Biography

Will Patton was born in Charleston, South Carolina on June 14, 1954. As a shy boy, Will started his celebrated acting career by performing for a house full of juvenile delinquents at the age of five. It was a very humble beginning for Will- ‘When I was five years old, my mother and father dressed me up in this hula skirt and put all this make-up on me and danced me in front of all these delinquent boys. That’s my first memory of being able to do something’. Acting to Will became a way to connect with his peers; basically, a way to overcome his insecurities and shyness.

Will attended the North Carolina School of the Arts for three-quarters of a semester before being kicked out. He traveled around after his short stint in college, making ends by carrying odd jobs, such as selling Christmas trees, working construction, and even mopping oil out of the Mississippi River.
Upon his arrival to New York City, Will started acting as a mean of survival. He continued to work odd jobs to get by while studying acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actor's Studio and Joseph Chaikin at the Open Theater in New York.
In the earlier part of his career, Will was apart of an experimental theater group known as the Winter Project in New York. As apart of this group, he starred in "Tourist and Refugees #2", and "Rearrangements"(1979). For his performance in "Tourist and Refugees #2", he won an OBIE award with the cast for best ensemble. He made a short underground film called Minus Zero(1979), and has appeared in several New York independent films, including the film Third Person(1981).
His many credits as an off-Broadway actor range from being the Obie award winning actor of the 1982 Circle Repertory production of Sam Shepard’s "Fool for Love"; the Obie award winning actor of the Public Theatre production of "What Did He See?"; and having a major role in Sam Shepard’s "A Lie of the Mind". He has also won Villager Awards for his performances in the plays, "Dark Ride" and "Goose and Tomtom".
Will started his film career by auditioning for a part in Silkwood. It was his first movie audition and he got the part as Joe, the delivery guy. Will furthered his career by acting in several soap operas, such as Search for Tomorrow and Ryan’s Hope. He believes that being in Soap Operas can be good and bad- ‘I got to work in from of the camera a lot when I was doing Ryan's Hope and Search for Tomorrow . Soap Operas can be good for you, and they can be very harmful. You learn to take the things that matter most, like love and death, and throw 'em out like they're candy. You learn to be frivolous and settle things. Otherwise you kill yourself because you have to work fast. You usually get one take, unless you say "fuck." by accident.’
Will continued his success as a movie actor by performing in such films as NOWAY OUT, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, THE RAPTURE, and COPYCAT . He has been critically acclaimed for his roles in independent films, such as The Paint Job, In The Soup, Midnight Edition, and Tollbooth. His performance in the independent film OK Garage led him to The Newport International Film Festival best actor award.
According to Will, the decision to play a certain part is determined by what is happening in his personal life- "I think there's got be something in the story or the character that somehow corresponds to something I'm thinking about at the moment. Just something that's going on in my life. It could be any number of things. Something that's going on personally, something that I've been thinking about, something that has happened to me",he says. "Personal things that I'm interested in. Which actually I would never talk about in an interview. So that's probably why I would play a character."
You can write Will to the following address. Please remember to include a self addressed stamped envelope!

Will Patton
c/o Paradigm
A Talent and Literary Agency
200 West 57th Street
Suite 900
New York, NY. 10019