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Bill Paxton

ACTOR · BORN 1955 · DIED 2017

Bill Paxton

Born
17 May 1955, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Died
25 February 2017
Known for
The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Circle (2017), Near Dark (1987)

27 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

Bill Paxton (17 May 1955 – 25 February 2017) was an actor best known for The Terminator, Aliens and The Circle.

27 Interesting Facts About Bill Paxton

Interesting Facts (7)

  1. #001

    At just eight, Bill Paxton witnessed history: on the morning of November 22, 1963, as President John F. Kennedy left the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, Texas, Paxton can be clearly seen in photos of the crowd, waving from a spectator's shoulders, pictures now displayed at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, made all the more poignant by Kennedy's assassination in Dallas later that day.

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  2. #002

    Bill Paxton was a member of the 1980s experimental New Wave band Martini Ranch, and James Cameron directed the video for their song 'Reach,' featuring Cameron regulars such as Kathryn Bigelow, Lance Henriksen and Jenette Goldstein, proof of how deep their friendship ran.

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  3. #003

    Bill Paxton explained why his character's axe has 'OTIS' on the handle: he wanted it to have its own personality. While scouting locations in Pasadena, he met a homeless man and offered him money, but the man didn't want charity, so Paxton offered to pay for the right to use his name in the film instead. The man's name was Otis.

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  4. #004

    After his death in 2017, Bill Paxton was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) in Los Angeles, California, the resting place of many famous names, where fans still visit his grave.

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  5. #005

    In 2003, Bill Paxton played a sheriff in Limp Bizkit's video for 'Eat You Alive,' from the album Results May Vary, a brief but striking cameo.

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  6. #006

    After Sean Penn turned it down, Bill Paxton was briefly set to play Bobby Cooper in U Turn (1997), but he left about a week before shooting, and luckily Penn became available and took the role after all.

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  7. #007

    Tony Blackburn noted on his Sounds of the 60s program on 18 March 2017 that Bill Paxton's performance in Club Dread (2004) has rhythmic echoes of Heinz Burt's 1963 song 'Just like Eddie.'

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Behind the Scenes (7)

  1. #008

    In his youth, Bill Paxton caddied for golf legend Ben Hogan in Fort Worth. The experience was far more than an ordinary job spent on golf courses; the time he spent with a master like Hogan taught Paxton important lessons in discipline and professionalism. This period was influential in shaping his character and left its mark on his later career.

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  2. #009

    For his role in the 1993 film Tombstone, Bill Paxton trained with the famous Hollywood gun coach Thell Reed. Reed had also trained many well-known actors, including Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Biehn and Ben Foster. The training increased the realism of Paxton's performance in the western genre and helped him take part in one of the era's best action scenes.

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  3. #010

    In 1982, Bill Paxton was the co-writer and producer of the short film Scoop. The film won an Honorable Mention at the 1983 USA Film Festival.

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  4. #011

    One of Bill Paxton's favorite magazines was MAD. He was very excited to learn that Aliens had been parodied in the magazine, but was disappointed to see that his character was drawn with a chicken head and face instead of his own.

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  5. #012

    Two characters portrayed by Bill Paxton stood out for their connections to storms. In One False Move (1991), Dale Dixon was nicknamed 'Hurricane'; in Twister (1996), Bill Harding was called 'The Extreme' because of his passion for storm chasing.

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  6. #013

    Bill Paxton improvised his unforgettable line in Aliens (1986): 'Game over, man! Game over!' The line has been referenced countless times in popular culture and became one of the most iconic moments of Paxton's career. This improvisation is proof of his acting ability and his instinct on set.

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  7. #014

    Bill Paxton turned down the role of Abraham 'Abe' Ernswiler in the 2003 film The Battle of Shaker Heights; the role went to William Sadler. The film dealt with the difficulties in a young man's life. Paxton's rejection of this offer led his career to take a different direction.

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Characters & Cast (3)

  1. #015

    Bill Paxton had almost closed a deal for the lead in Darkman (1990) and told his close friend Liam Neeson about his audition, but Neeson got the role, and Paxton was so furious he didn't speak to him for months, though they later made up.

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  2. #016

    Bill Paxton was first choice for Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code (2006), but he was under contract to HBO's Big Love and turned it down, and the role went to Tom Hanks, who, as it happens, was an executive producer of Big Love.

    Bill Paxton — Tom House
    Bill Paxton: Tom HouseImage: Wikimedia Commons · Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0

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  3. #017

    Bill Paxton was first choice for Mo in Hardware (1990) and loved the script, but the production companies, Miramax and Palace Pictures, didn't know who he was and never contacted his manager, so he signed on to Navy Seals (1990) instead, and the role went to Dylan McDermott.

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Career & Awards (6)

  1. #018

    With his career slowing, Bill Paxton asked to join the promotional tour for 2 Guns (2013) to get back in the spotlight, and it worked: he went on to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013) and the sci-fi hit Edge of Tomorrow (2014).

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  2. #019

    Having worked with John Hughes on Weird Science (1985), Bill Paxton turned down the garage attendant in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), thinking the part too small, a decision he regretted, since Hughes never offered him another role.

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  3. #020

    Bill Paxton was offered Sergeant Proctor in Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) but turned it down because the contract covered future sequels, taking a role in Aliens (1986) instead, while the part went to Lance Kinsey.

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  4. #021

    Before acting, Bill Paxton worked as a parking attendant to get by in his lean early years in Hollywood, a time he never forgot.

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  5. #022

    In July 1999, Bill Paxton agreed to star in 'Mexicali,' a script by Paul T. Scheuring and Christian Gudegast about a retired stuntman who, on a trip to Mexico's west coast with his wife, witnesses a drug cartel murder and, separated from her, goes on the run from the smugglers; it was sold to Destination Films but never made.

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  6. #023

    Bill Paxton was a seventh cousin of actress Sara Paxton, a little-known family connection.

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Life & Family (4)

  1. #024

    While working on Texas Rising (2015), Bill Paxton discovered he was related to Texas legend Sam Houston: "Sam Houston and I share common great-great grandparents going back six generations. His mother would be my great aunt. That makes Sam Houston and me second cousins four times removed."

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  2. #025

    Bill Paxton and Glenne Headly played Emma Watson's character's parents in The Circle (2017), released in April 2017, after Paxton had died in February and before Headly died in June; it was Paxton's last film, while Headly had one more, Just Getting Started (2017).

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  3. #026

    Bill Paxton's paternal grandfather was a friend and neighbor of American painter Thomas Hart Benton, which may help explain Paxton's own interest in art.

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  4. #027

    MAD was one of Bill Paxton's favorite magazines, and he was thrilled when it parodied Aliens, until he saw his character drawn with a chicken's head instead of his own face.

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Related pages

  • Spider-Man — Bill Paxton comes up in the facts on that page
  • A Simple Plan — Bill Paxton comes up in the facts on that page

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
  • IMDb IMDb name page (biography and trivia)

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