A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Will Patton | |
---|---|
Born | William Rankin Patton June 14, 1954 [not verified in body] |
Occupation(s) | Actor, narrator |
Years active | 1981–present[not verified in body] |
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series Falling Skies.[1] He also appeared in the films The Client (1994), Armageddon (1998), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Remember the Titans (2000), The Punisher (2004), American Honey, Halloween, and Minari (2020).[2] He appeared opposite Kevin Costner in two films: No Way Out (1987) and The Postman (1997), as well as having a guest role in seasons 3 and 4 of Costner's Paramount Network series Yellowstone (2020–2022). Patton also played Deputy Marnes in season 1 of the 2023 TV series Silo.
Patton was nominated alongside castmates for his ensemble work in Minari and Yellowstone at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2020 and 2021,[3][4] and won two Obie Awards for Best Actor in Sam Shepard's play Fool for Love and the Public Theater production of What Did He See?.[5]
Early life
William Rankin Patton was born on June 14, 1954 in Charleston, South Carolina,[6] the eldest of three children. His father, Bill Patton, was a playwright and acting/directing instructor who was a Lutheran minister and served as a chaplain at Duke University.[7][8] Patton was raised on a farm, where his parents ran a foster home for wayward teenagers.[7]
Career
Theater
Patton had lead roles in Sam Shepard's play Fool for Love and in the Public Theater production of What Did He See?.[5]
Film and television
Patton portrayed the evil antagonist in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and had a significant role in No Way Out (1987) opposite Kevin Costner,[7] his first major film. He went on to play the role of General Bethlehem, again opposite Kevin Costner, in the 1997 The Postman.[9] He portrayed coach Bill Yoast in Remember the Titans (2000),[10] and FBI agent Melvin Purvis in the 1991 made-for-television film Dillinger,[11] before a supporting actor performance in Armageddon (1998). Patton performed the role of Alan Wilson for five episodes on the TV show 24 (2009).
Patton also appeared in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000),[12] The Punisher (2004),[13] and Minari (2020). Patton had a guest role in seasons 3 and 4 of Costner's Paramount Network series Yellowstone (2020-2022).[14]
Patton portrayed the character of Sam Conroy in the film American Violet (2008).[15] From 2011 to 2015, he starred as Colonel Weaver in the TNT sci-fi television series Falling Skies, executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. In 2018, Patton portrayed Officer Frank Hawkins in the horror reboot of Halloween,[16] and reprised his role in its two Halloween sequels, Halloween Kills (2021)[17] and Halloween Ends (2022).[18] He also portrayed Avery Sunderland in the DC Universe TV series, Swamp Thing in 2019.[19]
Patton's Yellowstone lead, Kevin Costner, identified Patton in May 2023 as an actor that will join him again, this time in Horizon, a "Civil War saga" based on four scripts which Costner intends to write, direct, and act in, covering a 15-year period of "pre- and post-Civil War... settlement of the American west".[20]
Audio books
Patton provided the voice for the audio version of Al Gore's 2007 The Assault on Reason.[when?][citation needed] He recorded the audio version for 22 books[clarification needed] written by best-selling mystery writer James Lee Burke.[when?][citation needed] He has recorded more than 45 audiobooks.
