Bill Paxton
As was his unassuming nature, Bill Paxton didn’t tell many outside his immediate family that he was about to undergo major heart surgery in February. Having contracted rheumatic fever as a teen, the illness caused heart problems and the 61-year-old died suddenly from a stroke after surgery complications. That no-fuss attitude is what made him such an everyman star, essaying Regular Joes often in extraordinary circumstances with such relatable aplomb that many of his supporting roles became cult heroes.
A Lone Star native (who was a child on the parade route in Dallas the day JFK was killed), Paxton moved to LA in 1973, met James Cameron on a Roger Corman film and became ‘fast friends’. The director gave his buddy a bit part in 1984’s Terminator and Paxton took the opportunity and ran with it. Ever-increasing roles quickly followed; as a giant shit (literally and metaphorically) in Weird Science (1985), trash-talking Hudson in Aliens (1986) and a Hicksville police chief in One False Move (1992). Paxton excelled in all to scene-stealing effect, but his tentpole days were about to hit. Between 1994 and 1997 he appeared in True Lies, Apollo 13,
Twister and Titanic – gigantic movies that could have swallowed an understated performance but Paxton remained memorable, the no-bull guy getting on with his job (on and off-screen).
More recent turns in A Simple Plan, Haywire, Edge Of Tomorrow, Nightcrawler and TV’s Big Love exhibited continued range and dependability, while his short-lived spell behind the camera got off to a promising start with chilling psychological thriller Fraility. The sudden end of his prolific career will be marked by his final performance, as Emma Watson’s pa in the upcoming The Circle, while plans to feature him in the
Edge Of Tomorrow sequel are being redrawn. But for all of his 92 credits, it’s Hudson who lingers longest; the ‘ultimate badass’, a gobby marine with a line for everything, even when a xenomorph is doing its worst. He’s the ultimate reflection of audience anxiety, verbalising fears amid a stoic crew. “It’s game over, man!” he memorably yells. A true shame that it is.