Instead, while living in the Cleveland area, he worked at a bank and tried his hand at modeling before a life-changing twist of fate propelled him to pursue his dream.
Patrick said, “In 1984, I was piloting a 30-foot boat that belonged to a buddy when it capsized and sank. Five of us were in the water, including my brother, Lewis. The boat hadn’t been properly prepped.”
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“Terminator 2” star Robert Patrick said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he wanted to be an actor, but didn’t think he could pursue that career or ever will. (Desiree Navarro/WireImage)
He went on to say that he had swum 3 1/2 miles to shore for help.
“Every time I hit him, I prayed and promised myself that if I survived, I would keep playing,” she recalled.
Patrick made it to a Cleveland yacht club where he got help and “We rescued everyone.”
After that, “he vowed to move to New York or Los Angeles and become an actor. I flipped a coin and it was Los Angeles. I packed my bags and left. “
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Patrick said that as he swam to shore after a boating accident, he “prayed and promised himself that if he survived, he would keep playing. “(Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
He noted, “I was horrible at first, but I had a look, an arrogant look, and anything that other people noticed. Things fell into place quickly. “
Patrick lived in his car until he met a woman who gave him an apartment and told him about a nearby restaurant that was hiring. There, he met someone who recommended that he audition for a play because “They needed me to create an edgy presence.”
He landed a few roles in films like “Eye of the Eagle” and a Roger Corman film, “Warlords from Hell,” before being cast in “Die Hard 2.”
The now 65-year-old “realized I was an artist before I felt like one. It just came out of me. “
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Patrick says he earned his role as T-1000 in “Terminator 2” after Billy Idol had to drop out due to a motorcycle accident. (CBS Getty Images)
In a 2015 interview with NPR, Patrick recalled, “I had a view of the Hollywood signal. I was there, I looked at this Hollywood sign and I said, ‘Okay, you’re here, let’s get everything moving. ‘”
He said of landing the “Die Hard 2” role that he “went out to my car and I literally sat there and cried for a bit. I remember that. I was so joyful.”
Following his role in “Die Hard 2,” Patrick played the T-1000 in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” the shape-shifting villain who takes on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s heroic, reprogrammed original Terminator.
In a 2017 interview with Salon, Patrick said that his iconic role almost went to Billy Idol, who in a motorcycle accident: “paved the way for young Robert Patrick to audition with the wonderful casting director Mali Finn. “
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Patrick said a lot of what his character did in “Terminator 2” came out of his audition. (CBS Getty Images)
According to the actor, “[Director] James Cameron was looking for a stranger,” and Patrick had given that impression in a handful of movies, but still in “Die Hard 2” and was doing a play at the time he was cast.
Of creating the memorable character, he recalled, “Basically, what you see on-screen is what I came up with in the audition. I hadn’t even seen the script yet, but once I read it, I knew my instincts were right on.”
The role in “Terminator 2” also proved to be another life-changing moment for the actor, who was battling drug and alcohol addiction when he was cast.
“I became actively involved in drugs and alcohol when I was assigned the position, unbeknownst to those who hired me,” he told Salon. “I’m a consumer. I smoked two packs a day. Being a former athlete and knowing that I am embarking on one of the most difficult sporting activities of my life, I will have to avoid all of that. I’ve got it all on, bloodless turkey. I haven’t consumed alcohol or drugs, from pre-training to shooting and packing.
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Actor Robert Patrick attends the premiere of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” on July 1, 1991 in Century City, California. (Ron Galella, Ltd/Ron Galella Collection Getty Images)
Patrick admitted he still struggled with alcohol after the completion of filming and didn’t get completely sober until after he did “Striptease” with Demi Moore in 1996.
“I’ve been sober for 21 years and my life has benefited tremendously from it,” he said at the time. “I have a godfather and I try to live by example. I am a devout Episcopalian and it took me a long time to be fair and informed about myself. What was missing in my life was spirituality. “
His career continued to flourish with roles across film and television, with a total of 169 credits to his name so far. Most recently, he appeared in season 2 of Amazon Prime’s series “Reacher.”
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Patrick said sobriety has been in his life and he also credits his Episcopal religion for improving his quality of life. (Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
“You can fail, and I’ve failed many times. But you have to locate religion somewhere. If you don’t, you’ll live a life of ‘I wish you did,'” he told NPR.
“I’m not living this life of ‘I wish I had. ‘I’m living the life I longed to live. And that’s the satisfaction I take with me every day.