Robert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor.
He is well known for his work in the science fiction genre, and is a Saturn Award winner.
Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked his interest in acting, receiving
his first professional acting job in the 1986 television film Eye of the Eagle.
He went on to appear in supporting roles in such films as Die Hard 2, Terminator 2: Judgment
Day, Wayne's World, Last Action Hero, Fire in the Sky, Cop Land, The Faculty, Walk the
Line, We Are Marshall, Bridge to Terabithia, Spy Kids, and Flags of Our Fathers.
He also starred in such television shows as The Sopranos, The Outer Limits, Elvis, The
Unit, The X-Files, Last Resort and From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series.
Patrick is described as someone who has "developed a solid reputation within the industry", with
critics, fans, and co-stars alike praising his "work ethic, personality, and consistent
performances".
Early life Patrick, the oldest of five siblings, was
born in Marietta, Georgia, the son of Nadine and Robert Patrick, Sr., a banker.
His siblings are Richard Patrick, Cheri, Karen, and Lewis.
He spent his early life in Bay Village, a small suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, while he
moved around the country.
Patrick did not start to pursue an acting career until his mid-twenties.
During his childhood years, Patrick did not like to act.
In third grade he refused to wear a pair of green tights required for Peter Pan.
He graduated from Farmington High School in Farmington, MI in 1977.
Patrick was a track and field and football athlete at Bowling Green State University,
although he dropped out before graduating when he found interest in drama and acting.
After leaving college, Patrick secured a position as a house painter and continued as such until
a boating accident in 1984 in Lake Erie.
He swam for three hours in order to save the others still stranded on the accident site,
nearly drowning in the attempt.
After the accident, he moved from Ohio to Los Angeles, California at the age of 26.
His main income during the first years was as a bartender, and he often lived in his
car.
Patrick was then picked up for various small roles and cameos in low budget films.
Looking back, Patrick credited his early appearances in films for his "tough-looking exterior".
Career Early work
Prior to starring in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Patrick made a short appearance in Die
Hard 2 as the main villain's henchman.
In 1990, he was cast in the role of T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
James Cameron, the director of the film, said he chose Patrick for the role because of his
physical appearance, which he felt fit the role.
During the filming of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Patrick was "broke", living in a cheap
apartment with his girlfriend, Barbara, whom he married during filming of Terminator 2:
Judgment Day.
He has credited the film with starting his career.
After Terminator, Patrick landed roles in various feature films such as Last Action
Hero, Fire in the Sky and Striptease.
Because of his fondness for martial arts, Patrick starred in two martial arts films
titled Double Dragon and Hong Kong 97, both released in 1994.
His performance in Fire in the Sky caught the attention of The X-Files creator, Chris
Carter.
After David Duchovny distanced himself from the show during the seventh season, Carter
immediately contacted Patrick to audition for the role of John Doggett.
Patrick's brother, Richard, had previously worked for the series by adding music for
the soundtrack album The X-Files: The Album.
Patrick was cast as Doggett in 2000.
The X-Files was canceled two seasons later, after Duchovny left the show following season
7, which resulted in low ratings for the show.
Patrick made several appearances on many genre magazines, with TV Guide going so far as to
label him one of the Ten Sexiest Men of Sci-Fi.
In 2000, Patrick appeared in three episodes of The Sopranos as David Scatino, a store
owner struggling with gambling debts owed to Richie Aprile and Tony Soprano.
Four years later, he made a guest appearance in the pilot episodes for Sci-Fi Channel's
original series Stargate Atlantis, "Rising", as the military component commander of the
Atlantis expedition, Marshall Sumner.
He accepted the role, since he had worked with the same crew on The Outer Limits, a
show which he appeared in during the early 1990s.
Later work
Patrick played Johnny Cash's father, Ray Cash, in the Academy Award-winning film Walk the
Line and Elvis's father, Vernon Presley in the Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning TV
miniseries Elvis.
He had a regular role on The Unit, and played Elvis Presley in Lonely Street.
In October 2006, he starred in the WWE Films production The Marine as Rome.
He also appeared in We Are Marshall as Marshall University head coach Rick Tolley, who lost
his life when Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed in 1970.
His credits also include a guest starring role in the Lost episode "Outlaws", as well
as a recurring role as the voice of Master Piandao in the third season of the Nickelodeon
animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
He has also appeared in Meat Loaf's "Objects in the Rear View Mirror" music video with
Will Estes.
Director McG, who directed Terminator: Salvation, said that he wanted to reintroduce characters
from the previous Terminator films: "I like the idea and the perspective for the next
picture that you meet Robert Patrick the way he looks today, and he's a scientist that's
working on, you know, improving cell replication so we can stay healthier and we can cure diabetes
and do all these things that sound like good ideas, and to once again live as idealized
expressions as ourselves."
Patrick also starred in the psychological thriller The Black Water of Echo's Pond, which
was directed by Italian filmmaker Gabriel Bologna.
In recent years, he has appeared in several TV shows like Burn Notice, NCIS, and True
Blood, among others.
From 2012 to 2013, he also starred in Last Resort as Chief of the Boat Joseph Prosser.
He played a supporting character in Identity Thief in 2013.
Since 2014, he also starred in Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series as Jacob Fuller.
Personal life Patrick married actress Barbara Hooper during
the filming of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Patrick and Barbara have appeared together in various media releases such as Zero Tolerance
and The X-Files.
He has two children, a son, Samuel, and a daughter, Austin.
Almost every year, he does the Love Ride, a charity motorcycle ride held annually in
Southern California.
His brother is Richard Patrick, former guitarist of Nine Inch Nails and lead singer of the
rock bands Filter and Army of Anyone.
On 22 October 2010, the brothers sang guest vocals on the Filter song "So I Quit" on stage
in Dallas, Texas.
Filmography Film
Television Video games
Awards and nominations References
External links Robert Patrick at the Internet Movie Database
Robert Patrick on Twitter Robert Patrick bio at CBS, The Unit