Quick Facts
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William Rankin "Will" Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series Falling Skies. He also appeared in films such as Remember the Titans, Armageddon, Gone in 60 Seconds and The Punisher. He appeared opposite Kevin Costner in two films: No Way Out (1987) and The Postman (1997). Patton’s father, Bill Patton, was a playwright and acting/directing instructor. Patton has been in many films, starting in 1981. He has done many television appearances as well, starting in 1982 and he has done a great deal of voice work with audio books. He won two Obie Awards for best actor in Sam Shepard’s play Fool for Love and the Public Theater production of What Did He See?.
Early life
Patton was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest of three children. His father is Bill Patton, a playwright and acting/directing instructor who was a Lutheran minister and served as a chaplain at Duke University. Patton was raised on a farm, where his parents ran a foster home for wayward teenagers. He attended the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem and The Actors' Studio in New York City, New York.
Career
Patton won two Obie Awards for best actor for his performances in Sam Shepard's play Fool for Love and the Public Theater production of What Did He See?. He portrayed the evil antagonist in Desperately Seeking Susan, and had a significant role in No Way Out, his first major film. He was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of General Bethlehem in The Postman. He also portrayed coach Bill Yoast in Remember the Titans and FBI agent Melvin Purvis in the 1991 made-for-television film Dillinger. Patton provided the voice for the audio version of The Assault on Reason by Al Gore, as well as the role of Alan Wilson on the TV show 24. He has also recorded the audio version for 22 books written by best-selling mystery writer James Lee Burke. Patton plays the character of Sam Conroy in the film American Violet.
From 2011-2015 Patton starred as Colonel Weaver in the TNT sci-fi television series Falling Skies, executive-produced by Steven Spielberg.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Kent State | Peter | Television film |
| 1983 | Variety | Mark | |
| King Blank | Bar Customer | ||
| Silkwood | Joe | ||
| 1985 | The Equalizer | Officer Nick Braxton | |
| The Beniker Gang | Forest Ranger | ||
| Desperately Seeking Susan | Wayne Nolan | ||
| After Hours | Horst | ||
| 1986 | Chinese Boxes | Lang Marsh | |
| Belizaire the Cajun | Matthew Perry | ||
| 1987 | A Gathering of Old Men | Lou Dimes | |
| No Way Out | Scott Pritchard | ||
| 1988 | Wildfire | Mike | |
| Stars and Bars | Duane Gage | ||
| 1989 | Signs of Life | Mr. Coughlin | |
| 1990 | Everybody Wins | Jerry | |
| A Shock to the System | Lt. Laker | ||
| 1991 | Dillinger | Melvin Purvis | Made for television film |
| Deadly Desire | Giles Menteer | Made for television film | |
| Bright Angel | Woody | Uncredited | |
| The Rapture | Deputy Foster | ||
| Cold Heaven | Father Niles | ||
| 1992 | The Paint Job | Wesley | |
| Lincoln and the War Within | Made for television film | ||
| In the Soup | Skippy | ||
| In the Deep Woods | Eric Gaines | Made for television film | |
| A Child Lost Forever: The Jerry Sherwood Story | Frank Maxwell | Made for television film | |
| 1993 | Midnight Edition | Jack Travers | |
| Taking the Heat | Hadley | Made for television film | |
| Romeo Is Bleeding | Martie | ||
| 1994 | Tollbooth | Dash Pepper | |
| Natural Causes | Michael Murphy | ||
| Judicial Consent | Alan Warwick | ||
| The Client | Sergeant Hardy | ||
| The Puppet Masters | Dr. Graves | ||
| 1995 | Copycat | Nicoletti | |
| 1996 | Plain Pleasures | ||
| The Spitfire Grill | Nahum Goddard | ||
| Fled | Det. Matthew 'Gib' Gibson | ||
| 1997 | Inventing the Abbotts | Lloyd Abbott | |
| Hounddogg | |||
| This World, Then the Fireworks | Lt. Morgan | ||
| The Postman | General Bethlehem | ||
| 1998 | O.K. Garage | Sean | |
| Armageddon | Charles 'Chick' Chapple | ||
| I Woke Up Early the Day I Died | Preacher | ||
| 1999 | Breakfast of Champions | Moe the Truck Driver | |
| Entrapment | Hector Cruz | ||
| Jesus' Son | John Smith | ||
| 2000 | Gone in 60 Seconds | Atley Jackson | |
| Trixie | W. 'Red' Rafferty | ||
| Remember the Titans | Coach Bill Yoast | ||
| 2002 | The Mothman Prophecies | Gordon Smallwood | |
| 2004 | Family Sins | Philip Rothman | Made for television film |
| The Punisher | Quentin Glass | ||
