Bill Paxton - film actor, screenwriter, producer, director

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Bill Paxton, known to the world in several guises: film actor, screenwriter, producer, director and artist, was born in mid-May in the family of an actor and businesswoman living in the town of Fort Worth, Texas, US.

Childhood and adolescence

Paxton was brought up in an exemplary orthodox Catholic family, his parents are ardent adherents of religion. Nevertheless, Bill Paxton grew up as an ordinary child, not thinking about an acting career. After graduating from school, the young man enters the Texas University of San Marcos. After his successful graduation, he goes to Los Angeles and, thanks to a lucky chance, gets a job as a designer on the creative team of film director Roger Corman. Watching what is happening on the set, a recent graduate of the design faculty thinks about acting and acting career. The first step in this direction can be a quick move to New York and private mastery lessons from specialist Stella Adler. In parallel with his studies, Bill Paxton begins to actively attend all announced film auditions. Not disdaining to use the existing connections in the film industry, the novice talent receives the firstroles.

Intense 80s

Until the 80s of the last century, Bill did not manage to get significant roles, the exception can be considered the project of Jonathan Demme "Crazy Mom" and a number of music videos. But that was not what Bill Paxton was aiming for. The films, in which the actor starred after a long break, captured him only in episodic roles: "Talking with Tiger Rock", "Reluctant Volunteers", "Cemetery", "Lords of Discipline", "Night Warning", "Great Day", "Impulse "and TV series:" Hitchhiker "," Miami Vice: Vice Department ". Paxton brought more prominent roles in 1984. The actor gets into the casting of two legendary action films at once - James Cameron's "Terminator", where he played one of the gang members, and "Commandos".

Breakthrough

The actor's breakthrough is considered to be the role of Private Hudson, which was played in the second part of "Alien" by Bill Paxton. "Aliens" attracted the attention of not only ordinary viewers, but also figures in the film industry of all stripes. The texture and skill of reincarnation of Paxton were noticed, appreciated, and finally, proposals fell on the actor one after another. The first was the role of a vampire in Kathryn Bigelow's dramatic horror film It's Almost Dark, in which the whole story was built on the adventures of a clan of vampires who traveled across the country in stolen cars, satisfying their bloodlust. The unpretentious plot blossomed thanks to the cast of the film. Half of the cast migrated from Aliens to Catherine Bigeloy's project. They were able to implementOn the screen, the most important element of the author's idea is the feeling of unity of the clan, vampires who have been living together for a long time. This was followed by supporting roles in the films: Predator 2, Apollo 13, Elena in a Box, Tornado, True Lies. Bill Paxton, in addition to working in cinema, starred in various TV series, took part in television shows. One of his favorite roles, according to the actor, for him was the character of a treasure hunter in the movie "Titanic".

Classic in its purest form

In the drama "Titanic" Bill Paxton played the role of a treasure hunter who repeatedly descended to the bottom of the ocean in search of relics from the board of the most famous ship. The film's unprecedented triumph, largely due to the tenacity of writer-director-producer James Cameron, was no accident. The casting of the picture played an important role in the widespread and resounding success of "Titanic". Four years after the release of the drama, James Cameron, with a group of like-minded people, including Bill Paxton (the films in which the actor starred are not limited to the “artistic” category), organizes a real sea expedition to the place of the grandiose liner sinking. Later, after analyzing the footage, Cameron releases a documentary about her expedition with Paxton.

Main Role

In 2006, the actor became the star of the television series "Big Love", which is broadcast for a decent amount of time from 2006 to 2011 (5 seasons). The plot of the soap opera famouslyrevolves around the incompatibility of the way of life of the Mormon sect and American sanctimonious morality. All events take place in S alt Lake City (Utah). There exists a sect of Mormons, famous for the tradition of polygamy. Here is one of the families of the sect and becomes the heroes of the series. The head of the family, Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), his official "public" wife Barbara (Jeann Tripplehorn), the unofficial second Nicolette (Chloe Sevigny) and the third wife Margin (Jennifer Goodwin) go through life hand in hand, fighting off enemies, jointly solving problems and raising common children.

Modernity

At the moment, the actor does not stop his creative activity, actively acting in various projects. An example is Doug Liman's Edge of Tomorrow project, Bill Paxton starred in it with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The picture is saturated with events so densely, as if compressed, so the viewer does not have time even for a short break. The plot narrative can be described with one verb: drive, breathe, hold, run. Individual details are explained in the process. Thematic dialogues are almost completely excluded, so Master Sergeant Farrell, the hero of Bill Paxton, a martinet to the marrow of his bones, thinks and speaks in solid slogans and appeals. Individual shortcomings made by the creators are covered by an impeccable inexorable insane action component and impeccable visualization.