Mark Patton

Mark Patton (born September 22, 1959) is an American interior designer and actor. Beginning his professional acting career in 1982, Patton is perhaps best known for his feature film roles as Joe Qualley in the dramatic film Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean and as Jesse Walsh in the 1985 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, a role for which he is touted as the first "scream king" (male equivalent of scream queen) in modern cinema.

Career Patton grew up in Riverside, Missouri, and, after graduating from high school, moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.

In 1985, Patton landed the lead role in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, portraying Jesse Walsh, a teen whose body becomes possessed by Freddy Krueger. Critics and audiences noted the gay subtext of the film, something screenwriter David Chaskin initially attributed to Patton's portrayal of Jesse.

Patton made a guest appearance on the television series Hotel and had scenes alongside George Clooney and Maud Adams. He also starred in a television pilot with Chuck Connors entitled Kelsey's Son, which was never picked up. Other roles include General Hospital as Greg Collier, Misplaced with John Cameron Mitchell, Anna to the Infinite Power with Dina Merrill and Martha Byrne, and Have You Tried Talking to Patty with Heather Langenkamp.

Patton says he gave up on his acting career following being cast in a planned CBS series in which he would have played a gay character. "They began to ask me if I would be comfortable playing a gay character and telling people I was straight if they began to question my sexuality? [...] All I could think about was how everyone I knew was dying from AIDS and we were having this bullshit conversation. My heart just broke and that was the line for me. I knew I would never be able to do what they were asking, so I walked away from Hollywood and decided to move on to a place where it was totally acceptable to be gay." Following his appearance in the documentary, Patton began touring horror conventions, where he is lauded as mainstream cinema's first male "scream queen". He donates most of his appearance fees to HIV treatment groups and charities benefiting LGBTQ youth such as The Trevor Project.

Filmography Film

Television