Critical reception
This section needs expansion with: a complete, source-derived summary of the published critical commentary on this actor's body of work. You can help by adding to it. (May 2023) |
Patton's acting work has been noted, critically and by colleagues. Speaking with regard to Patton's presence in the Yellowstone cast, executive producer and fellow cast member Kevin Costner "praise" Patton as "very dynamic in his own way, formidable and detailed", adding that he was "a fantastic actor" and that "t was good to see Will on the set."[21]
Awards and recognition
Patton won two Obie Awards for best actor for his theatrical performances in Fool for Love[22] and What Did He See?.[23] He was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Postman (1997).[citation needed]
More recently, Patton was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 27th SAG Awards alongside his fellow cast members, for their work in Minari (2020),[3] and for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 28th SAG Awards alongside his fellow cast members, for their work in Yellowstone (in 2021).[4]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Variety | Mark | |
King Blank | Bar Customer | ||
Silkwood | Joe | ||
1985 | The Beniker Gang | Forest Ranger | |
Desperately Seeking Susan | Wayne Nolan | ||
After Hours | Horst | ||
1986 | Chinese Boxes | Lang Marsh | |
Belizaire the Cajun | Matthew Perry | ||
1987 | No Way Out | Scott Pritchard | |
1988 | Wildfire | Mike | |
Stars and Bars | Duane Gage | ||
1989 | Signs of Life | Mr. Coughlin | |
1990 | Everybody Wins | Jerry | |
A Shock to the System | Lieutenant Laker | ||
Bright Angel | Woody | Uncredited[24] | |
1991 | The Rapture | Deputy Foster | |
Cold Heaven | Father Niles | ||
1992 | In the Soup | 'Skippy' | |
1993 | The Paint Job | Wesley | |
Midnight Edition | Jack Travers | ||
Romeo Is Bleeding | Martie | ||
1994 | Tollbooth | Dash Pepper | |
Natural Causes | Michael Murphy | ||
Judicial Consent | Alan Warwick | [25] | |
The Client | Sergeant Hardy | ||
The Puppet Masters | Dr. Graves | ||
1995 | Copycat | Inspector Nicoletti | |
1996 | Plain Pleasures | ||
The Spitfire Grill | Nahum Goddard | [26] | |
Fled | Detective Matthew 'Gib' Gibson | [27] | |
1997 | Inventing the Abbotts | Lloyd Abbott | |
Hounddogg | |||
This World, Then the Fireworks | Lieutenant Morgan | ||
The Postman | General Bethlehem | Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor[citation needed] | |
1998 | OK Garage | Sean | |
Armageddon | Charles 'Chick' Chapple | ||
I Woke Up Early the Day I Died | Preacher | ||
1999 | Breakfast of Champions | 'Moe' The Truck Driver | |
Entrapment | Hector Cruz | ||
Jesus' Son | John Smith | ||
2000 | Gone in 60 Seconds | Atley Jackson | |
Trixie | W. 'Red' Rafferty | ||
Remember the Titans | Coach Bill Yoast | ||
2002 | The Mothman Prophecies | Gordon Smallwood | |
2004 | The Punisher | Quentin Glass | |
2006 | Road House 2 | Nate Tanner | |
2007 | Code Name: The Cleaner | Riley | |
A Mighty Heart | DSS Special Agent Randall Bennett | ||
The List | Michael Harriston | ||
Dog Days of Summer | Eli Cottonmouth | ||
2008 | Wendy and Lucy | The Mechanic | |
American Violet | Sam Conroy | ||
Lucky Days | J.C. | ||
2009 | Barbarian Princess | Sanford B. Dole | |
Looking at Animals | Raymond | ||
The Canyon | Henry | [28] | |
The Fourth Kind | Sheriff August | ||
Waking Madison | Madison's Father | ||
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond | Old Man Dobyne | ||
2010 | Brooklyn's Finest | Lieutenant Bill Hobarts | |
Meek's Cutoff | Solomon Tetherow | ||
Knucklehead | Vic Sullivan | [29] | |
2012 | The Girl | Tommy | |
Abigail Harm | The Visitor / Narrator | ||
2014 | The November Man | Perry Weinstein | |
2016 | American Honey | Backseat Cowboy | |
2017 | The Scent of Rain and Lightning | Senior | |
Megan Leavey | Jim | ||
2018 | Boarding School | Dr. Sherman | |
An Actor Prepares | Wisdom | ||
Halloween | Deputy Frank Hawkins | ||
2019 | Blood on Her Name | Richard Tiller | |
Hammer | Stephen Davis | ||
Radioflash | Frank | ||
2020 | Minari | Paul | Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture[3] |
2021 | The Devil Below | Schuttmann | |
The Forever Purge | Caleb Tucker | ||
Halloween Kills | Deputy Frank Hawkins | ||
2022 | Halloween Ends | ||
2023 | Janet Planet | Wayne | |
2024 | Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 | Owen Kittredge | Post-production[30] |
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 | Post-production | ||
TBA | You Can't Win | Foot and A Half George | Post-production |