Born November 5, 1958 in Marietta, Georgia, Robert Hammond Patrick Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows.
The eldest of five children, Robert was raised in Ohio. He is the son of Nadine and Robert Patrick Sr., a banker. His siblings are Richard (who is the lead singer for the rock band, Filter), 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 graduated from Farmington High School in Farmington, Michigan in 1977. In 1979, he attended the Bowling Green State University in Ohio but dropped out after he took a drama course and became interested in acting. He took a job as a house painter before moving to Los Angeles. It took more than a few sacrifices — a then 26-year-old Patrick lived in his car and tended bar for his major source of income — but the young actor found himself playing small roles in various low-budget films, which he credited to his tough-looking exterior and motorcycle-riding abilities.
It would not be long before he landed a role as a beatnik in the play “Go”. From there it was on to a string of no-budget Roger Corman-produced cheapies that allowed Patrick to earn his Screen Actors Guild card. In “Warlords from Hell” (1987) he made his debut as a psychotic biker, following that with a turn as another madman in the “Mad Max” rip-off, “Equalizer 2000″ (1987), and Vietnam-era soldiers in “Eye of the Eagle” (1987) and “Behind Enemy Lines” (1988). When action-helmer Renny Harlin put him in a small role as a terrorist in the sequel to the Bruce Willis blockbuster “Die Hard 2: Die Harder” (1990), it seemed Patrick was finally poised to get some recognition.
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 was needed for the role. The mega-hit film broke Patrick into fame. After Terminator, Patrick landed roles in various films such as Last Action Hero, Fire in the Sky (both 1993) and Striptease (1996). 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. Patrick was cast as John Doggett in 2000, and to the surprise of many, his portrayal was met with much positive response from critics and fans alike. Because of the success of The X-Files, 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.
Patrick also appeared in several high-profile features, including the neo-western “All the Pretty Horses” (2000) as Matt Damon’s father, Robert Rodriguez’s family adventure “Spy Kids” (2001), and the mind-numbing “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” (2003). Patrick also managed to land a meatier role as a firefighter in the film “Ladder 49″ (2003) opposite Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta. 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.
In October 2006, he starred in the WWE Films production The Marine as Rome, the villain of the story. He also appeared in We Are Marshall as Marshall University head coach Rick Tolley, who lost his life when Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed 4,219 feet short of Huntington Tri-State Airport’s runway in 1970. His credits also include a guest-starring role in a single episode of Lost, 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.
It was a busy year for Patrick when he next joined the top-notch ensemble cast of “Flags of Our Fathers” (2006), a World War II epic directed by Clint Eastwood, focusing on the three surviving U.S. servicemen who raised the American flag during the brutal battle for Iwo Jima. From there Patrick moved on to roles in the critically praised fantasy adventure “Bridge to Terabithia” (2007), and the not-so-critically praised ping-pong comedy, “Balls of Fury” (2007). He had an odd cameo in the truly bizarre George Clooney comedy “The Men Who Start at Goats” (2009), in addition to a part in yet another low-budget horror movie, “The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond” (2010). However, in 2010 he was once again given a recurring role on an acclaimed cable series, this time playing Bud Mayberry on the Mormon melodrama, “Big Love” (HBO, 2005- ).
Patrick married actress Barbara Patrick during the filming of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He has two children, a son, Samuel, and a daughter, Austin (named after the police officer the T-1000 impersonates in “Terminator 2).
Robert Patrick Photo Gallery
