# Steven Williams
**Steven Williams** (born 1949) is an American character actor in film and television, best known for playing Captain Adam Fuller on *21 Jump Street*, Lt. Jefferson Burnett on *The Equalizer*, the informant Mr. X on *The X-Files*, and Rufus Turner on *Supernatural*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/) A Memphis native who has worked mainly as a supporting player, he has assembled a filmography spanning Blaxploitation-era comedies, network crime series, and horror franchises.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/steven-williams/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949, Memphis, Tennessee[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/) |
| Signature role | Captain Adam Fuller on *21 Jump Street*, 1987–90, the mentor of four young undercover cops[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/steven-williams/) • [3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/) |
| Other recurring roles | Lt. Jefferson Burnett (*The Equalizer*), Det. August Brooks (*L.A. Heat*), Mr. X (*The X-Files*), Russell "Linc" Lincoln (*Linc's*), Rufus Turner (*Supernatural*)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/) |
| X-Files tenure | Mr. X, 1994–2002, 15 episodes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/) |
| Film work | Trooper Mount in *The Blues Brothers* (1980); Creighton Duke in *Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday* (1993); Leroy Hanlon in *It* (2017)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/) |
| Theater recognition | 1977 Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Actor in a Principal Role in a Musical for *Joplin*, at the St. Nicholas Theater[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/bio/) |
## Early life and work before acting
Williams spent his earliest days in [Memphis, Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/memphis-tennessee), and the bulk of his childhood in Chicago, Illinois.[5](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/steven-williams.html) In a 1987 *Washington Post* interview he described a childhood split among three households: the housing projects of Chicago, where he lived with his mother; [Flint, Michigan](https://www.edgepedia.org/flint-michigan), where he sometimes stayed with his father, an automotive plant foreman; and Memphis, where he spent his early years with his grandparents.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/)
In Chicago, before show business, he worked as a mail carrier, calling it his second-best job, then in a jeans boutique and at two Michigan Avenue shoe stores. He moved into catalog shoots, advertising, voice-overs, and industrial films, and then began stage work with the Children's Theater Group. "I learned to act, that's the best way to learn to act, on stage," he told the *Post*. He never had a formal acting lesson and said he never tried to become an actor.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/) • [6](https://thejunctionuk.wordpress.com/2016/03/26/steven-williams-interview/)
His theater work drew notice in Chicago: he was nominated for a 1977 Joseph Jefferson Award, a Chicago-area theater honor, for Actor in a Principal Role in a Musical for *Joplin*.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/bio/) His first screen roles came in mid-1970s [Blaxploitation](https://www.edgepedia.org/blaxploitation) comedies, *[Cooley High](https://www.edgepedia.org/cooley-high)* (1975) and *The Monkey Hu$tle*.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/steven-williams/) • [5](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/steven-williams.html)
## Film work and the road to television
Williams went to Los Angeles in 1979 to appear in *The Blues Brothers* with [John Belushi](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-belushi) and [Dan Aykroyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-aykroyd), credited as [Steve Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-williams) in the role of Trooper Mount.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/) He then shuttled between Los Angeles and Chicago on projects including *The Marva Collins Story*, *Continental Divide*, *Chicago Story*, and *Dukes of Hazzard*.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/)
**Dry spells.** His career had gaps; in 1982 he worked once in the entire year and lived on residuals, and shortly before *21 Jump Street* he had to borrow money to keep up his mortgage.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/) In 1985 he landed a six-episode role on the crime drama *The Equalizer* as police officer Jefferson Burnett; he told the *Post* he appeared on the first seven shows of the initial season and was disappointed to leave, but the part led to better work.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/steven-williams/) • [3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/)
## 21 Jump Street
Williams's breakthrough came in 1987 when he joined the cast of the Fox crime-mystery series *21 Jump Street* as Captain Adam Fuller, co-starring with [Holly Robinson Peete](https://www.edgepedia.org/holly-robinson-peete) and [Johnny Depp](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-depp).