He was rarely a headliner, so he probably wasn’t needed for all of filming. Plus, he wouldn’t get top billing money, so he needed to keep working. That said, to get that much continuous work probably means that he was very professional and someone that most people enjoyed to work with.
Solid, dependable, fairly versatile, relatively cheap to hire, people liked him and liked working with him. That stuff can take you a long way, really.
He was a good actor with a good agent. From all I’ve read he was also a consummate professional who was easy to work with. It pains me to write that in the past tense.
Well, this is some real pretty shit.
Wasn’t Lance Henriksen also killed by all three?
He was the generic average white guy needed in the background or supporting role, and he fit that character very well. Viewers weren’t likely to exclaim, "hey, it’s Bill Paxton!', he wasn’t that kind of stand out actor. So he could be used over and over in film after film without much notice.
Kind of like Jack Elam used to be the generic bad guy in the background of so many westerns.
Don’t think it is that unusual - he was a reliable, well-liked character actor with just enough charisma to hold down the occasional lead in ensemble pieces. Folks like that can get a lot of work once they’re established, especially if they’re not terribly picky. He worked his way into a thriving career.
I watched the first season of Big Love before getting bored with it, but I agree that’s not the ‘best known’ tag I would have gone with. Frailty is what I think of, but really Aliens is the iconic one that still gets quoted today. He made an impression on the cultural zeitgeist and that’s not nothing. RIP.
That’s an interesting tidbit I never knew. He was not at the Dallas motorcade (or was he??? ;)), but he saw JFK emerge from his hotel in Ft. Worth that morning.
**Twister **is one of my guilty pleasure films.
Yes, Paxton wasn’t in the crowd when Kennedy was killed. He was in the crowd earlier in the day as Kennedy emerged from his hotel:
I use that “How do I get out of this chicken shit outfit?” line as often as I can, but few get the reference. 
It was only after Aliens that, when rewatching Weird Science, I thought to myself ‘hey, that’s Pvt. Hudson’. I liked Chet much more after that. That said, Iron Man never made me like Ian more - he’s still a smarmy asshole.
This, right there, IMO was his best work. Gut wrenching and gripping. Awesome performance and film.
I’ve always thought it was a real dick move on Rose’s part to drop the necklace into the ocean, considering the effort and money spent on the Keldysh Expedition. The least she could have done was keep it in her baggage for them to find, or (even better) willed it to her granddaughter. :mad:
RIP, Bill. 
Aliens and True Lies are my two favorite Bill Paxton movies. Damn.
Yeah, okay. But how great was he in True Lies, as the enthusiastic guy you totally believe is ten seconds away from getting his neck snapped by Schwarzenegger?
“And she’s got the most incredible body, too! Pair o’titties make you stand up and beg for buttermilk! Ass like a ten-year-old boy! aHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!”
One neglected performance was as a hayseed cop in “One False Move”. RIP.
As for Henriksen:
But, technicalities aside, yes, they were both killed by all three creatures.
Holy shit. That’s so unexpected.
I’ll always remember him as Morgan Earp in Tombstone, my all-time favourite film.
“It said that a lot of people, when they die, they see this light. Like in a tunnel. They say it’s the light leadin’ you to heaven.” RIP.
“You’re stewed, buttwad!”
“Hey girls…how about a nice, greasy pork sandwich, served in a dirty ashtray?”
“That looks good…now make yourself some!”
Weird Science is one of those movies my brother and I quote to one another at will and at random…along with History Of The World and it’s ilk.
RIP Chet.
Maybe we can build a fire, sing a couple of songs, huh? Why don’t we try that?
Rest in peace, Mr Paxton.