Biography for
Bill Paxton More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

17 May 1955, Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Birth Name

William Archibald Paxton

Nickname

Wild Bill
Knuckles

Height

5' 11" (1.80 m)

Mini Biography

Bill Paxton was born William Archibald Paxton on May 17, 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas. He moved to Los Angeles, California at age 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, Paxton studied acting under Stella Adler at New York University. After landing a small role in Stripes (1981), he found steady work in low-budget films and television. He also directed, wrote and produced award-winning short films including Fish Heads (1980), which aired on "Saturday Night Live" (1975). His first appearance in a James Cameron film was a small role in The Terminator (1984), followed 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 Donnelly's sadistic older brother Chet. Although he continued to work steadily in film and television, 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).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Leslie Walter <leslie@snoopy.usask.ca>

Spouse

Louise Newbury	(12 May 1987 - present) 2 children
Kelly Rowan	(2 October 1979 - 22 July 1980) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Frequently portrays characters who are dead by the end of their respective films (i.e. The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), Next of Kin (1989), Navy Seals (1990), Predator 2 (1990), Tombstone (1993), U-571 (2000), Vertical Limit (2000), Club Dread (2004))

Frequently works with James Cameron

Trivia

Bill had rheumatic fever in the 7th grade. It kept him hospitalized for a month and bedridden for four months. He had to take regular doses of penicillin until he was 18.

As a teen, Bill caddied for golf great Ben Hogan in Fort Worth.

Has two children with Louise Newbury: James Paxton (b. 1994) and Lydia (b. 19 December 1997).

Co-authored and produced the short "Scoop" (1983), which won an Honorable Mention at the 1983 USA Film Festival.

Member of the 1980s rock band Martini Ranch. James Cameron directed a video for their song "Reach" featuring many Cameron alumni (Kathryn Bigelow, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein).

Son of John Paxton.

Met his wife Louise Newbury on a #13 bus in London. She is his second wife.

Bill's paternal grandfather was a friend and neighbor to the great American painter Thomas Hart Benton.

Learned to speak German to prepare for his part in the Pat Benatar video "Shadows of the Night".

Attended Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas, the same high school as John Denver and Lee Harvey Oswald (who left before he graduated).

He has earned the nickname "Wild Bill" among friends and co-stars for his apparently crazed sense of humor and his love for elaborate pranks.

Has appeared in five films with Michael Biehn: The Lords of Discipline (1983), The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), Navy Seals (1990) and Tombstone (1993).

Was the first choice as Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code (2006). He turned the part down because he was already signed for "Big Love" (2006). Tom Hanks was cast for the film instead.

Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame during their annual induction gala at Austin Studios in Austin, Texas on March 9, 2007 for his career achievement in the motion picture film industry. The Texas Film Hall of Fame inductees are native-born Texans who have achieved excellence in their film career.

For his role on Tombstone (1993), he was trained by renowned Hollywood Gun Coach Thell Reed, who has also trained such actors as: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Girard Swan, Michael Biehn and Ben Foster.

Lives in Ojai, California.

Is the only actor to appear in the Alien and Predator film series.

Is the only actor to have been killed by a terminator, an alien, and a predator on screen.

As an eight-year-old, he was in the crowd waving when President John F. Kennedy emerged from the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, Texas, on the morning of November 22, 1963. There are pictures at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas where the young Paxton can clearly be seen astride the shoulders of an unidentified man.

Utters the very first line of dialog in The Terminator (1984) and, along with Brian Thompson and Brad Reardon, were the first hapless humans to confront the Terminator in the 'flesh'. Paxton was the punk with the blue spiky hairdo.

Personal Quotes

It's very liberating to be naked in front of a hundred people, but there's nothing sexual about lovemaking on a movie set...

. . . but it was movies I had always wanted to be in. I'm into the whole thing, not just performing. I love watching what goes on behind the camera. My heroes are Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd -- complete filmmakers.

I want people to re-evaluate me. My dream would be to make films like Clint Eastwood did... You have to be a self-starter out here at a certain point. It's important to take the reigns or, otherwise, you can be regaled to obscurity so quickly.

I've always loved movies about con men. I think con men are as American as apple pie.

I support the troops. This is tough time right now. I think a lot of people in our industry are afraid to speak out. I had a drink with Sean Penn the other night. He went over to Baghdad in December just to see for himself what was going on. And that guy is as American as anybody I ever met.

[on auditioning for The Doors (1991)] I read my ass off. At the time I was doing Navy Seals (1990) and I flew up with short hair and a mustache to read for the lead. [Oliver Stone's] response was, "Well, I just don't see it".

[on James Cameron] This guy has more integrity than anyone I ever met in my life.

Where Are They Now

(September 2003) Appeared on Limp Bizkit's video "Eat You Alive".