Wil Horneff

William Samuel "Wil" Horneff (b. June 12 1979, Englewood, New Jersey) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Rick Heller in Born to Be Wild.

The eldest of four children, his parents own the Robin Horneff Performing Arts Center in Waldwick, New Jersey while his father, Van, also owns a gymnastics mat business. He grew up in Saddle River, New Jersey. Horneff began acting professionally in 1992 at the age of thirteen. He made his Broadway debut in John Guare's Four Baboons Adoring The Sun opposite Stockard Channing and James Naughton.

His first film appearance was a relatively minor role in the cult film The Sandlot as Phillips, the arch-rival of the title characters. This was soon followed by an appearance in Law & Order (in which he played a 14-year-old defendant who brutally murdered another youth) as well as leading roles in films such as Ghost in the Machine and Born to Be Wild.

In 1995, he won the awards for Best Lead Actor in a Made for TV Movie at the Youth in Film Awards and Best Young Leading Actor - Feature Film at the Young Artist Awards for The Yearling and Born to Be Wild respectively.

After several other television and film appearances, most notably the acclaimed Emmy Award-winning mini-series Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, he temporarily left acting to finish high school and later to attend Columbia University in New York City where he received his degree in English.