Robert Patrick is best known for his role as the T-1000 from Terminator 2 and is best known for his ability to play antagonizing and intimidating villains.
While most people consider Terminator 2 to be his finest work, Patrick has been doing incredible things nearly his entire life.
As he has aged, Patrick has widened the character types he chooses to portray.
10 Cold Hard Facts About Robert Patrick
Robert Patrick is best known for playing cold, hardy characters that strike fear in their enemies with just a single glare.
During his time on the set of Terminator 2, Patrick could even frighten James Cameron with his iconic stare-down.
Throughout the years, Robert Patrick has proven himself to be an extremely serious actor and one of the quintessential bad guys of Hollywood.
Despite his normal cast type, Robert Patrick has been all over the entertainment industry.
Patrick has acted in countless movies, voice acted for multiple kids’ shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender, and has even done cameos all over television.
The actor has slowed down since the 1980s and continues to appear in new releases, such as DC Comics’ Peacemaker and 2022 thriller Dark Asset.
1. Grew Up All Over The Country
Robert Patrick was born on November 5th of 1958 in Marietta, Georgia.
Although he spent his early years in the Atlanta area, his parents were known to move frequently and all over the country.
He is the oldest out of his four siblings, which include Cheri Patrick, Karen Patrick, Lewis Patrick, and Richard Patrick.
Richard Patrick went on to marry actress Tina Johnson in 2006, making her and Robert Patrick in-laws.
As a child, Patrick lived in multiple major cities around the United States that included Boston, Massachusetts; Dayton, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; and finally, Cleveland, Ohio.
He graduated from high school while in Michigan and attended Farmington High School in Farmington, Michigan.
While living in Cleveland, Patrick attended Bowling Green State University.
After attending some acting classes, Patrick decided to drop out of college and become a house painter.
After a boating accident in 1984, Robert Patrick realized that he wanted to do more with his life and made his way out to Los Angeles.
When he first got to California, all Patrick could get cast in were B-movies that didn’t pay well.
Patrick had to work as a bartender on the side and slept in his car because he couldn’t afford rent.
Robert Patrick was eventually able to land the role of Deke in the 1987 movie Equalizer 2000.
That same year, Patrick appeared in Warlords from Hell, Eye of the Eagle as Corporal Johnny Ransom, and then he played Johnny Ransom again in Behind Enemy Lines, originally known as Killer Instinct.
Patrick first met his wife, actress Barbara Hooper, while on the set of Behind Enemy Lines.
He would go on to star in countless action movies, even if he only thought of a few of them were any good.
2. Was In A Boating Accident On Lake Erie
Before Robert Patrick began taking on the roles of villains and antagonists, he was a hero in real life.
When he was only 26 years old, he and his friends got into a boating accident on Lake Erie.
Patrick and his friends decided to go sailing on Lake Erie after work in Cleveland, Ohio.
Although the weather had looked fine before leaving the dock, a storm rolled in before they could even notice.
From the thrashing of the waves and the rain that was beating down on them, Patrick and his friends’ boat began taking in water.
Before the group knew it, they were watching the boat’s nose dip under the water.
Patrick began throwing everything off the ship, just to see what could float and be used as a life preserver.
As the boat sank, his friends began holding on to the floating debris and gave Patrick the only life preserver.
The shore was miles away and there was no help in sight, but the group had no way of getting back to shore.
Knowing that not everyone in the group could handle the swim, Patrick volunteered to be the one to get help.
He swam for three hours straight in the cold waters of the Great Lake.
During that time in the water, Patrick could have cramped up or gotten hit with exhaustion.
That’s all it would have taken to end his life before his career could get started.
Patrick had been working as a house painter, which gave him the endurance to swim for so many hours.
As if the distance weren’t hard enough, Lake Erie’s temperatures can range from 82.2℉ to 32.4℉ while the sun is out.
Robert Patrick was just able to make it back to the marina to get a rescue team for his friends.
3. His Brother Was A Member Of Nine Inch Nails
Robert Patrick isn’t the only one of his siblings to reach celebrity status.
Patrick’s younger brother Richard Patrick was once a member of Nine Inch Nails, serving as their guitarist from 1989 until 1993.
Although the band played well together on stage, there were plenty of problems that plagued the band offstage.
When Richard Patrick is asked about why he decided to leave the band, he blames the horrible treatment he received from Trent Reznor.
Reznor had told Patrick on multiple occasions about how he wasn’t good enough and how Patrick would be better off delivering pizzas.
By 1993, Richard Patrick decided he was done with the mistreatment from Reznor and left the band.
Although Patrick was willing to help the band finish their EP, Broken, he immediately began working on his own music.
It wouldn’t take Richard Patrick much time before he found a band that actually respected him as a musician and an individual.
The band would later be known as Filter.
4. Didn’t Want To Return To X-Files At First
Fans had been devastated when the popular science-fiction show X-Files was taken off the air, but they rejoiced when the show’s revival was announced.
