Line #79 Creator/BillPaxton


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bill_paxton_0.jpg]]
2
3	-> ''"Game over, man, game over."''
4	-->-- '''Bill Paxton''' as '''PFC Hudson''', ''Film/{{Aliens}}''
5
6	William Archibald Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and film director born in Fort Worth, Texas. He gained popularity after starring in a number of films, including ''Film/Apollo13'', ''Film/WeirdScience'', ''Film/{{Twister}}'', ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', ''Film/TrueLies'', and ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}''. Paxton starred in the HBO series ''Series/BigLove'' (2006–11) and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the miniseries ''Series/HatfieldsAndMcCoys''.
7
8	Paxton could be considered a cult actor, a character actor, and a movie star. He mantained a consistent presence in film and television throughout his career and could always be relied on to give 100%. He was a regular collaborator of Creator/JamesCameron, appearing in four of Cameron's films.
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10	He's also the only actor to play characters that have been killed onscreen by a Film/{{Predator\|2}}, a Franchise/{{Terminator}}, and a [[Film/{{Aliens}} Xenomorph]]. (Creator/LanceHenriksen ''almost'' counts, as his character was KilledOffscreen in ''Film/TheTerminator'').
11
12	Paxton died of complications from heart surgery at age 61 on February 25, 2017. He is survived by his wife Louise Newbury and their kids James and Lydia.
13
14	His son Creator/JamesPaxton is also an actor.
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17	!!Film Roles
18	* 1984: ''Film/TheTerminator'' as the blue-haired punk
19	* 1985: ''Film/{{Commando\|1985}}'' as Intercept Officer
20	* 1985: ''Film/WeirdScience'' as Chet Donnelly
21	* 1986: ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' as Private William Hudson
22	* 1987: ''Film/NearDark'' as Severen
23	* 1989: ''Film/{{Next of Kin\|1989}}'' as Gerald Gates
24	* 1989: ''Film/{{Slipstream\|1989}}'' as Matt Owens.
25	* 1990: ''Film/{{Navy Seals\|1990}}'' as Floyd "God" Dane
26	* 1990: ''Film/Predator2'' as Jerry Lambert
27	* 1992: ''Film/OneFalseMove'' as Dale "Hurricane" Dixon
28	* 1992: ''Film/{{Trespass\|1992}}'' as Vince
29	* 1992: ''Film/TheVagrant'' as Graham Krakowski
30	* 1993: ''Film/BoxingHelena'' as Ray [=O'Malley=]
31	* 1993: ''Film/{{Tombstone}}'' as Morgan Earp
32	* 1994: ''Film/FrankAndJesse'' as Frank James
33	* 1994: ''Film/TrueLies'' as Simon
34	* 1995: ''Film/Apollo13'' as Fred Haise
35	* 1996: ''Film/{{Twister}}'' as Bill Harding
36	* 1997: ''Film/{{Titanic\|1997}}'' as Brock Lovett
37	* 1998: ''Film/ASimplePlan'' as Hank
38	* 1998: ''Film/MightyJoeYoung'' as Professor Gregory 'Gregg' O'Hara
39	* 2000: ''Film/{{U571}}'' as Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren
40	* 2000: ''Film/VerticalLimit'' as Elliot Vaughn
41	* 2001: ''Film/{{Frailty}}'' as Dad (also his [[DirectedByCastMember directorial]] debut)
42	* 2004: ''Film/{{Thunderbirds}}'' as Jeff Tracy
43	* 2011: ''Film/{{Haywire}}'' as John Kane
44	* 2013: ''Film/{{The Colony\|2013}}'' as Mason
45	* 2013: ''Film/TwoGuns'' as Earl
46	* 2014: ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow'' as Master Sergeant Farrell
47	* 2014: ''Film/MillionDollarArm'' as Tom House
48	* 2014: ''Film/{{Nightcrawler}}'' as Joe Loder
49	* 2015: ''Film/TheGamechangers'' as Jack Thompson
50	* 2017: ''Film/{{The Circle\|2017}}'' as Mae's father
51	!!Television Roles
52	* 1986: ''Series/MiamiVice'' as Det. Vic Romano
53	* 1987: ''Series/TheHitchhiker'' as Trout
54	* 1993: ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' as Billy [=DeLuca=]
55	* 2003: ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' as Ernie
56	* 2006–11: ''Series/BigLove'' as Bill Henrickson
57	* 2012: ''Series/HatfieldsAndMcCoys'' as Randolph [=McCoy=]
58	* 2014: ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' as John Garrett[[spoiler:/The Clairvoyant]][[note]]After his death, his son James played a younger version of the character.[[/note]]
59	* 2015: ''Series/TexasRising'' as Sam Houston
60	* 2017: ''Series/TrainingDay'' as Detective Frank Roarke
61	----
62
63	%% Remember, creators don't get trivia pages. Trivia items on this page should remain here.
