Bill Paxton’s son James Paxton has discussed playing a cameo role in Twisters, the forthcoming sequel to the hit disaster film.
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The 1996 film – which starred his father Bill alongside Helen Hunt – is getting a belated follow-up in the form of Twisters, which stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, and is due for release this coming week (July 17).
James Paxton appears in the film in a brief role as a “disgruntled hotel guest”, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. The media outlet spoke with him about his involvement: “It’s really a cameo, so it’s an Easter egg for the fans of Dad and the original,” he said. “I did this one for Dad.”
He opened up about the emotional weight that carried the role: “It took me a little bit of time to process it, just given the context of my dad and his significance in the original and him not being here. It’s an emotional thing. It wasn’t something that I could really decide immediately, It took a little time just to process it, just the magnitude of it.”
On his involvement, he felt “it was the right thing to do” to be representative of his father there – someone who wasn’t originally excited about his son’s decision to pursue acting, according to James.
“At first, Dad was a bit reticent — just because he knows this is a very tough path and there’s a lot of ups and downs and adversity that you go through just trying to build a career of longevity in acting and filmmaking,” he shared. “And he said, “Gosh, if there’s anything else you want to do, even just as much or more, a little bit more, do that instead.”
Once his father knew James was serious about his decision, he became supportive, telling him “”You’ve got a real ticket to ride,” which was his way of saying, “You got a ticket to the big leagues; you can go play now, but you got to take it seriously and study and buckle down,”” James recalls. “And so now I feel closest to him when I’m working on sets.”
Leading up to the release of Twisters, the film has faced a whirlwind of surprise appearances at its premiere events – one in London with the appearance of Tom Cruise, and another in Los Angeles, where enraged PETA activists stormed the stage.
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