is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films
. Paxton starred in the HBO series
, to Mary Lou (née Gray) and John Lane Paxton, a businessman, lumber wholesaler, museum executive, and occasional actor. He was raised Roman Catholic, his mother's religion. He attended St. Anne's Catholic School, and
After graduation, Paxton moved to Los Angeles and began working for the film director
as a set designer. His experiences working behind the camera influenced Paxton's decision to pursue acting, which led him to relocate to New York City where he studied under
. Four years after appearing in
, he joined James Cameron on an expedition to the actual Titanic. A film about this trip,
's low-rated 1980-1981 season. He directed the feature films
," in which he appeared as a Nazi radio officer. He appears in
In 1988, Paxton and the vocalist/guitarist Andrew Todd Rosenthal formed a short-lived rock duo
. They recorded and released an album entitled
, Bob Casale, and Alan Myers, all of whom contributed to the album's modest hit, "How Can the Labouring Man Find Time For Self-Culture?"
Paxton married Louise Newbury in 1987, and they have two children. His son James is also an actor.
emerged from the Hotel Texas in Ft. Worth, Texas, on the morning of his assassination, November 22, 1963. There are pictures at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas where 8-year-old Paxton can be seen astride the shoulders of an unidentified man.
Film and television roles
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1975 |
Crazy Mama |
John |
|
| 1980 |
Fish Heads "Fish Heads" is a novelty song by comedy rock duo Barnes and Barnes, featured on their 1980 album Voobaha. It has often been played on the Dr...
|
Main Character |
Short |
| 1981 |
Stripes Stripes is a 1981 American comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, P. J. Soles, and John Candy. It also featured several actors in their first significant film roles, including John Larroquette, Sean Young, John Diehl, and Judge Reinhold. It was one...
|
Soldier |
|
| 1983 |
Night Warning Night Warning is a 1982 exploitation horror film directed by William Asher; it was nominated for a Saturn Award for the Best Horror Movie of 1982 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror...
|
Eddie |
|
| 1983 |
Taking Tiger Mountain |
Billy Hampton |
|
| 1983 |
Deadly Lessons Deadly Lessons is a 1983 made-for-TV movie starring Larry Wilcox, Academy Award winner Donna Reed, David Ackroyd, Diane Franklin, future Brat Packer Ally Sheedy and Nancy Cartwright, later the voice of Bart Simpson.-Plot:...
|
Eddie Fox |
Television film |
| 1983 |
Mortuary Mortuary was a 1983 slasher film/horror movie which starred Bill Paxton, Mary Beth McDonough, David Wallace, Lynda Day George, with Michael Berryman and Christopher George in one of his final roles...
|
Paul Andrews |
|
| 1983 |
|
Gilbreath |
|
| 1984 |
Impulse Impulse is a 1984 science fiction thriller film about the residents of a small rural town, that after a small earthquake ruptures the seal on a toxic waste burial site, start to exhibit strange and violent behavior. The film was directed by Graham Baker, and stars Tim Matheson, Meg Tilly, and Hume...
|
Eddie |
|
| 1984 |
Streets of FireStreets of Fire is a 1984 film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It was described in previews, trailers, and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable." It is an unusual mix of musical, action, drama, and comedy with elements both of retro-1950s and 1980s...
|
Clyde the Bartender |
|
| 1984 |
|
Punk Leader |
|
| 1985 |
|
Bob Maracek |
|
| 1985 |
|
Campbell |
Television miniseries |
| 1985 |
CommandoCommando is a 1985 American action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vernon Wells, Rae Dawn Chong, Alyssa Milano, Bill Duke, Dan Hedaya and James Olson. It was directed by Mark L...
|
Intercept Officer |
|
| 1985 |
Weird Science Weird Science is a 1985 American teen comedy film written and directed by John Hughes and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Kelly LeBrock...
