Raised in Washington, Brochtrup moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting soon after his graduation from NYU in 1985. He appeared in stage productions, made his TV debut on such cheaply-made series as "Divorce Court" and "Superior Court" and made bigger bucks doing TV commercials. Early in his career, he was billed as William Brochtrup as in his film debut as a hairdresser in "Kinjite: Forbidden Subject" (1989), other minor film roles, guest spots on "Murder, She Wrote" and "Alf" and his first TV-movie, "Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure" (ABC, 1989). Since his "NYPD Blue" exposure, Brochtrup co-starred in "Man of the Year" (1995), the feature about secretly gay PLAYGIRL Centerfold Dirk Shafer, and played key roles in the Showtime original "Space Marines" (1996) and in "Two Voices" (Lifetime, 1997). He has also continued to appear in Los Angeles area stage productions.