Reacher Season 2: Why Shane Langston Looks So Familiar

When a hero as unstoppable as "Reacher" (Alan Ritchson) returns to television, it makes sense to give him a bigger, badder, and more brutal foe to really up the stakes. Thankfully, the forklift truck-sized frontman of Amazon Studios' action series has just that in the form of Shane Langston, the shady private security boss behind multiple murders of Reacher's former teammates. Of course, for someone to dare cross the wandering stranger who can cast shadows over small buildings, you need an icon known for turning the air cold in any room he walks into. Thankfully, they found just the guy.

Robert Patrick is taking on the part of Langston — a man sinister and stupid enough to get up to no good while Reacher is around. Of course, as far as playing a big bad, this is not Patrick's first rodeo. He's done it quite a few times; on one occasion, he played one of the most iconic monsters in cinema history. That's some time ago now, though, and most recently, he's spent some time being an okay guy(ish) alongside one of television's most beloved families — the Duttons.

Appearing in one of the many chapters of The Dutton Family Tree, Robert Patrick joined "1923" as Sheriff McDowell — a friend to the Duttons and, specifically, to Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford). Patrick reveled in the gig, donning a shiny badge and kicking up dust with one of the most beloved movie stars ever, having already worked with him years before in the 2006 film, "Firewall."

Talking about his co-star and head of the Dutton household in that era, Patrick told Patheos, "He's a great guy. He's a tremendous talent. It's amazing to watch him on a horse. He's just a hoot. He really is." As for Patrick, he had a good time on the show, adding that, "The most fun thing I did, it's not a spoiler, but I get to shoot a gun in a public place and shut everybody up." Robert Patrick playing peacemaker? Well, it's quite the contrast from his time as the father of DC's Peacemaker.

Arriving as one of the biggest surprises of 2022 — with an earworm of an intro song to boot — "Peacemaker" includes Robert Patrick stepping into the shoes of Auggie Smith, aka White Dragon, the bigoted cult leader and father to John Cena's Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker. Somehow, even with a secret alien invasion unfolding in James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" spin-off series, Patrick's character is still one of the most imposing threats Peacemaker and his allies encounter.

A tenuous relationship bubbles throughout the series and reaches breaking point in the penultimate episode. While appearing on Michael Rosenbaum's "Inside of You" podcast, Patrick expressed his enthusiasm for working with the wrestler-turned-movie star. "We have a great relationship. I hope John says the same thing because I think we do because I think we have great chemistry, and it works really well." It's a winning ingredient that might be set to return for Season 2.

Just like "Better Call Saul" brought back some iconic characters from "Breaking Bad," so too did "Sons of Anarchy" spin-off "Mayans M.C." Having woven in and out of the same lane as SAMCRO with its five-season run, various characters from the original crime series appeared in "Mayans M.C.," including Robert Patrick's Les Packer. Appearing in four episodes across both shows, Patrick's hard-edged President of the San Bernardino chapter of Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club first shows up in "Sons of Anarchy" Season 6, Episode 4, "Wolfsangel." He also stops by for the show's final season.

Patrick later worked on "Mayans M.C." in a welcome but short-lived stint as Packer, fortifying the connection between this show and its predecessor. Appearing in the show's debut episode, he returned in Season 2, Episode 4, which would be his final performance as Packer. In Season 3, it's revealed that Packer has been diagnosed with cancer, and his death is confirmed off-screen in Season 5.

There are plenty of places in popular culture that Robert Patrick has made his own, but one that might've been difficult was his stint as John Doggett in "The X-Files." Following the disappearance of Mulder (David Duchovny), who had been one of the show's two main characters for seven seasons, Doggett steps in as his replacement to work alongside Scully (Gillian Anderson) and then Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) in what was then thought to be the show's final season in 2002.

Looking back at the part he played in one of the most beloved science fiction shows ever made, in a chat with People, Patrick was aware of the backlash that came from taking over for the show's longtime male lead. "There wasn't a lot of interest in me coming in and taking over that role or filling in his shoes, so to speak," Patrick explained. "You know, jeez, 'I haven't even done anything, and people are already against it,' so it was an interesting time, but we won them over, and we got two seasons out of it."

Of course, if you're going to look back at Robert Patrick's career, it'd be silly not to mention his legendary performance as a character more threatening than even Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg assassin in "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." As the T-1000, Patrick petrified audiences as the slender, silver, and excessively stabby model that gets the upper hand on Schwarzenegger's rewired robot. Going through an immense training regime to run down John Connor's (Edward Furlong) bike on foot and even making sure not to blink when firing his pistol, Patrick was the perfect machine that, upon his audition, even gave James Cameron the willies.

Speaking to The Guardian about the role that changed his career, Patrick recalled how he slipped into the role of the T-1000 and scared the director of one of the greatest sequels ever made. "I assumed the position of what I thought the T-1000 should be, and I just snapped back and looked right into the camera there and I turned into this menacing thing," explained Patrick. "Jim [Cameron], from what I understand, went 'Wow.'" And I remember him saying: 'You were the only one who gave me a little scare there.'"