|
Chet Donnelly |
|
| 1986 |
Fresno |
Billy Joe Bobb |
|
| 1986 |
AliensAliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
|
Private Hudson |
|
| 1987 |
Near Dark Near Dark is an American vampire/Western horror film, written by Eric Red and Kathryn Bigelow, and directed by Bigelow. The story follows a young man in a small midwestern town who becomes involved with a family of nomadic American vampires...
|
Severen |
|
| 1989 |
Slipstream Slipstream is a 1989 post-apocalyptic science fiction adventure film. The plot has an emphasis on aviation and contains many common science-fiction themes, such as taking place in a dystopian future in which the landscape of the Earth itself has been changed and is windswept by storms of great power...
|
Matt Owens |
|
| 1989 |
Next of Kin Next of Kin is a 1989 American action film directed by John Irvin and starring Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson. The screenplay was based on a story of the same title, both written by Michael Jenning.-Plot:...
|
Gerald Gates |
|
| 1989 |
Back to Back |
Bo Brand |
Main role |
| 1990 |
Brain Dead Brain Dead is a 1990 horror/psychological thriller starring Bill Pullman, Bill Paxton and George Kennedy and written by Charles Beaumont.-Plot:...
|
Jim Reston |
Main Role |
| 1990 |
|
Howard 'Hojo' Jones |
|
| 1990 |
Navy SEALs Navy SEALs is a 1990 action film, directed by Lewis Teague, written by Chuck Pfarrer and Gary Goldman, and produced by Brenda Feigen and Bernard Williams with consultant William Bradley.-Plot:...
|
Dane |
|
| 1990 |
Predator 2 Predator 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, María Conchita Alonso, Rubén Blades, and Bill Paxton. Written by Jim and John Thomas and directed by Stephen Hopkins, the film is a sequel to 1987's Predator, with Kevin Peter Hall again playing the role of the...
|
Jerry Lambert |
|
| 1991 |
|
Gus |
|
| 1992 |
|
Graham Krakowski |
Main role |
| 1992 |
One False MoveOne False Move is a 1992 thriller film co-written by Billy Bob Thornton. The film, also starring Thornton, Bill Paxton and Cynda Williams was directed by Carl Franklin. The low-budget B-movie was to be released straight to home video when it was finished. The film became popular through word of...
|
Dale 'Hurricane' Dixon |
Main role |
| 1992 |
Trespass |
Vince |
Main role |
| 1993 |
Monolith |
Tucker |
Main role |
| 1993 |
Indian Summer Indian Summer is a 1993 comedy drama film written and directed by Mike Binder. The movie was filmed and set on-location at Camp Tamakwa, a summer camp located in Ontario, Canada, where Binder himself had attended in his childhood...
|
Jack Belston |
|
| 1993 |
Boxing Helena Boxing Helena is a 1993 romantic drama film and the debut feature film by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. The film stars Julian Sands and Sherilyn Fenn as the eponymous Helena.-Plot:...
|
Ray O'Malley |
Supporting role |
| 1993 |
Tombstone Tombstone is a 1993 American action film set in the Old West directed by George P. Cosmatos, along with uncredited directorial efforts by actor Kurt Russell and writer Kevin Jarre. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Jarre....
|
Morgan Earp Morgan Seth Earp was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually...
|
Supporting role |
| 1994 |
Frank and Jesse -Plot:Frank & Jesse is a 1994 western starring Rob Lowe as Jesse James and Bill Paxton as Jesse's brother Frank James. Following the Civil War the two brothers, along with the Younger brothers - Cole Younger and Bob Younger , Bob Ford and Charles Ford , Clell Miller , and Arch Clements...
|
Frank James |
Main role |
| 1994 |
True Lies True Lies is a 1994 American action-comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku also appears in the film in one of her first major film roles...
|
Simon |
|
| 1994 |
Future ShockFuture Shock is a book written by the futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. In the book, Toffler defines the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. His shortest definition for the term is a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of...
|
Vince |
|
| 1995 |
|
Zachary Cody |
|
| 1995 |
Apollo 13 Apollo 13 is a 1995 American drama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris. The screenplay by William Broyles, Jr...
