Bill Paxton
11 July 2008Birth name: William Paxton
Birth date: 17.05.1955
Bill moved to Los Angeles at 18 where he found work in the film industry as a set dresser for Roger Corman’s New World Pictures. He made his film debut in the Corman film Crazy Mama (1975) directed by Jonathan Demme. Moving to New York, he studied acting under Stella Adler at New York University. After landing a small role in Stripes (1981), Bill found steady work in low-budget films and TV. He also directed, wrote and produced award-winning short films including Fish Heads (1982) which aired on “Saturday Night Live” (1975). His first appearance in a James Cameron film was a small role in The Terminator (1984) followed hard by his very memorable performance as Private Hudson in Aliens (1986) and as the nomadic vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark (1987). Bill also appeared in John Hughes’ Weird Science (1985), as Wyatt’s sadistic older brother Chet. Although he continued to work steadily in film and TV, his big break did not come until his lead role in the critically acclaimed film-noir One False Move (1992). This quickly led to strong supporting roles as Wyatt Earp’s naive younger brother Morgan in Tombstone (1993) and as Fred Haise, one of the three astronauts in Apollo 13 (1995), as well as in James Cameron’s offering True Lies (1994).
Famous Works
- CREDITS
- Film Appearances
- John, Crazy Mama, New World, 1975
- Eddie, Night Warning (also known as Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker,
The Evil Protege,
Momma’s Boy,
Nightmare Maker, and Thrilled to Death), 1981
- Soldier, Stripes, Columbia, 1981
- Gilbreath, The Lords of Discipline, Paramount, 1982
- Fish Heads (short film), 1982
- Barfly in café, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, Embassy, 1983
- Clyde, Streets of Fire, Universal, 1983
- Eddie, Impulse, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1983
- Scoop (short film), 1983
- Taking Tiger Mountain, 1983
- Chet Donnelly, Weird Science, Universal, 1984
- Paul Andrews, Mortuary (also known as Embalmed), Hickmar Productions, 1984
- Punk leader, The Terminator, Orion, 1984
- Intercept officer, Commando, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1985
- Private W. Hudson, Aliens, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1985
- Bobo, Riding Fast, 1986
- Severen, Near Dark, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, 1987
- Jesse Wilkes, Pass the Ammo, New Century/Vista, 1988
- The Roommate, 1988
- Gerald Gates, Next of Kin, Warner Bros., 1989
- Bo Brand, Back to Back, Concorde/Vertex, 1990
- Dane, Navy SEALS, Orion, 1990
- Howard “Hojo” Jones, The Last of the Finest (also known as BlueHeat and Street Legal), Orion, 1990
- Jerry Lambert, Predator 2, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1990
- Jim Reston, Brain Dead (also known as Paranoia), Concorde,1990
- Matt Owens, Slipstream, Virgin Home Entertainment, 1990
- Gus, The Dark Backward (also known as The Man with Three Arms), RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, 1991
- Chief Dale “Hurricane” Dixon, One False Move, IRS Releasing, 1992
- Graham Krakowski, The Vagrant, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United ArtistsHome Video, 1992
- Vince, Trespass (also known as Looters), Universal, 1992
- Jack Belston, Indian Summer (also known as L’ete indien), Buena Vista, 1993
- Morgan Earp, Tombstone, Buena Vista, 1993
- Ray O’Malley, Boxing Helena, Orion, 1993
- Tucker, Monolith, 1993
- Simon, True Lies, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1994
- Vince, Future Shock, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1994
- Fred W. Haise, Apollo 13 (also known as Lost Moon 13), Universal, 1995, released as Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience, 2002
- Jerry Bruckner, The Evening Star, Paramount, 1996
- William “Bill” Harding, Twister, Warner Bros., 1996
- Zachary “Zack” Cody, The Last Supper, Sony Pictures Releasing, 1996
- Bokky, Traveller, October Films, 1997
- Brock Lovett, Titanic, Twentieth Century-Fox/Paramount, 1997
- Himself, Twister: Ride It Out (documentary), 1998
- Gregg O’Hara, Mighty Joe Young (also known as Mighty Joe),Buena Vista, 1998
- Hank Mitchell, A Simple Plan (also known as Ein Einfacher Plan and Un plan simple), Paramount, 1998
- Elliot Vaughn, Vertical Limit, Sony Pictures Releasing, 2000
- Lieutenant commander Mike Dahlgren, U-571, Universal, 2000
- Dad Meiks, Frailty (also known as Daemonisch and Nessunoe al sicuro), Lions Gate Films, 2001
- Dinky Winks, Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Dimension Films, 2002
- Himself, Ghosts of the Abyss (documentary), Buena Vista, 2003, IMAX version released as Titanic3D: Ghosts of the Abyss
- Dinky Winks, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (also known as Spy Kids 3:Game Over), Miramax, 2003
- Narrator, University Greys: From Students to Soldiers, 2003
- Ted, Resistance, 2003
- Carl Ridley, Haven, 2004
- Coconut Pete, Club Dread (also known as Broken Lizard’s Club Dread), Twentieth Century-Fox, 2004
- Jeff Tracy, Thunderbirds, Universal, 2004
- Some sources cite an appearance in Touched by the Hand of God, 1987.
