Patrick first appeared in several low-budget science-fiction and action films produced by
Roger Corman and shot in the
Philippines by
Cirio H. Santiago. Looking back, he credited his early appearances in films to his "tough-looking exterior". After
Terminator 2, Patrick landed roles in various
feature films such as
Last Action Hero,
Fire in the Sky (both 1993) and
Striptease (1996). Because of his fondness for
martial arts, Patrick starred in two martial arts films titled
Double Dragon and
Hong Kong 97, both released in 1994, and had a fight scene with
taekwondo master
Hwang Jang-lee in
Future Hunters. His performance in
Fire in the Sky led
The X-Files creator
Chris Carter to cast him in that series for the role of
John Doggett. Patrick's brother,
Richard, had previously worked for the series by adding music for the soundtrack albums
Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files in 1996 and
The X-Files: The Album in 1998. Patrick was cast as Doggett in 2000.
The X-Files was canceled two seasons later, after Duchovny left the show following season 7, which resulted in low ratings for the show. Patrick made several appearances on many genre magazines, with
TV Guide going so far as to label him one of the Ten Sexiest Men of Sci-Fi. In 2003, he appeared in ''
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, which reunited him with his Striptease
co-star, Demi Moore. He had a regular role on The Unit, and played Elvis Presley in Lonely Street (2009). In October 2006, he starred in the WWE Films production The Marine as Rome. He also appeared in We Are Marshall as Marshall University head coach Rick Tolley, who lost his life when Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed in 1970. His credits also include a guest starring role in the Lost episode "Outlaws", as well as a recurring role as the voice of Master Piandao in season 3 of the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Patrick played a supporting role in Firewall'', a 2006 action film starring
Harrison Ford. He has also appeared in
Meat Loaf's music video "
Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are" with
Will Estes. Director
McG, who directed
Terminator Salvation, said that he wanted to reintroduce characters from the previous
Terminator films: "I like the idea and the perspective for the next picture that you meet Robert Patrick the way he looks today, and he's a scientist that's working on, you know, improving
cell replication so we can stay healthier and we can cure
diabetes and do all these things that sound like good ideas, and to once again live as idealized expressions as ourselves." Patrick also starred in the psychological thriller ''The Black Water of Echo's Pond
, which was directed by Italian filmmaker Gabriel Bologna. In recent years, he has appeared in such television series as Burn Notice, NCIS and True Blood, among others. From 2012 to 2013, he also starred in Last Resort as Chief of the Boat Joseph Prosser. He played a supporting character in Identity Thief'' (2013). From 2014 to 2016, he starred in
Robert Rodriguez's
From Dusk till Dawn: The Series as Jacob Fuller. He also played Agent Cabe Gallo on the CBS drama series
Scorpion from 2014 to 2018. On March 28, 2017, Patrick was cast in
Amazon Video horror anthology series
Lore, which is based on the award-winning and critically acclaimed podcast of the same name.
Lore recounts true stories of frightening and paranormal occurrences.
Lore premiered on October 13, 2017, and ran for two seasons. In 2021, Patrick starred in
Rushed, co-produced by
Lars von Trier's
Zentropa Entertainment, and written by
Siobhan Fallon Hogan. Also starring
Jake Weary and
Peri Gilpin,
Vertical Entertainment has acquired the distribution rights. In 2022, Patrick played Auggie Smith / White Dragon, the racist supervillain father of Peacemaker in the
HBO Max series
Peacemaker, and he voiced
Wolverine in the ''
Marvel's Wastelanders: Wolverine'' podcast. ==Personal life==