William Winckler is an American actor, filmmaker, and producer whose career has been closely linked with the creation of English-language versions of Japanese anime and tokusatsu entertainment. Born in California in 1964, he began his career as an on-screen actor in the 1980s, appearing in popular television series such as Knight Rider, Murder, She Wrote, and The Fall Guy. However, he is best known for his extensive work behind the scenes in producing and directing English dubs of classic anime series, often also contributing his voice to these projects.

Winckler's involvement in anime began in 1984 when he produced and directed the English version of the Tatsunoko Production series Tekkaman the Space Knight. He later founded his own production company, through which he produced numerous English-language movie adaptations of Toei Animation classics. This body of work includes titles such as Gaiking, Danguard Ace, Science Fiction Saiyuki Starzinger, and the two series specifically noted for his voice acting roles: Space Pirate Captain Harlock and Fist of the North Star.

As a voice actor, Winckler is most prominently recognized for his work in these productions from his own company. He provided the voice for the iconic protagonist Kenshiro in the English-language movie versions of Fist of the North Star, which were compiled from the original television series. He also took on the role of the legendary space captain for the English adaptation of Space Pirate Captain Harlock. This pattern of performing voice roles for characters in the projects he produces is a recurring theme in his career. Beyond these classic roles, he later provided voice-over work for English dubs of films in Tsuburaya Productions' long-running Ultra Series, most notably as the voice of Ultraman X in Ultraman X The Movie.

A significant achievement in Winckler's career related to his anime work was the release of nine of his English-dubbed anime features by the North American home video label Shout! Factory throughout 2013. This collection brought his adaptations of Gaiking, Starzinger, and Danguard Ace to a new audience. From 2015 to 2017, he continued his work in the genre by writing, producing, and directing new American English versions of several films in the Ultra Series, commemorating the franchise's 50th anniversary. His career is defined by his dual role as a producer dedicated to bringing Japanese science fiction and fantasy to English-speaking audiences and as an occasional voice actor within those very productions.