- Film Director
- Fish Heads (short film), 1982
- Scoop (short film), 1983
- Frailty (also known as Daemonisch and Nessuno e al sicuro), Lions Gate Films, 2001
- The Greatest Game Ever Played, Buena Vista, 2005
- Film Producer
- Fish Heads (short film), 1982
- Scoop (short film), 1983
- Traveller, October Films, 1997
- Film Production Designer
- (As Pete Lautrec) High School Fantasies, 1974
- Taking Tiger Mountain, 1983
- Film Set Decorator
- Assistant set decorator, Death Game (also known as Mrs. Manning’s Weekend and The Seducers), 1977
- Galaxy of Terror (also known as Mindwarp: An Infinity of Terror,
Planet of Horrors, and Quest), 1981
- Film Set Dresser
- Big Bad Mama, 1974
- (As Pete Lautrec) Beach Blanket Bango (also known as Beach Party Bango and Teenage Throat), 1975
- Film Work
- Other
- (As Pete Lautrec) Art director, Beach Blanket Bango (also known asBeach Party Bango and Teenage Throat), 1975
- Unit manager, Bajadores de narcos (also known as Trap), 1998
- Also affiliated with the short film The Egyptian Princess.
- Television Appearances
- Series
- The Six O’Clock Follies, NBC, 1980
- Bill Henrickson, Big Love, HBO, beginning 2005
- Miniseries
- Campbell, The Atlanta Child Murders, CBS, 1985
- Billy Jo Bobb, Fresno, CBS, 1986
- Movies
- Eddie Fox, Deadly Lessons, ABC, 1983
- Bob Maracek, An Early Frost, NBC, 1985
- Frank James, Frank and Jesse, HBO, 1995
- Lieutenant colonel John Paul Vann, A Bright Shining Lie, HBO, 1998
- Specials
- The Making of “Terminator,” 1984
- The Making of “Alien 3,” 1992
- The Making of “True Lies,” Fox, 1994
- 100 Years of the Hollywood Western, 1994
- A Day with, Fox, 1995
- The Making of “Apollo 13,” Sci-Fi Channel, 1995
- Himself, Tom Hanks: Hollywood’s Golden Boy, Arts and Entertainment, 1997
- The Warner Bros. Story: No Guts, No Glory–75 Years of Blockbusters, TNT, 1998
- The Warner Bros. Story: No Guts, No Glory–75 Years of Laughter, TNT, 1998
- The Warner Bros. Story: No Guts, No Glory–75 Years of Stars, TNT,1998
- Himself, Kurt Russell: Hollywood’s Heavy Hitter, Arts and Entertainment, 1999
- Narrator, War Letters, 2001
- Awards Presentations
- Presenter, The 21st Annual People’s Choice Awards, CBS, 1995
- Presenter, The 22nd Annual People’s Choice Awards, CBS, 1996
- Presenter, The 2001 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (also knownas The 16th Annual IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards), Independent Film Channel, 2001
- Episodic
- Vic Romano, “Streetwise,” Miami Vice, NBC, 1986
- Guest, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, 1986
- Trout, “Made for Each Other,” The Hitchhiker, HBO, 1987
- Guest, The Howard Stern Show, 1991
- Billy, “People Who Live in Brass Hearses,” Tales from the Crypt (also known as HBO’s Tales from the Crypt), HBO, 1993
- Guest, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, syndicated, 1997
- Guest, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, NBC, 1998
- Guest host, Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC’s Saturday Night,
Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 1999
- Guest, Larry King Live, Cable News Network, 2000
- Guest, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 2002, 2003, 2004
- Host, “Titanic Tech,” Modern Marvels, History Channel, 2003
- Voice of Ernie, “Analyzed Kiss,” Frasier, NBC, 2003
- Guest, Coming Attractions, E! Entertainment Television, 2004
- Appeared in Festival Pass with Chris Gore, Starz!; and Sidewalks Entertainment, syndicated.
- Pilots
- Rudy, Great Day, CBS, 1983
- Bill Henrickson, Big Love, HBO, 2005
- RECORDINGS
- Videos
- (In “Shadows of the Night” music video) Pat Benatar: Hit Videos, 1984
- (In “Shadows of the Night” music video) Pat Benatar: The Visual MusicCollection, 1986
- Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection, 1991
- Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13, 1996
- Directors: James Cameron, 1997
- Breaking the Silence: The Making of “Hannibal,” 2001
- Living in Darkness, 2002
- The Making of “Frailty,” 2002
- (In “Shadows of the Night” music video) Pat Benatar: Choice Cuts–TheComplete Video Collection, 2003
- Superior Firepower: The Making of “Aliens,” 2003
- Music Videos
- Radio operator, “Shadows of the Night,” by Pat Benatar, 1982
- “How Can the Laboring Man Find Time for Self-Culture?,” by Martini Ranch,1986
- “Touched by the Hand of God,” by New Order, 1987
- “Reach,” by Martini Ranch, 1988
- “Eat You Alive,” by Limp Bizkit, 2003
- Albums
- (With Martini Ranch) Holy Cow, 1986
- Singles
- “How Can the Laboring Man Find Time for Self-Culture?,” c. 1986
- “Reach,” c. 1988
- WRITINGS
- Screenplays
- Fish Heads (short film), 1982
- (With others) Scoop (short film), 1983
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