William Shockley

Partner

William Shockley is an accomplished actor, director, screenwriter, and producer with a career spanning film, television, and theater.

Most recently, Shockley produced The Punishing, a horror feature starring John Boyega and Cara Delevingne, filmed on location on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Prior to that, he served as Executive Producer on The Assessment, starring Academy Award® winner Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Olsen, and Himesh Patel. He also directed Long Shadows, an American Western starring Dermot Mulroney, Jacqueline Bisset, and Dominic Monaghan. Shockley earned “Best Director” at the 2025 Houston International Film Festival for Long Shadows, which also received the Special Jury Remi Award.

Shockley directed and co-wrote the acclaimed short film Common Threads, which won Best Family Short Film at the 2017 IFS Film Festival in Los Angeles. The film garnered six Awards of Excellence at the 2017 Best Shorts Awards Competition in La Jolla, California—including honors for Short Film, Director, Cinematography, Costume Design, Family Programming, and Ensemble Cast—and received Best Production Design at the Lady’s First International Film Festival in Cork, Ireland.

Shockley began his professional career in Dallas, Texas, where he was performing in theater when he secured representation and was cast by Paul Verhoeven in RoboCop—his very first audition. He soon relocated to Los Angeles with little more than three boxes and a suitcase, quickly building momentum with roles in numerous episodic television series and movies-of-the-week before transitioning into feature films. His film work includes The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (with Andrew Dice Clay), Switch (with Ellen Barkin), and The Joyriders (with Martin Landau and Kris Kristofferson). He later reunited with Verhoeven in the cult classic Showgirls. Additional film credits include Madison(with Jim Caviezel and Bruce Dern) and Finding Harmony (with Billy Zane and Allison Eastwood).

On television, Shockley is widely known for his six-season run as “Hank Lawson” on CBS’s beloved drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, starring Jane Seymour. He also starred opposite Whoopi Goldberg in the CBS sitcom Bagdad Cafe and with Teri Garr in the ABC sitcom Good & Evil.

As a writer and producer, Shockley has co-written twelve feature film scripts that have gone into production and has produced thirteen feature films and three television movies.

He is a partner in Tiki Tāne Pictures, an independent film production company.