Will Patton

William Rankin 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 the films The Client, Armageddon (1998), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Remember the Titans (2000), The Punisher (2004), American Honey (2016), Halloween (2018), and Minari (2020). He appeared opposite Kevin Costner in four films: No Way Out (1987), The Postman (1997), and Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 (both 2024), as well as having a guest role in seasons 3 and 4 of Costner's Paramount Network series Yellowstone (2020–2022). Patton played Deputy Marnes in season one of the 2023 TV series Silo.

Patton was nominated alongside castmates for his ensemble work in Minari and Yellowstone at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2020 and 2021,

Early life William Rankin Patton was born on June 14, 1954 in Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest of three children. His mother’s name was Laura McClenagan Patton and his father's name was Bill Patton. Bill Patton was 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 portrayed coach Bill Yoast in Remember the Titans (2000), and FBI agent Melvin Purvis in the 1991 made-for-television film Dillinger, before a supporting actor performance in Armageddon (1998). Patton performed the role of Alan Wilson for five episodes on the TV show 24 (2009).

Patton also appeared in Silkwood (1983), The Client (1994), Copycat (1995), The Spitfire Grill (1996), Entrapment (1999), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), The Mothman Prophecies (2002), The Punisher (2004), The Fourth Kind (2009), Brooklyn's Finest (2010), Minari (2020) and The Forever Purge (2021). Patton had a guest role in seasons 3 and 4 of Costner's Paramount Network series Yellowstone (2020-2022).

Patton portrayed the character of Sam Conroy in the film American Violet (2008). From 2011 to 2015, he starred as Colonel Weaver in the TNT sci-fi television series Falling Skies, executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. In 2018, Patton portrayed Officer Frank Hawkins in the horror reboot of Halloween, and reprised his role in its two Halloween sequels, Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022). He also portrayed Avery Sunderland in the DC Universe TV series Swamp Thing in 2019.

Patton's Yellowstone costar, Kevin Costner, identified Patton in May 2023 as an actor that will join him again, this time in Horizon, a "Civil War saga" based on four scripts which Costner intends to write, direct, and act in, covering a 15-year period of "pre- and post-Civil War... settlement of the American west".

Audiobooks Patton has recorded more than forty-five audiobooks, including works by Stephen King, James Lee Burke, and Al Gore.

Critical reception

Patton's acting work has been noted, critically and by colleagues. Speaking with regard to Patton's presence in the Yellowstone cast, executive producer and fellow cast member Kevin Costner "praise" Patton as "very dynamic in his own way, formidable and detailed", adding that he was "a fantastic actor" and that "t was good to see Will on the set." Some of his best rated films are The Scent of Rain and Lightning (2017) and Minari (2020). As to his participation in television he has overall positive reviews especially in shows like Swamp Thing (2019).

Awards and recognition Patton won two Obie Awards for best actor for his theatrical performances in Fool for Love and What Did He See?. He was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Postman (1997).

More recently, Patton was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 27th SAG Awards alongside his fellow cast members, for their work in Minari (2020), and for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 28th SAG Awards alongside his fellow cast members, for their work in Yellowstone (2021).

Filmography Film