Martial Arts Entertainment’s Getting to Know Patrick Kilpatrick is an intriguing interview with one of the most intelligent “villains” in film.
Who in the entertainment industry would you say is the most important person of all time and why? What can you tell us about him or her?
I would say I am, since I’m the center of the universe. Lol … Actually in various fields they would be different people. Acting, Marlon Brando 2nd half of the 20th century, Sir Lawrence Olivier, 1st half. Both upended acting, and in some cases directing and producing, the meaning of stardom etc., forever transforming the worlds of entertainment. Nicholas Roeg is a visionary British director who catapulted 20th century film forward, Hitchcock certainly is in the pantheon, Stanley Kubrick, entertainment is not one person it is continual revolution in a multitude of films. Peter Sellers was perhaps the greatest actor of his time. Januz Kaminski, Spielberg’s Director of Photography, is a genius in our time. Spielberg and Michael Bay, James Cameron are mass entertainment geniuses, Mel Gibson is an extraordinary star, producer and director.
Who in the entertainment industry has had the biggest influence on your career? What did you learn from that person?
Nick Roeg and John Tillinger. Both early mentors who sent me to excellence in thought and deed. It’s very important for young entertainment professionals to be given guidance toward real excellence. Marlon Brando by example in work, not in personal life or child rearing. Hemingway, Hunter Thompson, Ken Kesey, Thomas Mcguane, Tom Wolfe, F. Scot Fitzgerald by writing craft example. Roy Beauchamp, an early creative director at Time, Inc.
Who in the entertainment industry has had the biggest influence on your life, outside your career? What did you learn from that individual?
Sir John Gielgud, Lee Marvin, Charles Durning, Audie Murphy, great stars, actors, patriots and genteel men.
What are the most important lessons in life that you’ve learned from working in the entertainment industry?
An absolute dedication to craft and ‘delivering the goods.’ There are no excuses, there is always a way. You have no limitations except those you create.
If you could meet anyone in the world from the entertainment industry, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Katie Jurardo. I would love to have been her lover.
What is your earliest memory of your work in the entertainment industry?
Intercepting a pass and running it back the entire field for a touchdown. Then having it called back because of penalty. The cheerleaders were more amorous that night.
What was the happiest moment of your life as it relates to working in the entertainment industry? The saddest?
Working on the TV show “Tour of Duty” was the most laughs because of stars Steve Caffrey and Terry Knox, as irreverent as they come. Being hired by Steven Spielberg without auditioning or even meeting him for “Minority Report,” was a golden Hollywood moment. Being offered or booking every job is a delight. Making love and being in relationship with the lead actress on a show or two was a gift for which I am profoundly grateful. Generally I have kept it very professional until after the show but some couples are meant to ignite and form. Watching the varied personalities and characters is an endless source of amusement.
The saddest was having John Candy die and the composer musical genius James Horner.
What are the funniest or most embarrassing stories related to your work in the entertainment industry?
You’ll have ask them.
If you could hold on to just one memory from your life working in the entertainment industry, what would that be?
Gazing at the beauty of the Vancouver sea and coast while doing the water work for Free Willy; The Rescue.
What are you proudest of in your work in the entertainment industry?
Always delivering the utmost. The volume of work, longevity, swiftness with quality and out of the block creation, service to each project.
What would you have done if you hadn’t work in the entertainment industry and why?
I have been a journalist, advertising writer, bodyguard for rock groups, writer/scriptwriter in general. I know I would have made a good lawyer or politician as I am devoted to service.
Have you ever attempted something in your career that necessitated standing apart from the general consensus?
Of course, but I ran the proposal by the director first for their permission to go for it. I also had to make a decision a long time ago that being an American common sense patriotic citizen and human in the world was more important than any acting career. My politics are full spectrum and hardly the Hollywood line. I haven’t found that detrimental, actually I think being courageous and outspoken is very rewarding and brings one into contact with others of like spirit.
If you could change one thing about the entertainment industry, what would that be?
The lack of patriotism and misguided “compassion” which actually translates into totalitarianism and the destruction of freedom. It’s hardly everyone, only among some idiotic elitists who have their genesis in communism and the anti-Viet Nam war movement which was heavily influenced by Mao and Stalin thought.
How has your life in the entertainment industry been different than what you’d imagined?
Better in every way, a gift of challenge and requiring all my body, thought, humor and drive.
What would you still like to accomplish in your entertainment career?
Oh it’s never ending; I have some truly worthwhile large scale films I’ve written and have much, but not all, of the resources to produce. An academy award, an Emmy. Mostly I would like to become ever better as a storyteller. I know I have more books to come.
How would you like to be remembered in entertainment history?
A person of diligent creativity who gave it his all in the work and the world while having some fun and strength. I’ve already helped to raise two fantastic young men. It’s a great, loving blessing.
What are your spiritual beliefs and how did those beliefs affect your career, or did your career in some way affect your spiritual beliefs. Tell us about this.
I believe factually, experientially in God, the force, the universe, whatever you wish to call it. I believe he, she, it walks with me, enthuses every part of me, blesses me, aids me every second in the fulfillment of my purpose. I pray to God to make us all brilliant and safe.
What advice would you give to people just beginning their career in the entertainment industry?
Sleep with rich people. Lol … I would advise them to contact me. Kilpatrick203@gmail.com. I can save them decades of wandering in the wilderness and thousands of dollars of wasted money at a mere $300 per hour. Who do you want to go to war with, but the sergeant who has been at the front of entertainment for 50 years? I teach at universities and privately and by skype and in one hour can set them straight in an A-list way with frugality. Books, classes, auditions, skills, the acting itself, wardrobe, producing, directing, script writing … all of it launched in a couple of hours. A clear individual path to success if God wishes them to be in the entertainment business, if not the skills transfer to everything else.
If this was to be your very last conversation, what words of wisdom would you pass on to others in the industry who will read this interview?
Love, generosity and kindness are the only reality to those who deserve it. Swift dispatch to those that don’t. Value yourself, go for the best once you are shown where it is. Live by absolute fearless faith.