The cast would be studded with familiar faces, except for Robert Patrick who played John Doggett.
Despite not being able to get Robert Patrick for the show, the production for X-Files went on without John Doggett.
However, it is unclear whether it was Chris Carter who hadn’t contacted Robert Patrick or Robert Patrick who didn’t give the production team any response.
During the fall of 2015, Robert Patrick had voiced his concern about not being asked to rejoin his original cast for season 10.
The producers of the show claimed to have asked for his availability but never received a response from him.
This wasn’t Robert Patrick’s first time being shafted by the show.
During the show’s first run, he had been promised a five-year role.
With the show being canceled before that term ended, he didn’t receive the full amount of work or payment he was promised.
Despite being hurt by the show’s production team in the past, he was willing to return to the show out of appreciation for the craftsmanship and his fellow cast members.
However, the X-Files production team was going to have to make him a solid offer to get him to return for the new season.
Although both Chris Carter and Robert Patrick expressed interest in working with each other again, it never ended up happening.
Around the same time, Patrick’s other show Scorpion had just been canceled, giving the actor the perfect opportunity to switch roles.
5. An Avid Charity Biker
Few things bring Robert Patrick as much joy as being out on the open road.
He loves being able to watch the many different scenic views of the United States come over the horizon from the seat of his Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Ever since purchasing his first Harley Davidson from Oliver Shokuh after earning enough money in Hollywood, Patrick has used his trips on the open road as an escape from Hollywood and a chance to see the parts of the country he’s never seen.
His first motorcycle was a Harley Davidson Shovelhead, but he quickly moved onto the Fat Boy after watching Arnold Schwarzenegger ride the same model in Terminator 2.
He eventually traded both bikes in for the FXWG2, which was designed by Willie G. Davidson.
During the early 2000s, he purchased a 2006 Electra Glide Classic that he named after Priscilla Presley.
This is the bike that he normally takes on his journeys along Route 66.
When he and his friends take to the road, they never plan out any itinerary.
They prefer to take in the beauty of America from the seats of their Harleys.
When Robert Patrick is riding across the country with his buddies, he rides with motorcycle club turned charity organization, The Boozefighters.
The Boozefighters were a motorcycle group that was first formed in 1947 in Los Angeles, California.
Patrick was given the opportunity to join the biker club while taking a break from a ride at a random California diner.
He had just finished reading The Original Wild Ones: Tales of the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club before leaving for his national ride.
When he and his friends walked in, they were introduced to one of the original Boozefighters who invited Patrick to join the club.
6. Does Movies With His Wife
Robert Patrick first met his wife, Barbara Hooper, on the set of Behind Enemy Lines, also known as Killer Instinct.
Like her husband, Hooper was getting most of her roles in smaller action productions until she landed the role of Terry in the breakout movie.
Unlike her workaholic husband, Barbara Patrick doesn’t have as many movies on her resumé and doesn’t seem to be acting anymore.
The last movie she appeared in was Out of These Rooms in 2002, which was the same year she appeared alongside Robert Patrick as Barbara Doggett in The X-Files.
In the science-fiction television show, Barbara Doggett is the ex-wife of Robert Patrick’s character, John Doggett.
In 1994, Barbara Patrick began using her husband’s last name when appearing in movies, and Body Shot was the first film she appeared in with that name.
Body Shot features Robert Patrick as the lead role of Mickey Dane, a paparazzi photographer who is accused of murdering the celebrity he used to follow around.
Dane goes on a wild chase to find out who really killed the star and hopes to clear his name by doing so.
A couple of years later, the couple would star together in the action movie Zero Tolerance, which follows the story of FBI agent Jeff Douglas as he gets revenge on the crime organization that killed his family.
Barbara Patrick plays Wendy Douglas, the wife of Jeff Douglas who is murdered at the hands of the drug cartel.
In 1999, Barbara and Robert Patrick appeared in Shogun Cop.
The fantasy-action film had Robert Patrick playing the unnamed Detective with his wife taking on the role of Nadia.
The Patrick family has two children, a son named Samuel and a daughter named Austin.
Austin is named after the police officer that the T-1000 impersonates when traveling back to the past.
7. Loved Working Around Arnold Schwarzenegger
Whenever you speak to Robert Patrick, he is always excited to tell you about his time on the set of Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
If you ask Robert Patrick what his favorite movie is, he will confidently tell you that it is Terminator 2.
While Patrick is quick to tell you about how wonderful the writing, directing, and cinematography is in the Terminator sequel, one of his favorite parts about working on the movie was being able to work alongside his superstar castmate, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Patrick sees Schwarzenegger as one of the biggest personalities in Hollywood and is as inspirational as he is successful.
The fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger started out as just some kid from Austria who liked to work out was something that amazed Patrick.
Robert Patrick was nervous around Arnold Schwarzenegger when they first met, feeling that he didn’t have much to prove and didn’t have the same level of quality that Schwarzenegger had with his previous films.
