Bill Paxton (born May 17, 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a notable American actor. He is best-known for playing distinctive and memorable characters, such as the sneering older brother Chet in John Hughes' Weird Science, a loud-mouthed space soldier in James Cameron's Aliens, astronaut Fred Haise in Ron Howard's Apollo 13, the sadistic vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow's film Near Dark and a tornado researcher opposite Helen Hunt in the blockbuster Twister.
Paxton moved to Los Angeles at 18 and began working for director Roger Corman as a set designer on his films. Exposed to films and actors at that age, had influenced his decision to pursue acting, and Paxton relocated to New York City where he studied with Stella Adler.
In addition to his acting career, Paxton has produced a number of short films, including Fish Heads, which made a splash on Saturday Night Live in 1982. He has also moved into feature films with Frailty and The Greatest Game Ever Played to be released later in the year (2005).
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