Robert Patrick was born November 5, 1958 in Marietta, Georgia to Robert, a banker, and Nadine, a homemaker. The oldest of 5 children, Robert got his first taste of acting and his first experience with creative input when he starred in a third grade production of Peter Pan and refused to wear green tights. His family moved around a lot and he lived, for a time, in the areas of Dayton, Cleveland, Detroit and Boston. Robert played American Legion baseball in high school and attended Bowling Green University where he made the varsity football team as a freshman linebacker. By his own admission, he was a rowdy guy in college and left before he earned a degree.

When he was 26 years old, a near-fatal drowning accident on Lake Erie caused him to reassess his life, quit his house painting job in Cleveland and move to Los Angeles to pursue acting. He lived out of his car for awhile, then got a part in a play. After six months, he was cast in the first of a number of Roger Corman movies. 

Robert attributes his early ability to get parts in B movies to his tough attitude, his athleticism and the fact that he could ride a motorcycle. But as quick as the parts came, his pay was so little that he had to supplement his acting income by tending bar. 

His big break came when he was cast in James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day as the T-1000 villain opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. To prepare for the role, he took martial arts, strength, endurance and weapons training and observed the movements of cats, eagles and praying mantises to develop some of the memorable and distinctive moves of his character. Robert married his longtime girlfriend, Barbara Hooper, during the T2 shoot.

Since his appearance in Terminator 2, he has had a variety of roles in such movies as Ladder 49, Fire In the Sky, Striptease, Cop Land, Rosewood, The Faculty, Spy Kids, (see filmography below for a complete list of his movies) and the television shows, The Outer Limits and The Sopranos. At one time, he was a partner in 360 Entertainment, an independent film production company. 

When Chris Carter had a need to fill a well-defined lead role on The X-Files, he immediately thought of Robert who had auditioned for a role on Harsh Realm. But Patrick wasn’t available at the time. Convinced that he was the only guy for the part, Carter says they looked at between 50 - 75 actors for the role of John Doggett before he became determined to get Robert. An amicable parting with another studio, allowed him to join The X-Files.

No longer just "The Liquid Metal Guy" from Terminator 2, in the 2 years that he starred on The X-Files, his face appeared on the covers of such magazines as Cinescape, Entertainment Weekly, SFX, Movie Idols and TV Guide. In 2001, he was awarded a Best Actor Saturn by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for his first season on The X-Files. In the same year, TV Guide (cable edition) named him one of the Ten Sexiest Men of Sci-Fi. 

Well-liked by his co-stars and the recipient of praise from critics, Patrick was happy with the TV gig. He was proud to be playing a well-written character on a TV show known for its production values and he liked being able to spend more time at home with his wife, Barbara, and their children, Austin and Sam. 

Since The X-Files series finale in May 2002, Robert has been a very busy actor. Among other projects, he made Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle for Sony, co-starred in an NBC TV movie, 1st To Die, based on a James Patterson best-selling novel and he played a Baltimore City firefighter in the feature film, Ladder 49. In September 2004, Robert completed Walk The Line , the Johnny Cash biopic, with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. He plays Ray Cash, Johnny's father. The movie has a release date of November 18, 2005. Not content to play the father of one music legend, he played Vernon Presley in the CBS mini-series, Elvis, which aired in May 2005. Robert was recently in Vancouver shooting the movie, Firewall (formerly The Wrong Element), with Harrison Ford. His TV series, The Unit, has been picked up by CBS for 2006 and is currently shooting in Santa Clarita, California. Supercross: The Movie will get a theatrical release in August 2005. 

Robert Patrick is managed by Joan Hyler and represented by Endeavor. A motorcycle enthusiast, his charity is The Love Ride. 

Credit: lauracapo2000.com