Will Patton

William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series Falling Skies. He also appeared in the films The Client (1994), Armageddon (1998), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Remember the Titans (2000), The Punisher (2004), American Honey, Halloween, 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 also played Deputy Marnes in season 1 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, and 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
William Rankin Patton was born on June 14, 1954 in Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest of three children. His father, 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.

Theater
Patton had lead roles in Sam Shepard's play Fool for Love and in the Public Theater production of What Did He See?.

Film and television
Patton portrayed the evil antagonist in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and had a significant role in No Way Out (1987) opposite Kevin Costner, his first major film. He went on to play the role of General Bethlehem, again opposite Kevin Costner, in the 1997 The Postman. 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 Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), The Punisher (2004), and Minari (2020). 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 lead, Kevin Costner, identified Patton in May 2023 as an actor that will join him again, this time in Horizon, an "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 provided the voice for the audio version of Al Gore's 2007 The Assault on Reason. He recorded the audio version for 22 books written by best-selling mystery writer James Lee Burke. He has recorded more than 45 audiobooks.

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[d]" Patton as "very dynamic in his own way, formidable and detailed", adding that he was "a fantastic actor" and that "[i]t was good to see Will on the set."

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 (in 2021).