Senior Planet Talks to…Robert Patrick

Best known for playing the relentless T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Robert Patrick, 67, has made a career playing villains. In real life, we discover that the Sons of Anarchy and Tulsa King star is a gentle soul, committed to his 36 year marriage to actress Barbara Hooper.

But, he understands how Hollywood sees him as a screen baddie, and he’s cool with that, telling SENIOR PLANET about his latest role – as the villain of course – in action horror comedy, Mermaid:

Q: When a film is called “Mermaid”, you think of Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah in Splash or a childrens’ movie. But this is nothing like that. What’s your take?

ROBERT: I was really blown away by the script. It certainly is not your average film. It’s so unhinged and out there, and went in such a different direction than I thought it was going to go. Director Tyler Cornack has made this into a very unique entertainment experience, and I think audiences are going to enjoy the hell out of it.

Q: The mermaid herself is quite scary-looking. Did it make you think about the boating accident on Lake Erie in 1984 where you rescued some folk?

ROBERT: Yeah, but there’s no mermaids in Lake Erie, that’s for sure.

Q: Talk about how that pivotal life-or-death accident changed your life?

ROBERT: It was a huge experience and also a turning point that made me decide that if I was going to pursue acting, I better get busy doing it. And it was the impetus and the catalyst for really me working up the courage to go out and try and attack Hollywood. I figured if I could survive that life and death experience in Lake Erie, that I’d be okay out here trying to do battle in Hollywood, so that experience is always with me, surviving that boating incident.

Q: Are you still in touch with the friends that you saved?

ROBERT: I ran into one when I was back visiting my mother in Cleveland, Ohio, where she still lives. That day had an impact on all of us and all of our lives. My brother Lewis was also on the boat, and it’s something I’m very grateful that we survived, because it was a pretty grim day out there.

Q: I didn’t realize your brother was one of the people you saved?

ROBERT: Yeah, I have a younger brother who’s an accountant who was on the boat with me as well. He was the last one I saved, and obviously there’s a great deal of relief and gratitude, and all that pushed me toward God. So, it’s had a profound impact on my life.

Q: Talk about that?

ROBERT: I’m an Anglo Catholic and have been since I was born. But when you go through an experience like that, it hits you in a big way. You know, the whole time I was swimming, I was like: I won’t waste my life anymore. I realize that this is a grace period that I’ve been given, and I’m going to take each day as a day that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t survived.

Q: You’ve played many baddies in your career. Why is that, do you think?

ROBERT: It’s the way I hit in Hollywood. The first opportunity you get to have a big impact on a global level, where you play the Terminator, certainly that’s going to precede everything you do and every opportunity you get afterwards. It’s the movie that put me on the map. And I think when you come in as an antagonist, people always think: Oh yeah, he’s a great bad guy. So the experience I had on X Files playing John Doggett – who is a protagonist character – is my favorite for that reason, because I got to be a good guy and more of a leading man. And, of course, when you’re coming out to Hollywood, everybody wants to be a leading man, but that’s not been my lot out here in Hollywood.

Q: Is there something that you long to do? Broadway or Shakespeare?

ROBERT: Nah. Shakespeare? I’ll leave that for the Brits. I’ve done a couple of plays but I haven’t done one in so long that it certainly would be a whole new set of skills that I’d have to go find again, but certainly something that I’d be interested in. But I’m not done so who knows what I’m going to go into next?

Q: Outside of acting, what are your life goals?

ROBERT: Well, I’ve already reached a lot of them. I’m very happily married. I’ve got two kids that I put through college. I’m just trying to take it as it comes. Riding motorcycles and riding Harley Davidsons specifically are my passions and being a businessman now with the Harley Davidsons, it’s a whole new adventure. So there’s a lot keeping me busy off-screen on a daily basis so I’ll just stay active doing that.

Q: You and Barbara married in 1990. What’s your recipe for a long, successful marriage?

ROBERT: She’s the right one. She’s the one. And I’m really grateful that I met her when I met her, and glad that she said yes, and I love her dearly, and I revere and I respect the hell out of her, and I just want to make her happy.

Q: Talk us through your fitness routines?

ROBERT: I try to walk as much as I can. I don’t really jog or anything anymore. I use the TRX System for training – it’s a strap system developed by a Navy Seal who was looking for a way to work out when he was deployed. It’s straps and a handle, and you can work on core, upper body and leg strength, using your own body weight. But I don’t do a lot of free weights anymore and I just try to stay busy. I have three dogs that I walk up here in the Hollywood Hills. My wife and I will stretch and do a little yoga here and there. Also I try and get as many Thai massages as I can through the week.

Q: And for nutrition?

ROBERT: I try to eat well. I’m a meat guy. I’m a carnivore. I try to eat as much protein as I can and try to stay away from processed food. I like milk, a lot of fish, a lot of beef, eggs…so that’s where I’m at. I lay off the bread and I’m not too big on the carbohydrates. My weight goes up and down. Right now it’s down, which is good, and I just try to listen to my my doctor, and do what he says is healthy.

Q: You appeared in the shows Sons of Anarchy and Mayans M.C. and you’re a lifelong biker IRL – and now co-owner of a Harley Davidson dealership in Santa Clarita, California. Do you ever worry about the dangers of motorbiking?

ROBERT: The only thing I worry about life on bikes is when the day comes that I won’t be able to ride anymore.

Q: How often do you ride?

ROBERT: All the time. It’s my primary mode of transportation. One of the great things about California is that we have an unbelievable climate. It’s very conducive to riding a motorcycle. It’s a stress release and a peace of mind thing. It’s relaxing and meditative. It also gets me closer to God because I’m out there, fearing for my life. And I’ll tell you, it’s a great way to beat traffic and get around, especially with gas prices out here in California. And every time you get on your motorcycle, it’s an adventure because you’ve got to be in tune with your machine, and you’ve got to be in tune with what’s going on on the road. You’ve got to stay focused so it keeps you sharp.

Q: What’s your secret to aging with attitude?

ROBERT: Wow. I don’t know if I have a secret. I’m a devout Episcopalian. I go to church on Sunday. I try to stay fit. I try to enjoy my friends, enjoy my wife, my life. I try to read. I try to keep moving. I just want to stay youthful. Being an actor is staying in touch with your childlike imagination – you’ve got to be a big kid. And sometimes I wonder if I’m not mature enough for my age, if I don’t conduct myself like a man of my age. And I guess I probably don’t! So I try to stay young in thought and young in my head.

 

NB: Directed by Tyler Cornack, Mermaid will be available Digital and VOD on May 26.

 

Gill Pringle began her career as a rock columnist for popular British newspapers, traveling the world with Madonna, U2 and Michael Jackson. Moving to Los Angeles 27 years ago, she interviews film and TV personalities for prestigious UK outlets, The Independent, The i-paper and The Sunday Times – and, of course, Senior Planet. A member of Critics Choice Association, BAFTA and AWFJ, she wrote the screenplay for 2016 Netflix family film, The 3 Tails Movie: A Mermaid Adventure. An award-winning writer, in 2021 she was honored by the Los Angeles Press Club with 1st prize at the NAEJ Awards.

Photo (top): Utopia Distribution