Robert Patrick holds a very distinctive title in action cinema. Throughout the 80s and 90s, three stars dominated action movies; Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. And all three of these megastars have one thing in common – they have all killed Robert Patrick on screen.
Patrick met his demise by Willis in Die Hard 2: Die Harder, then by Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Stallone took him out in Cop Land. However, he has come toe-to-toe with Stallone in another forgotten B-movie, D-Tox. And it seems their on-screen rivalry will not end there as Patrick is set to star in Tulsa King season 3.
Breaking Down Robert Patrick’s Rise to Iconic Movie Villain Status
Robert Patrick was born on November 5, 1958 in Marietta, Georgia, but he grew up all over the United States. Despite being among the top athletes at his university, Patrick decided that sports were not for him, and at the age of 26, he left for Hollywood to pursue a career in acting. While he is most known for his breakout role in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, he first starred in a small part in Die Hard 2: Die Harder, where John McClane gunned him down. But it would be his role in T2 where his athletic abilities served him well. As the shapeshifting T-1000, Patrick not only brought immense menace through his piercing stare, he also had the speed and agility that Schwarzenegger’s T-800 did not possess, making for a truly terrifying foe. While this is still his most iconic role, Robert Patrick has shined in many villainous renditions since.
Robert Patrick and Sylvester Stallone’s On-Screen Beef
There’s a beauty to the fact that Robert Patrick will be starring alongside Stallone in Tulsa King season 3, as the two have unfinished business of sorts. In Cop Land, Patrick starred as Jack Rucker, the right-hand man to the movie’s lead villain Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel). The plot follows Freddy Heflin (Stallone), the sheriff of Garrison, a small town in New Jersey that is populated by New York City cops. However, these cops are crooked and dirty. When the down-trodden Freddy has his eyes opened by Internal Affairs, he sees a town he doesn’t like anymore. Patrick’s performance is quiet but cocky. Throughout the whole movie, he belittles Freddy, leading to a showdown where the overlooked sheriff realizes his true potential and sweeps up the garbage, taking out Ray and his whole bent crew.
Stallone and Patrick met again in the low-budget horror/thriller movie D-Tox. Ironically, this movie marked a shift in Stallone’s career where studios were not willing to pay him big money anymore due to him taking a drastic pay cut for his role in Cop Land. To that, D-Tox slipped under the radar massively, and become known as somewhat of a B-movie. However, it did give moviegoers a chance to see Stallone and Patrick square off once again. Sly played Jake Malloy, a police detective who is forced to check into a clinic that treats law enforcement officials who can’t face their jobs. While Patrick was not the lead villain, simply put, his character didn’t get along with Sly’s.
Robert Patrick in Tulsa King: Friend or Foe?
Throughout Tulsa King, Stallone’s Dwight Manfredi has come up against many adversaries in his mission to take over Tulsa. At the end of season 2, he is taken in the night by some mysterious agents and told he works for them now, leading the audience to believe he may have to become an informant. While that mystery remains to be explored, we do now know that Robert Patrick will be joining the cast as Jeremiah Dunmire. However, it is unlikely that he is one of the men who grabbed Dwight in the middle of the night as he is described as a powerful liquor magnate. So, while he may not be a straight up villain, he is most certainly going to butt heads with Dwight.
Shortly after Patrick’s involvement was announced, he took to his official X page to fire off a cheeky shot, writing: “You got me last time @TheSlyStallone (aka “The General”) let’s see how we do @TulsaKing Season 3! I’m coming for you! The post was equipped with a clip of the exact moment Stallone gunned him down in Cop Land.
Tulsa King season 3 is currently filming and is expected to land on Paramount+ in the fall of 2025. Taylor Sheridan still serves as showrunner and Stallone’s Instagram page reveals that he himself is involved in the writing process. Other stars boarding include SEAL Team actor Beau Knapp, who will star as Dunmire’s son, Cole.
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