James Paxton says he feels most connected to his late father, Bill Paxton, on the set of a film or series he’s working on, so it makes perfect sense that he’d want to take part in Twisters.
That made it even easier for the young actor to accept a small role in the new disaster film honoring his father, some 28 years after he starred in the original Twister (1996).
While the new film doesn’t feature any of the old characters, the sequel does pay tribute to Bill Paxton, with his son playing the role of Cody, a disgruntled motel guest.
“Well, initially my agents sent me an audition and I had to read for a role. A while went by and I didn’t really hear anything, so I made peace with, ‘Oh, I guess it might not work out.’ And then I heard from my team that they offered me a role,” Paxton said. Entertainment weekly.
“It’s really a cameo, so it’s an easter egg for the fans of Dad and the original. I made this for Dad.”
James Paxton, 30, opens up about his small role in Twisters, the standalone sequel to the hit disaster film Twisters (1996) that starred his late father Bill Paxton; Bill and James to be seen in 2017
“I made this for dad,” he told Entertainment Weekly; seen on July 11
It turned out that the younger Paxton “had to take some time to think about” whether he should participate in the film, given “the context of my father and his significance in the original and the fact that he wasn’t there.”
He added: ‘It’s an emotional issue. It wasn’t something I could really decide right away. It took some time to process it, just the magnitude of it.’
The 30-year-old actor is best known for his role as Lukas Waldenbeck in the crime thriller series Eyewitness (2016), which aired for one season on USA Network.
He previously guest-starred on Marvel’s Agent of SHIELD on ABC as an “alternate version” of John Garrett, a role his father had played.
The original Twister (1996) proved to be a huge hit at the worldwide box office, grossing $495.7 million against a budget of $88-92 million.
The director is Jan de Bont, who worked from a screenplay by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin. The leading roles are played by Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz and Cary Elwes. This group of enthusiastic, amateur storm chasers tries to use a tornado research device during a serious outbreak in Oklahoma.
Other cast members include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lois Smith, Jeremy Davies, Todd Field, Zach Grenier, Nicholas Sadler and Jake Busey.
Lee Isaac Chung is set to direct the highly anticipated sequel, following a script by Mark L. Smith, based on a story by Joseph Kosinski.
The late Bill, who died in February 2017 at the age of 61, co-starred with Helen Hunt in the hit disaster film Twister (1996)
It turns out that the younger Paxton “had to take some time to process” whether he would participate in the sequel, given “the context of my father and his significance in the original and his absence”; Bill and Helen Hunt in Twister (1996)
James said he initially wanted to study journalism to become a reporter, but as he became more involved with theater and his father’s work, he began to fall in love with acting; father and son seen in 2010
Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is hit by a devastating encounter with a tornado and is lured back to the open plains by her boyfriend Javi (Anthony Ramos) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system, according to a synopsis on Wikipedia.
After encountering Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a charming but reckless social media superstar who loves posting about his storm-chasing adventures, Kate, Tyler and their competing teams fight for their lives as multiple systems converge over central Oklahoma.
In addition to Edgar-Jones, Powell and Ramos, the cast for the second installment includes: Brandon Perea, Maura Tierney, Kiernan Shipka, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sasha Lane, Daryl McCormack and James Paxton as Cody.
Ultimately, James revealed that he decided to accept the Twisters cameo to “give a channel for [Bill’s] “I have a strong spirit there and I encourage everyone in this production to be successful, because I know he would be.”
The proud son explained, “I wanted to do something that really honored his presence in this new chapter and really do something for him. And I realized there’s a lot of great people involved that I would love to get to know. And so it felt like the right thing to do, to be representative of Dad in that.”
Bill, who died at age 61, underwent open-heart surgery in February 2017 to repair a damaged heart valve and correct an aortic aneurysm.
The next day he was rushed to hospital for a second emergency operation to repair a damaged coronary artery, but his condition deteriorated over the next ten days. He eventually suffered a stroke and died.
The new standalone film Twisters (2024) stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell as storm chasers fighting for their lives as multiple systems converge over central Oklahoma.
James Paxton says he decided to take on the role to “be a conduit for his spirit there and encourage everyone in this production to be successful, because I know he would be,” he said in a reference to his late father; Edgar-Jones is depicted in a dramatic scene
Following its UK premiere on July 8, Twisters is scheduled for US release on July 17
James, who looked up to his father as the two were also best friends, claims that he initially wanted to study journalism and become a reporter. But as time went on and he gained more experience in theater in high school and beyond, he fell in love with acting.
‘I talked to Dad about the possibility of just starting to work on film sets, not necessarily acting. And so I got a job as a PA and then I worked in the art department in props at [my dad’s movie] “Nightcrawler (2014),” he explained.
The new disaster film Twisters is in UK cinemas from July 8 and will be released in the US from July 17.
