent there, he's got a charisma, and he's got good sense and intuition, he really has a talent there that will need to be nurtured and worked on," he said.
🔮 "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 11 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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