Top 10 Bill Paxton Movie Roles Ever

The world lost the late, great Bill Paxton in 2017, but the beloved actor’s legacy lives on through his many performances. Paxton always shined in every single role he ever took on, and we particularly love him in these ten films…

Editor’s Note: This article was updated with more recent information, links, and/or images in November 2024.

Chet
Weird Science (1985)

From writer and director John Hughes, the 1985 sci-fi movie Weird Science is a bona fide classic. The film focuses on two nerdy teenagers (Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan-Mitchell Smith) who create a digital woman named Lisa with apparent superpowers (Kelly LeBrock). Perhaps no movie symbolizes the ’80s decade any better than this film.

In the movie, Bill Paxton plays Chet, the older brother of one of the slackers. Paxton plays the part of the bully very well and is hilariously entertaining despite being a total jerk. He is memorably transformed into literal excrement by Lisa because of his behavior, leading him to apologize to his brother profusely.

If you’ve seen the scene, you’ll never forget it.

Private Hudson
Aliens (1986)

Written and directed by James Cameron, Aliens is the first sequel to Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic Alien. Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, a survivor of the first film, where she joins a crew of space marines to take on the deadly Xenomorphs. The movie has received universal acclaim and is arguably even better than the amazing original.

Related: Top 10 Robert Englund Roles (Besides Freddy Krueger)

In addition to Weaver, Aliens has a very strong cast. Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, and Michael Biehn are among some of the film’s other stars. Of course, Paxton has a prominent role in the movie as the quotable character Private Hudson.

In the role, Paxton brings plenty of humor to an otherwise dark film, and Hudson might be the movie’s most entertaining character.

Severen
Near Dark (1987)

Director Kathryn Bigelow released the horror movie Near Dark, capitalizing on the trend of vampire movies established by films like Fright Night and The Lost Boys. Wanting to offer a unique take, Bigelow added a Western touch to the vampire story. Set in a small midwestern town, the film focuses on a young man named Caleb (Adrian Pasdar), who is reluctantly turned into a vampire, refusing to feed on humans.

The head of the vampire gang Caleb was brought into is a bloodsucker named Severen, played by Paxton. The actor took to the role incredibly well, and the performance is one of the most memorable vampire portrayals ever.

Although the movie didn’t make much money at the box office, critical acclaim was nearly universal, and the film has an 88% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Jerry Lambert
Predator 2 (1990)

Before Xenomorphs and Predators would meet in the crossover movie Alien vs. Predator, Bill Paxton would spend time crossing over from one of these franchises to the other. Starring Danny Glover, Predator 2 directly follows the original Predator movie from 1987. This time, a Predator takes the hunt to the urban setting of Los Angeles.

Now in the role of a policeman, Paxton portrays Detective Jerry Lambert in Predator 2. Like in Aliens, Paxton provides most of the film’s comic relief and is one of the sequel’s brightest spots. Despite this, Lambert proved to be a badass as well. He takes on the Predator head-to-head in the subway before he is ultimately killed, with the Predator holding up his severed head as a trophy.

Morgan Earp
Tombstone (1993)

George P. Cosmatos’ 1993 movie Tombstone is perhaps one of the most beloved Western movies ever. It’s based on true events that transpired in Tombstone, Arizona, including the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the Earp Vendetta Ride. Several well-known gunslingers are featured in the movie as well, such as Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp.

In the movie, Paxton played real-life Special Policeman Morgan Earp—one of Wyatt’s brothers. As in reality, Morgan took part in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, killing several outlaws in the process. In retaliation, he is shot soon after by their friends. Paxton gives an outstanding performance in this scene as it takes several minutes for Morgan to die, making it an incredibly emotional moment.

Simon
True Lies (1994)

Bill Paxton first encountered Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984 when he confronted the titular cyborg as a street punk in The Terminator. A decade later, he had the opportunity to feud with Arnie again in the action film True Lies, in which he provided many memorable scenes. Paxton plays a sleazy car salesman named Simon in the film, and by pretending to be a spy, he woos the wife of Schwarzenegger’s character—who really is a spy.

Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Schwarzenegger’s wife in the film, has many memorable scenes with Paxton. Of course, things don’t turn well for Simon once his scheme is uncovered, as Schwarzenegger’s spy buddies scare him into leaving Arnold’s wife alone.

He returns in the film’s closing moments, where he is caught attempting to use the same ruse with another woman.

Fred Haise
Apollo 13 (1995)

Morgan Earp wouldn’t be the only real-life person to be portrayed on the big screen by Bill Paxton. Based on the aborted Apollo 13 lunar mission from 1970, the film focuses on three astronauts hoping to return safely to Earth after an explosion on board their spacecraft during a moon landing mission. The film grossed over $355 million at the box office and was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning two.

Paxton plays astronaut Fred Haise, with Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon co-starring as Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert. The film delivers one of Paxton’s most widely seen performances as Haise, and even Haise himself called the film “very realistic” after watching it multiple times.

Bill “The Extreme” Harding
Twister (1996)

Bill Paxton played a major role in one of the most well-known tornado movies of all time. The 1996 film Twister was the second-highest-grossing movie of the year, banking nearly $500 million at the box office. As it sounds, the movie follows a group of storm chasers researching an increasingly growing tornado cell in Oklahoma.

Co-starring with Helen Hunt, Jami Gertz, and Cary Elwes, Paxton stars as lead character Bill Harding, nicknamed “The Extreme.” Paxton carries his usual charm into the movie as he typically does, making it impossible not to love his character.

Regarding natural disaster movies, Twister is still one of the most remembered, and Paxton will always be associated with the film.

RELATED: Top 10 Tony Todd Roles (Besides Candyman)

Dad Meiks
Frailty (2001)

In 2001, Paxton made his directorial debut in the psychological horror film Frailty, also starring in a lead role. He plays the religious fanatic father of two young boys, and their lives are all changed forever after the patriarch has a perceived message sent to him from God. Using a list of names he claims were given to him by God, the father and his boys abduct people to kill them with an ax, believing them to be demons disguised as humans.

Frailty could probably be considered criminally underrated, as it doesn’t seem to be spoken about enough these days. It’s entertaining from start to finish as you try to figure out if Paxton’s character is truly a messenger of God or just plain crazy, and it’s definitely a movie every fan of the actor needs to see.

Coconut Pete
Club Dread (2004)

Broken Lizard’s horror-comedy movie Club Dread is truly a one-of-a-kind film. Set on the Costa Rica resort called Pleasure Island, the film is a slasher movie with an unknown killer taking out various guests in darkly humorous ways. Despite showing sufficient blood and gore, the flick contains the usual brand of comedy you would expect from the Broken Lizard troupe.

In Club Dread, Bill Paxton plays Pleasure Island owner Coconut Pete. Inspired by Jimmy Buffet, the character is a washed-up singer known for his one-hit wonder song “Pinacoladaberg”—an obvious riff on “Margaritaville.”

It’s a highly entertaining film made all the better by Paxton’s performance as Coconut Pete, and the role very well could be the funniest of his career.

The post Top 10 Bill Paxton Movie Roles Ever appeared first on HorrorGeekLife.

Fuente: https://www.horrorgeeklife.com/2024/11/21/top-10-bill-paxton-roles/