His most recent work in the theatre, concentrated in his hometown of Boston, has resulted in Eliot Norton Awards for Outstanding Achievement as an Actor for Fugard’s Exits and Entrances and Joyce Van Dyke’s The Oil Thief, with nominations for his Claudius in Hamlet and Trumpleman in King of the Jews. He also received one of three nominations for Best Actor at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe for The Patriot Act. He has been nominated this year for the Norton Award for Outstanding
Achievement as an Actor for his work in both Nicholas Nickleby and DollHouse.
Before turning his attention to the theatre, Mr. Lyman had been a first-chair bass player with a number of amateur and semi-professional symphonic and chamber orchestras, so it was his pleasure to perform as an actor with three prominent musical organizations: The National Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich, narrating a treatment of Sergei Eisenstein’s unproduced film Ivan the Terrible to Prokofiev’s stirring score; The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra in Tom Stoppard’s play for two actors and orchestra Every Good Boy Deserves Favor with John Neville; and as Jason with the Handel and Haydn Society’s presentation of Medea, with Claire Bloom.
In film, Will has performed featured roles in What Doesn’t Kill You, Mystic River, The Siege, A Perfect Murder, Welcome to the Dollhouse (Sundance Audience Award 1996), Celtic Pride, and The Crucible. Sometimes Will's film work is a result of the great familiarity of his
voice: as the narrator of Todd Field's Little Children, as the voice in
the Award Ceremony in the opening sequence of Iron Man, as the narrator of
the eponymous documentary at the center of Fierce People, and even spoofing that familiarity
as the "Frontline app for the iPhone" in The Other Guys.
He has had starring roles in independent ventures such as Hostile Takeover, Floating, Beacon Hill, and Alma Mater. He has worked in countless short experimental films for Boston area filmmakers including Ellie Lee’s Dog Days, Dana Glazer’s Intermezzo (Student Academy Award), and Andrew Mudge’s The Perfect Gooseys.
His television work includes starring roles in three seasons of The Adventures of William Tell aka Crossbow, filmed entirely on location in France; the NBC musical series Hull High; and ABC’s homeland security series Threat Matrix; more recently he played president Teddy Bridges in several episodes of Commander in Chief. His guest star appearances include Ed, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, the original Law and Order, and stretch all the way back to Spencer: For Hire (twice), Murder, She Wrote, and the short-lived Mann and Machine.
TV miniseries include Wilson Rogers, Jr. in Our Fathers, Homeland Security Chief Utley in Jeremiah Chechik’s American Meltdown, the Reverend Parris in the memorable Three Sovereigns for Sarah with Vanessa Redgrave, and as Barry Bostwick’s elder half-brother in Buzz Kulick’s George Washington. His first television appearance was in 1976: the title role in PBS’ Kosciuszko: An American Portrait.
No journeyman actor’s résumé would be complete without a few engagements on daytime television. Will has had recurring roles in Another World, The Guiding Light, All My Children, Ryan’s Hope, Loving, and The Doctors.
While all of the above activity represents a successful career as an actor, it would not have been possible without the extraordinary success Mr. Lyman has experienced as a narrator. Heard but not seen, Will Lyman’s voice is one of the most trusted on American airwaves. After narrating Eric Sevareid’s series Enterprise and the highly acclaimed, thirteen hour Vietnam: A Television History, he became the series narrator for the public affairs program Frontline, now in its 30th season. Over the course of many years, he has voiced innumerable hours of television documentary: The Survival series for TLC; Is it Real? For Nat Geo; “Quiz Show Scandal,” and “Richard Nixon” for The American Experience; a couple dozen episodes of NOVA; Modern Marvels for the History Channel, The Ultimate Guide for Discovery, all of Bud Greenspan’s Olympic films since the Lillehammer Games, and many hours of work for NBA Films. He attributes the public’s trust in his voice largely to the fact that he has been given many truths to speak. In 2006, Will agreed to become exclusive to Frontline for documentary narration, a move that protects both that trust and Frontline’s “signature voice” in the world of long-form television journalism.
His very successful work in advertising is currently limited to a few select clients, most notable currently being Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man in the World” series. He is frequently heard on movie trailers dating back to “Jurassic Park” and beyond.Will lives in Boston with his wife of over
forty years. |
