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Bill Paxton




William "Bill" Paxton (born May 17 , 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas ) is an American Actor and Film Director . He is a son of John Lane Paxton (an occasional actor) and Mary Lou Paxton.

Distinctive and memorable characters that Paxton has played include the sneering older brother Chet in John Hughes ' '' Weird Science ''; Hudson, the loud-mouthed space soldier in James Cameron 's '' Aliens '' ("Game over, man! Game over!"); astronaut Fred Haise in Ron Howard 's '' Apollo 13 ''; the sadistic vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow 's film '' Near Dark ''; and a tornado researcher opposite Helen Hunt in the blockbuster '' Twister ''.

Paxton moved to Los Angeles at 18 and began working for director Roger Corman as a set designer on his films. Exposure to films and actors at that age influenced his decision to pursue acting and led Paxton to relocate to New York City , where he studied with Stella Adler .

In addition to his acting career, Paxton has directed a number of short films, including '' Fish Heads '', which made a splash on '' Saturday Night Live '' in 1982 . He has also moved into directing feature films with '' Frailty '' and '' The Greatest Game Ever Played ''. He was also a member of the band Martini Ranch .

He is currently seen in the HBO drama '' Big Love '' as the head of a Polygamous family in Utah.

Paxton claims the unusual distinction of being the only actor to be killed, on-screen, once each by an Alien , a Predator and a Terminator ''.


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