Who is Will Patton? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: William Rankin Patton

Age: 69 Years, 69 Year Old Males

Family:

father: Bill Patton

mother: Jan Patton

Actors American Men

Height: 5'10" (178 cm), 5'10" Males

Notable Alumni: The Actors' Studio, University Of North Carolina School Of The Arts

U.S. State: South Carolina

City: Charleston, South Carolina

More Facts

education: North Carolina School Of The Arts, University Of North Carolina School Of The Arts, The Actors' Studio

awards: Obie Award for Performance

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Career

After graduating from college, Will Patton went to hone his craft at the ‘The Actor’s Studio’ in New York City. He studied theatre and drama under Joseph Chaikin before embarking on a career as a stage actor in New York. He made his Off-Broadway debut in the production of ‘Salt Lake City Skyline’ in 1980. Perhaps there can be no better confirmation of his on-stage success than his two Obie Awards. He won them for the plays ‘Fool for Love’ (1983) and ‘What Did He See?’ (1988).

Patton made his movie debut with a small role in the thriller ‘Minus Zero’ in 1979. A year later, he followed that up with his television debut in the TV movie ‘Kent State’. In the next year, he first appeared in an episode of the series ‘CBS Library’, and then delivered a critically acclaimed performance as Ox Knowles in the soap opera ‘Ryan’s Hope’ (1982 - 1983). His performance on the latter show opened up many doors for him.

In 1983, he was seen in a number of movies like ‘Variety’ and ‘King Blank’, which failed to perform at the box office. The same year, however, saw him act in his first commercial and critical hit - the ‘Academy Award’-nominated biographical movie ‘Silkwood’ (1983). What followed was a string of moderately successful movies like ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ (1985) and ‘After Hours’ (1985). His next film was ‘Belizaire the Cajun’ (1986), which turned out to be one of the worst movies of his career. The 1987 political thriller movie ‘No Way Out’ turned out to be one of Patton’s biggest blockbusters. Not only did he earn critical acclaim for his portrayal of the villain Scott Prichard in the movie, but also established himself as a Hollywood star. Following that, he went on to work in some of his biggest critical successes. ‘A Shock to the System’ (1990), ‘Bright Angel’ (1990), ‘The Rapture’ (1991) and ‘In the Soup’ (1992) are some of his most-acclaimed movie performances, even though the films could not perform very well commercially.

Throughout his career, Patton has never been scared of taking chances and continued to appear in independent movies alongside mainstream Hollywood productions. Therefore, he managed to deliver some top-grossing movies like ‘The Client’ (1994), ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ (1999), ‘Remember the Titans’ (2000), ‘The Mothman Prophecies’ (2002) and ‘The Fourth Kind’ (2009). In recent years, his films like ‘The Scent of Rain and Lightning’ (2017) and ‘Halloween’ (2018) have received rave reviews.

Patton has simultaneously had an extremely successful career on TV. He had recurring roles in ‘Search for Tomorrow’ (1984 – 1985), ‘VR.5’ (1995 – 1997), ‘The Agency’ (2001 – 2003) and ‘Numb3rs’ (2006 – 2007). His portrayal of Captain Dan Weaver on the TV series ‘Falling Skies’ (2011 – 2015) can be considered his best-known role up until now. Recently, he was seen on the TV series ‘The Good Wife’ (2016), in addition to landing a lead role on DC’s TV series ‘Swamp Thing’ (2019).

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Controversies & Scandals

Will Patton was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol near his home in Palms, South Carolina on February 24, 2015. He failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a Datamaster blood alcohol test. He was released after furnishing a personal bond of $997 the next day.

Family & Personal Life

Will Patton was born as William Rankin Patton in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, on June 14, 1954. His father Bill Patton is a Lutheran minister, while his mother Jan Patton’s profession is unknown. While growing up, he was exposed to art and drama by his father who was an acclaimed playwright and acting & directing instructor as well.

Patton studied arts and drama at the ‘North Carolina School of the Arts’ in Winston-Salem. Throughout his acting career, he has kept his dating life away from the prying eyes of the media. Therefore, there were speculations of him being gay. However, he is straight, but it is not known whether he is married or dating anyone.

Will Patton Biography