Where Do You Know ‘Paradise’ Star Patrick Fischler From?
What To Know
- Patrick Fischler is a versatile character actor known for memorable roles in films like Mulholland Drive and TV shows such as Mad Men, Lost, and Southland.
- He began his career after studying at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, co-founding a theater group with his wife, Lauren Bowles, which led to his first film role in Speed (1994).
- Fischler continues to appear in notable projects across film and television, and is connected to actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus through marriage.
Patrick Fischler has one of those faces you know instantly, even if you may not know his name. With notable appearances in everything from David Lynch’s surreal thriller Mulholland Drive to recurring roles on dramas like Lost, Mad Men and Once Upon a Time and comedies like Veep and Silicon Valley, if you’ve been watching TV and movies over the last two decades, you’ve probably seen Fischler’s work. With his casting in the upcoming second season of Paradise, premiering February 23, it is a good time to learn more about his career and what he’s been up to in recent years.
How did Patrick Fischler begin his career?
Born on December 29, 1969, in Los Angeles, Fischler grew up in show business, though indirectly. His father, Bill Fischler, bought a restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway when Patrick was five years old and named it Patrick’s Roadhouse after him. The Santa Monica spot became a longtime celebrity hangout. Fischler eventually enrolled at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts to study acting. While there, he met fellow student Lauren Bowles, who would later become his wife.
After graduating, Fischler and Bowles returned to Los Angeles and co-founded a theater group called Neurotic Young Urbanites. That stage work led directly to his first small film role in Speed in 1994.
However, many viewers first noticed him in David Lynch‘s Mulholland Drive in 2001, where he delivers an unsettling monologue about a recurring nightmare. The performance is brief, but it became one of the film’s most discussed moments and cemented Fischler as a solid actor. Around the same period, he appeared in films like Ghost World and Old School, building a résumé that crossed indie projects and studio comedies.
AMC/Everett Collection
On television, Fischler became especially recognizable through recurring roles on prestige dramas. On Mad Men, he played insult comic Jimmy Barrett, a character whose confrontation with Don Draper became one of the show’s most talked-about scenes. Not long after, Fischler found himself in the unusual position of juggling two major shows at once. He appeared as Phil, a member of the Dharma Initiative, on Lost, while also playing Detective Kenny “No Gun” on Southland. The schedules required constant travel between Hawaii and Los Angeles, all while his wife was pregnant. Fischler’s career has also extended into video games, most notably in 2011, when he portrayed real-life gangster Mickey Cohen in L.A. Noire using facial performance capture technology.
In recent years, Fischler has remained a steady presence across television and film, with roles on Twin Peaks, Silicon Valley, Barry, Defending Jacob and The Right Stuff, as well as in films such as Hail, Caesar! and American Fiction.
Fischler has been married to Lauren Bowles since around 2004, and they have one daughter, born in 2009. Another fun fact is that his half-sister-in-law is Julia Louis-Dreyfus, best known for Seinfeld.
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