Rolf Saxon (born July 7, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as CIA analyst William "Bill" Donloe in the Mission: Impossible film series, as well as for his voice-over work in numerous video games, movies and TV shows, including as the American narrator of the BBC children's series Teletubbies (1997–2001).
Saxon has also appeared in the BBC television drama The Trials of Oz (1991), the ITV mystery drama Agatha Christie's Poirot (1993), in video games such as the Broken Sword series (1996–2013) and The Witcher (2007), and in films such as Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Woman in Gold (2015) and A Hologram for the King (2016), which have received several awards and nominations.
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Life and career
Rolf Saxon was born at Fort Belvoir in Alexandria, Virginia on 7 July 1955. He has worked with the American Conservatory Theater, California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Mime Troupe, and Omphalos Street Theatre Company. After training as an actor, Saxon immediately began appearing on the stage and on television; he made his film debut as Dick Tipton in the BBC adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980). Initially known as a television actor, he appeared as attorney Hudson J. Talbot III in the ITV drama Capital City (1989–1990). Saxon is best known for his role of CIA analyst William Donloe in Mission: Impossible (1996), a role he would later reprise in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025). Saxon has also appeared as the narrator for the American dub of the BBC children's series Teletubbies (1997–2001).
Awards and nominations
Upon his graduation at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Saxon was awarded the Gold Medal. While performing with the Omphalos Street Theatre Company at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he was nominated for the Fringe First Award. Critics praised Saxon's performance as Victor Franz in The Price (2005), earning him the Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for Best Actor in A Leading Role.