64
65	!!Tropes associated with his work
66
67	* CastingGag: It's no coincidence in ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow'' that he's overseeing a group of marines being sent out to fight {{Film/Aliens}}.
68	* ChronicallyKilledActor: Put it this way; he's one of only two actors who have been killed by a [[{{Film/Aliens}} Xenomorph]], a {{Film/Predator}} and a [[Film/TheTerminator Terminator]]. The other is Creator/LanceHenriksen.
69	* TheDanza:
70	** Plays Bill Henricksen in ''Series/BigLove''.
71	** And Bill Harding in ''{{Film/Twister}}''.
72	** ''And'' Billy [=DeLuca=] in the ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode where he appears.
73	** A ThrowItIn example on ''{{Film/Aliens}}''. As the marines' names are never revealed (besides Hicks) they all share the same first names as their actors. So Bill plays Private William Hudson.
74	* EnforcedMethodActing: Remember that scene in ''{{Film/Aliens}}'' where Bishop demonstrates his knife trick using Hudson as a guinea pig? Bill didn't know exactly what Lance Henriksen would be doing - so his look of surprise and fear is genuine.
75	* EverythingIsBigInTexas: Bill was born and raised in [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Fort Worth]], and at the age of nine was one of the last people to see UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy speak before his assassination.
76	* PlayingAgainstType:
77	** As serious patriarch Jeff Tracy in ''{{Film/Thunderbirds}}''.
78	** ''Film/VerticalLimit'' is also a slight change. Rather than being outwardly jerkish, his character is more of a BitchInSheepsClothing.
79	* ProductionPosse: Up until his death in 2017, he was one of James Cameron's regulars. The only Cameron films he didn't appear in were ''Film/TheAbyss'', ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', and ''{{Film/Avatar}}''.
80	* ThoseTwoActors: He and Creator/MichaelBiehn have appeared in ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', ''Film/TheTerminator'', ''Film/NavySeals1990'', ''Lords of Discipline'' and ''Film/{{Tombstone}}''.
81	* ThrowItIn: Some of Paxton's most memorable lines were improvised by himself.
82	** Many of the taunts he spouts as Chet in ''Weird Science'' were things he remembered being said to him over the years. He got Hughes to add them to the script.
83	** His "Game over!" in ''Aliens'' line was improvised.
84	** Some of his character's sleazy compliments about [[Creator/JamieLeeCurtis Jamie Lee Curtis's]] character in ''True Lies'' were things Bill pulled from his father, notably "Ass like a ten-year-old boy!"
85	* TypeCasting: Bill Paxton tended to play the {{Jerkass}}, JerkWithAHeartOfGold or DeadpanSnarker.
86	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
87	** He was the first choice for Robert Langdon in ''Film/TheDaVinciCode'' but was already committed to ''Series/BigLove'', and the part went to Creator/TomHanks.
88	** Funnily enough Tom Hanks was the original choice for the lead in ''{{Film/Twister}}'' and even did a table reading of it, before Bill replaced him.
89	** Really lobbied to play Jim Morrison in ''Film/TheDoors1991'' and claims he "read my ass off". But as he was coming from ''Navy Seals'', he had short hair and a mustache, Oliver Stone went "I just don't see it."

Context Creator / BillPaxton