Bill Paxton
American actor and filmmaker (1955-2017) · United States · Actors · Died at 61
Bill Paxton is read about 5,406 times a day, in 65 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
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Something wrong?He's the only actor killed on-screen by a Terminator, an Alien, and a Predator - but that trivia undersells the range. Bill Paxton built a thirty-year career on making ordinary guys caught in extraordinary situations feel completely real.
A life in dates
The CircleFilm, 2017Vinnie Holland2015
Texas RisingSeries, Sam Houston2014
Edge of TomorrowFilm, Master Sergeant Farell2011
HaywireFilm, John Kane2010
Overheard with Evan SmithSeries2006
Big LoveSeries, Bill Henrickson2005
The Greatest Game Ever PlayedFilm, Director2003
Ghosts of the AbyssFilm2000
U-571Film, Lt. Cmdr. Mike Dahlgren1997
The ViewSeries
TitanicFilm, 1997Brock Lovett1996Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureAward
TwisterFilm, 1996Bill1994
True LiesFilm, Simon1992
One False MoveFilm, Dale "Hurricane" Dixon1989
Tales from the CryptSeries, Billy DeLuca
Next of KinFilm, 1989Gerald Gates1987
Near DarkFilm, Severen1986
FresnoSeries, Billy Joe Bobb1985
CommandoFilm, Intercept Officer1984
Miami ViceSeries, Vic Romano1981
StripesFilm, Soldier1975
Saturday Night LiveSeries, Director1955Born17 May 1955Also in Deutsch
Photos 4
Filmography 40
TCThe Circle
TLTerm Life
NINightcrawlerETEdge of Tomorrow
MAMillion Dollar Arm
GU2 Guns
TCThe Colony
PAParklandHAHaywireTPThe Greatest Game Ever Played
CDClub Dread
THThunderbirds
HAHaven
SOSpy Kids 3-D: Game OverGAGhosts of the Abyss
SDSpy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
FRFrailty
VLVertical LimitUU-571
MYMighty Joe Young
APA Simple PlanTITitanicTWTwister
APApollo 13
TSThe Last SupperTLTrue Lies
TOTombstone
BHBoxing Helena
TRTrespassOMOne False Move
PRPredator 2
NSNavy SealsNKNext of KinNDNear Dark
ALAliensCOCommando
WSWeird Science
TTThe Terminator
SFStreets of FireSTStripes141 credits on file
Television 24
TUThe Movies That Made Us
TDTraining DayTRTexas Rising
MDMarvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
HMHatfields & McCoys
WAWho Do You Think You Are?OSOverheard with Evan Smith
LFLate Night with Jimmy FallonBLBig LoveTVThe View
FRFrasier
TLThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno
HLHBO First LookTCTales from the Crypt
AEAmerican ExperienceFRFresno
TMThe Atlanta Child MurdersMVMiami Vice
THThe HitchhikerSLSaturday Night Live
TCThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
GAGolden Globe AwardsAwards
Family
Bill PaxtonPartners
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Born in Texas in 1955, Paxton moved through bit parts in the early eighties before James Cameron cast him as a panicky Colonial Marine in Aliens, launching a collaboration that spanned four films. The Texan drawl and lived-in presence made him a natural for ensemble disaster pictures - he chased tornadoes in Twister, fought U-boats in U-571, rode out Apollo 13's near-catastrophe - and darker turns in A Simple Plan and his own directorial debut Frailty showed he could carry weight. HBO's Big Love gave him a lead role as a polygamist husband trying to hold three families together, earning three Golden Globe nominations across five seasons. He died in February 2017, a month shy of sixty-two, following complications from heart surgery.
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