| The Last Ride | Aaron Purnell | Made for television film | |
| 2006 | Road House 2 | Nate Tanner | |
| 2007 | Code Name: The Cleaner | Riley | |
| A Mighty Heart | U.S. Diplomatic Security (DSS) Special Agent Randall Bennett | ||
| The List | Michael Harriston | ||
| Dog Days of Summer | Eli Cottonmouth | ||
| 2008 | Wendy and Lucy | Mechanic | |
| American Violet | Sam Conroy | ||
| Lucky Days | J.C. | ||
| 2009 | Barbarian Princess | Sanford B. Dole | |
| Looking at Animals | Raymond | ||
| The Canyon | Henry | ||
| The Fourth Kind | Sheriff August | ||
| Waking Madison | Madison's Father | ||
| The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond | Old Man Dobyne | ||
| 2010 | Brooklyn's Finest | Lt. Bill Hobarts | |
| Meek's Cutoff | Solomon Tetherow | ||
| Knucklehead | Vic Sullivan | ||
| 2014 | The November Man | Perry Weinstein | |
| 2016 | American Honey | Backseat Cowboy | |
| 2017 | The Scent of Rain and Lightning | Senior | Completed |
| Megan Leavey | Jim | Completed |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–1983 | Ryan's Hope | Ox Knowles | 2 |
| 1984–1985 | Search for Tomorrow | Kentucky Bluebird | |
| 1995 | VR.5 | Dr. Frank Morgan | 5 |
| 1997 | The Protector | ||
| 2001–2003 | The Agency | Jackson Haisley | 44 |
| 2005 | Into the West | James Fletcher | Miniseries |
| 2006–2007 | Numb3rs | Lt. Gary Walker | 4 |
| 2009 | 24 | Alan Wilson | 5 |
| 2010 | CSI | Craig Haliday | 1 |
| 2011–2015 | Falling Skies | Captain Dan Weaver | Main cast |
| 2013 | Grant vs. Lee | General Robert E. Lee | Main cast |
| 2016 | The Good Wife | Mike Tascioni | 4 |
Voice work
Audiobooks
- End of Watch by Stephen King (2016)
- Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (2016)
- House of the Rising Sun James Lee Burke (2015)
- Finders Keepers by Stephen King (2015)
- Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (2014)
- Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (2014)
- Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (2013)
- Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (2013)
- My Cross to Bear by Gregg Allman (2012)
- The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (2012)
- Creole Belle by James Lee Burke (2012)
- Deliverance by James Dickey (2011)
- Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke (2011)
- The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke (2010)
- Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (2010)
- Light in August by William Faulkner (2010)
- Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson (2009)
- Swan Peak by James Lee Burke (2008)
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac (2007)
- The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke (2007)
- The Assault on Reason by Al Gore (2007)
- Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3 by Annie Proulx (2008)
- Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson (2007)
- Last Car to Elysian Fields by James Lee Burke (2007)
- Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier (2006)
- Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke (2006)
- Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke (2006)
- Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke (2006)
- The Thomas Berryman Number by James Patterson (2006)
- To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway (2006)
- A Dave Robicheaux Audio Collection by James Lee Burke (2006)
- When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt (2006)
- Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo (2005)
- In the Moon of Red Ponies by James Lee Burke (2004)
- Cimarron Rose by James Lee Burke (2004)
- White Doves at Morning by James Lee Burke (2003)
- Bitterroot by James Lee Burke (2001)
- Cadillac Jukebox by James Lee Burke (2001)
- Purple Cane Road by James Lee Burke (2000)
- Boone's Lick by Larry McMurtry (2000)
- Burning Angel by James Lee Burke (1999)
- Heaven's Prisoners by James Lee Burke (1999)
- Heartwood by James Lee Burke (1999)
- Primal Fear by William Diehl (1999)
- Dixie City Jam by James Lee Burke (1999)
- A Stained White Radiance by James Lee Burke (1998)
- Sunset Limited by James Lee Burke (1998)
- The Sea-Wolf by Jack London (1997)
- Dead Man's Walk by Larry McMurtry (1996)
- The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy (1995)
- The Fermata by Nicholson Baker (1995)
- Gump & Co. by Winston Groom (1995)
- Gone South by Robert R. McCammon (1994)
- "Lila - An Inquiry into Morals" by Robert M. Pirsig (1991)
- The Lost Get-Back Boogie by James Lee Burke (1986)