The young actor would quickly come to enjoy his time around the more seasoned actor and began to see him as someone to be inspired by rather than intimidated by.
When Patrick heard that his old co-star was running for governor, he knew that Schwarzenegger could pull it off.
At the time when Patrick was first filming with him, he claims that he would have never guessed that Schwarzenegger would be interested in that kind of career.
The more that Patrick thought about his fellow Terminator taking on the role as the governor of California, the more it made sense to Patrick.
From everything he had seen of the action star, he was a go-getter on and off the screen.
In later years when the pair would see each other, Patrick felt that he could be confident in his work.
8. The Co-Owner Of Santa Clarita Harley Davidson
Having such a strong passion for motorcycles and the feeling of freedom that the road offers him on a bike, it made sense that Robert Patrick would become a Harley Davidson franchise owner.
The Harley Davidson store that Patrick owns is located at 21130 Centre Pointe Parkway in Santa Clarita, California.
Patrick was excited to take on his new job title, seeing it as an opportunity to bring in more members of his motorcycle family.
Owning his own Harley Davidson location has been a lifelong dream for the actor, who finally has the time in his older age.
After walking into a Harley Davidson store, Robert Patrick knew he was destined to own one of his own.
Oliver Shokuh was the owner of that Harley Davidson location and was the person who sold Patrick his first motorcycle.
Once he caught wind of Patrick’s dream, he was more than elated to make it a reality.
Over time spent together riding and working with the Love Ride Foundation, Shokuh knew that Patrick would make an excellent partner at his store.
Another reason that Robert Patrick decided to go with the Santa Clarita location is that it’s near some of his favorite places to ride.
Patrick loves to take his bike past the breathtaking canyons and open plains of Santa Clarita Valley.
The local community is mostly made up of bikers for the same reason.
The science fiction actor wanted to find a location where they could best help the community and get them back on the road with their friends.
Before Patrick could become co-owner of the store, he had to fly out to Milwaukee to take a course that Harley Davidson had set up for new dealers.
The new Harley Davidson location had its grand opening in 2019.
9. Was Scared Of James Gandolfini
One of Robert Patrick’s first roles when going back to live action productions after focusing on his voice acting roles was Davey Scatino in The Sopranos.
Before Patrick had ever met his co-star James Gandolfini, he was told that there would be a fight scene in which Gandolfini’s character would be beating his character up.
To give the scene some authentic feeling, Patrick was instructed to get under Gandolfini’s skin.
Patrick, who has built his career on being an antagonistic character, was more than ready to fulfill the needs of his role.
To build up chemistry, James Gandolfini went out for a smoke with Robert Patrick after reading through the show’s script together.
At first, they familiarized themselves with each other and got to know each other because their characters were supposed to be childhood friends.
Before the conversation ended, Patrick reminded Gandolfini about the fight scene.
He ended the conversation with, “You better bring your f***ing A-game!” Gandolfini responded, “Oh, I’ll bring my f***ing A-game!”
Before Gandolfini could walk away, Patrick flicked his cigarette at him.
When Gandolfini came in to shoot the next day, he seemed especially irritable.
All Robert Patrick had to say to James Gandolfini before shooting was, “How’s your balls?” Gandolfini scoffed back, “They’re fine. I’m hung over.”
James Gandolfini was snippy while setting up to shoot the fight scene, simply wanting to get it over with and move on with his day.
All it took was one take for the scene to be shot perfectly, although Gandolfini scared Patrick during the scene.
Gandolfini planned to grab Patrick and throw him around, resulting in Patrick’s character crying like a child.
Even Patrick himself was intimidated by what Gandolfini could do, especially considering that the actor was hung over.
10. Was Sued By A Co-Star
Robert Patrick played Cabe Gallo in the CBS drama Scorpion from 2014 until 2018.
He starred alongside Elyes Gabel, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Katharine McPhee, Jadyn Wong, and Ari Stidman.
Things were going well for the actor until he went to record a fight scene with David Fabrizio, who plays Merrick.
Merrick appears in eight episodes from 2014 to 2016.
During the fight scene, things began to get too physical when Patrick landed hits on Fabrizio that were severe enough to need expensive medical treatment.
Although Fabrizio has not specified what those injuries were, he did inform the court that he was consulting with surgeons to alleviate the pain.
The lawsuit against Patrick claims that the actor “negligently struck” Fabrizio in the back of the head
Robert Patrick wasn’t the only person on the set to be sued by David Fabrizio.
Fabrizio also filed lawsuits against CBS Television Studios, the Scorpion stunt coordinator, and even the producers of the drama.
The civil case was filed on June 4th of 2019 and was overseen by Judge Stephen I. Goorvitch of Los Angeles, California.
David Fabrizio was represented by John Charles Carpenter, and the defendants were collectively represented by Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLC.
No further information about this case is available as of December of 2021.
NEXT: How Many Spark Plugs Does A Diesel Have? (Explained)