Bill Paxton Is The Only Actor To Be Killed By These 3 Iconic Sci-Fi Villains

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The late, great Bill Paxton had a long and varied film career, beginning with his directing of the "Fish Heads" music video for Barnes & Barnes. He also appeared in the duo's videos for "Love Tap," "Soak It Up," and "Ah Ā," as well as in Pat Benatar's "Shadows of the Night." During this stretch, Paxton also moved into feature films, turning up in genre films like "Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker," and "Mortuary," as well as the cult comedy "Stripes" and the glorious Walter Hill rock musical "Streets of Fire." 1984 saw Paxton's first collaboration with director James Cameron, when the actor appeared in "The Terminator" as a punker that was murdered by a vicious, nameless robot from the future (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Paxton was the punk who had blue spiked hair and a tire-tread tattoo on his face. 

"The Terminator," made for an uncharacteristically modest $6.4 million, would go on to earn over $78 million at the box office, becoming a pop culture phenomenon that would spawn sequels, video games, theme park attractions, and many, many crossover comics. It also assured that Cameron would never "work small" again, allowing the filmmaker to expand into more and more complex special effects bonanzas. 

Indeed, Cameron and Paxton would collaborate again in 1986 with the release of "Aliens," an action-forward follow-up to Ridley Scott's 1978 horror movie "Alien." And, wouldn't you know it, Cameron murdered Paxton again, this time at hands (talons?) of a monstrous, cockroach-like Xenomorph. 

Then, to make sure his deathly dance card was full, Paxton appeared in Stephen Hopkins' 1990 sci-fi thriller "Predator 2," wherein he had to face the title creature face-to-face on a subway car. Despite his use of a gun and a machete, Paxton's character didn't make it out alive. 

Sci-fi fans now hold Paxton in high esteem as the only actor to have been murdered by a Terminator, an Alien, and a Predator.

Bill Paxton was killed by a Terminator, a Xenomorph, and a Predator

Paxton doesn't have a notably large role in "The Terminator." He's merely a street tough who has the bad luck of encountering the titular time-traveling assassin shortly after he arrived in the year 1984. By the mythology of the film, only organic compounds can use a time machine, so the Terminator robot, wrapped in living human skin, arrives in the nude. His first course of action is to find a human his size and steal their clothes. When the naked Terminator approaches a random gang of punks, they are amused by his nudity, asking if it was laundry day. The emotionless Terminator merely kills them and takes their clothes. The monster wears a leather jacket for the rest of the movie as a result. Paxton wasn't even the central, "leader" punk, but he was the most striking with his blue hair and facial tattoo. 

R.I.P. Blue-hair punk.

Paxton's role was larger in "Aliens," a film about blustery, violent space marines who travel to a distant planet infested by alien creatures, hoping to rescue any survivors and kill all the monsters. Paxton plays Hudson, one of the loudest and most boastful of the marines, a man who brags about his efficiency as a killing machine. The aliens, however, prove to be more than he can handle, and he quickly sinks into whiny panic when several members of his team are killed. Hudson eventually gets to have his final face-off moment against the creatures in a medical bay. As the monsters close in, Hudson gets to wail cuss words and fire his useless machine gun into multiple creatures. One of the creatures, however, bursts up from under the floorboards, and snatches Hudson from below.

R.I.P. Hudson. 

Bill Paxton really tried to kill the Predator in Predator 2, but lost

The 1990 follow-up to "Predator" transposed the original film's action from the jungles of Central America to a near-future Los Angeles, allowing the title creature to stalk its victims in alleyways and apartment buildings. Crime has risen several hundred percent in the future, and there are frequently ultra-violence gun battles in the streets of L.A. In the first "Predator," the title creature engaged in a human hunt, but seemingly used the violence of jungle-bound war to cover its actions. The implication in "Predator 2," then, is that street violence has become so bad, that an alien visitor is unable to distinguish it from war. 

Paxton plays a supporting character in "Predator 2," Detective Lambert, a cop operating under the command of Detective Harrigan (Danny Glover). Lambert is attacked by the Predator in a subway while traveling to an investigation site. Lambert tries to fight off the monster, but is overwhelmed. 

R.I.P. Detective Lambert.

After 1990s, Paxton appeared in a wider variety of project, often eschewing horror in favor of crime thrillers, heady dramas, and Hollywood prestige pictures. He worked with Cameron on two more occasions, appearing as a slimy used car salesman in 1994's "True Lies" and as an oceanographer in "Titanic." Paxton's next notably foray into horror came in 2001 with the release of "Frailty," his feature film directorial debut. "Frailty" was one of the best films of its year. 

In 2017, Paxton underwent heart surgery to repair a damaged aortic valve, and there were complications during surgery that ultimately led to his death. He was in the midst of making a TV series based on Antoine Fuqua's "Training Day," and had already shot his scenes for "The Circle." It was an unfortunate death that robbed the world of one of its best character actors.

R.I.P. Bill Paxton.