|
Fred HaiseFred Wallace Haise, Jr. is an engineer and former NASA astronaut. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Having flown on Apollo 13, Haise was to be the sixth human to walk on the Moon, but the mission did not land due to a failure aboard the spacecraft.-Early life and...
|
Main role |
| 1996 |
Twister |
Bill Harding |
Main role |
| 1996 |
|
Jerry Bruckner |
Main role |
| 1997 |
TitanicTitanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
|
Brock Lovett |
Supporting role |
| 1997 |
TravellerTraveller is an American film released in 1997, starring Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg, and Julianna Margulies. The plot centers on a man joining a group of nomadic con artists in rural North Carolina.-See also:...
|
Bokky |
Main role |
| 1998 |
|
John Paul Vann |
Television film |
| 1998 |
|
Hank |
Main role |
| 1998 |
Mighty Joe YoungThe Music was composed and conduced by James Horner. The Soundtrack was released on December of the year 1998.- Tracklist :...
|
Professor Gregory 'Gregg' O'Hara |
|
| 2000 |
U-571 U-571 is a 2000 film directed by Jonathan Mostow, and starring Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Thomas Kretschmann, Jon Bon Jovi, Jack Noseworthy, Will Estes, and Tom Guiry...
|
Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren |
|
| 2000 |
Vertical Limit Vertical Limit is a 2000 thriller action film directed by New Zealander Martin Campbell starring, among others, Chris O'Donnell, Bill Paxton, Robin Tunney and Scott Glenn...
|
Elliot Vaughn |
|
| 2001 |
FrailtyFrailty is a 2002 psychological thriller film directed by and starring Bill Paxton, and co-starring Matthew McConaughey. This film is the directorial debut for Paxton. The plot focuses on the strange relationship between two young boys and their father, who believes that he has been commanded by...
|
Dad Meiks |
Director |
| 2002 |
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams |
Dinky Winks |
|
| 2003 |
Ghosts of the Abyss Ghosts of the Abyss is a 2003 documentary film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media. It was Disney's first film produced in 3-D and was directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker James Cameron after his Oscar winning film Titanic...
|
|
|
| 2003 |
Resistance Resistance is a war movie released in 2003. It was written by Todd Komarnicki and Anita Shreve, stars Bill Paxton, Julia Ormond, Philippe Volter, Sandrine Bonnaire, and Victor Reinier, and was directed by Todd Komarnicki. Resistance, with a 16 million euro budget, was the most expensive Dutch...
|
Major Theodore 'Ted' Brice |
|
| 2003 |
Spy Kids 3-D: Game OverSpy Kids 3-D: Game Over is a 2003 American action-adventure family film directed by Robert Rodriguez and the third film in the Spy Kids series. It was released in the United States on July 25, 2003. The film featured the return of many cast members from the past two films, although most were in...
|
Dinky Winks |
|
| 2004 |
Club Dread Club Dread is a 2004 comedy horror film written by the comedy group Broken Lizard, who also created Super Troopers...
|
Coconut Pete |
|
| 2004 |
HavenHaven is a 2004 feature film set in the Cayman Islands, a British offshore financial centre. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2004. It is written and directed by native Caymanian Frank E...
|
Carl Ridley |
|
| 2004 |
ThunderbirdsThunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
|
Jeff Tracy Jeff Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The voice for the character in these shows was supplied by Peter Dyneley. The character also appeared in the live...
|
|
| 2005 |
|
|
Director |
| 2006–11 |
Big LoveBig Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy...
|
Bill Henrickson William Orville "Bill" Henrickson is the fictional protagonist husband in a polygamous family in the HBO series Big Love, portrayed by Bill Paxton. He is married to three wives, Barbara Henrickson, Nicolette Grant and Margene Heffman...
|
|
| 2007 |
|
Robbie |
|
| 2011 |
Haywire Haywire is an upcoming action film directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Gina Carano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum and Michael Fassbender.-Plot:...
|
|
|
| 2011 |
Tattoo |
|
Director |