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/steven-williams/) One account describes him as a former military man and model who broke from anonymity with the part, which he played from 1987 to 1990 on what it calls Fox's first hit show.[7](https://www.mobygames.com/person/174522/steven-williams/) He took over the role from Frederick Forrest, who had played Fuller in the pilot; Williams called the casting "like a Christmas miracle" and prepared by riding the 3-to-midnight shift with a police sergeant from the Los Angeles Southeast Precinct.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/) After the part, he was more recognized than he had ever been, and he reprised Fuller on two episodes of the spin-off series *Booker*.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/) • [7](https://www.mobygames.com/person/174522/steven-williams/)
## Mr. X on The X-Files
On *Booker* Williams got to know Glen Morgan and James Wong, who later became co-executive producers of *The X-Files*; they suggested him for the character X after an actress hired for the role did not work out.[7](https://www.mobygames.com/person/174522/steven-williams/) X, a shadowy informant who appears in 15 episodes from 1994 to 2002, became one of his most-identified roles.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/) The character's creation involved some disagreement: Morgan recalled that Williams was not going over well at first and that the writers were giving X lines written for [Jerry Hardin](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-hardin)'s Deep Throat character, while series creator Chris Carter said they wanted someone with a much different persona than [Deep Throat](https://www.edgepedia.org/deep-throat-the-x-files). Morgan said it took time for that distinction to take hold.[7](https://www.mobygames.com/person/174522/steven-williams/)
## Later television and film
After *21 Jump Street*, Williams worked almost exclusively on television, mixing guest spots on comedies such as *The Bernie Mac Show* and procedurals such as *NYPD Blue* and *The District* with longer parts on *The X-Files*, the action-drama *L.A. Heat*, where he played Det. August Brooks, and the horror-fantasy *Supernatural*.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/steven-williams/) • [5](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/steven-williams.html) On *[Supernatural](https://www.edgepedia.org/supernatural-american-tv-series)* he played Rufus Turner, a fellow hunter to the leads Sam and Dean, and in a 2016 interview he recalled deliberately giving Rufus levity so as not to compete with [Jim Beaver](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-beaver)'s grumpier character; he also said he shot the series in Vancouver, where *21 Jump Street* and *The X-Files* had also filmed.[6](https://thejunctionuk.wordpress.com/2016/03/26/steven-williams-interview/) He co-starred with [Pam Grier](https://www.edgepedia.org/pam-grier) in the main cast of the Showtime series *Linc's* as Russell "Linc" Lincoln.[5](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/steven-williams.html) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/)
His film credits include Creighton Duke in *Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday* (1993), the ninth *Friday the 13th* installment, and Leroy Hanlon in the 2017 horror film *It*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/) More recent work includes Quentin on *The Chi* (2018), Cannonball on *Training Day* (2017), Ray Cannon Sr. on *FBI: Most Wanted* (2020), and roles in *Locke & Key* (2020), the film *Emerald Run* (2020), and *Afterlifetime* (2021), in which he played Charon the Ferryman.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/steven-williams/) IMDb lists him with 159 acting credits, and 5 wins and 3 nominations in total for awards.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/)
## Personal life
At the time of the 1987 *Washington Post* interview, Williams's wife, Ann Geddes, was a theatrical agent.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/) His nephew, Aaron Williams, had a successful career as a cartoonist.[5](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/steven-williams.html)
## References
1. [Steven Williams (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/)
2. [Steven Williams, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/steven-williams/)
3. [Steven Williams, by Patricia Brennan, The Washington Post, December 13, 1987](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1987/12/13/steven-williams/4e69996c-771e-48fe-bbd7-f661a913e6e3/)
4. [Steven Williams Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931736/bio/)
5. [Steven Williams, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/steven-williams.html)
6. [Steven Williams – Interview, The Junction, March 26, 2016](https://thejunctionuk.wordpress.com/2016/03/26/steven-williams-interview/)
7. [Steven Williams, MobyGames biography](https://www.mobygames.com/person/174522/steven-williams/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Wh to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license