Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton, 1955-2017

Bill Paxton was a regular presence in my prime movie-loving years. As the punk in The Terminator, the Marine having a meltdown in Aliens ("no way, mian!"), and the nasty older brother in Weird Science, he could be tough, scary, AND funny. He was always memorable, even in small roles.



He played maybe my favorite vampire ever on film, or at least tied with Bela Lugosi. It was in the movie Near Dark, and Paxton played an animalistic redneck bloodsucker (best thing in the movie. very scary).



I'm also a huge fan of Frailty, which he directed and starred in. It's a tense, tense, Hitchcockian gothic horror/thriller that's worth a look.

So many of his characters were wacky, yet very human and believable at the same time. He will be greatly missed!