By Sarah Preston
Patrick Fischler is an American character actor, born 29 December 1969 in Los Angeles, best known for Jimmy Barrett on Mad Men, Phil on Lost, and Duncan Todd in the 2017 Twin Peaks revival. He has more than 60 film and TV credits, per Wikipedia and TMDB, and he’s one of those actors you clock in a second without ever landing on the name. Right now, you’ll find him in Hulu’s Paradise.
Watch enough prestige T, V and Fischler has probably shown up in a show you love. Here’s who he is, the roles that built him, and one family detail that most write-ups skip.
Quick Facts: Patrick Fischler
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Patrick S. Fischler |
| Born | 29 December 1969, Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Character actor, producer |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Best known for | Mad Men, Lost, Southland, Twin Peaks |
| Spouse | Lauren Bowles (married 2004) |
| Notable relative | Julia Louis-Dreyfus (sister-in-law) |
| Training | NYU Tisch School of the Arts |
Sources: Wikipedia, IMDb, TMDB.
Who is Patrick Fischler?
Patrick Fischler is an American character actor with more than 60 credits across film, television and video games, per Wikipedia. He trained at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and began landing small movie parts in the early 1990s. He’s known for playing intense, faintly unsettling characters, which is a big part of why casting directors keep coming back.
His first film role was in Speed (1994), and The Shadow followed the same year, according to TMDB. Then came the part that shifted things: a brief but creepy turn in David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001). After that, he kept popping up in films like Ghost World (2001), Old School (2003), The Black Dahlia (2006) and Dinner for Schmucks (2010). More recently, he played opposite Jeffrey Wright in the Oscar-winning American Fiction, per Deadline.
Patrick Fischler’s best-known roles
Television is where Fischler really made his name. His breakout was a 2008 guest run on AMC’s Mad Men as insult comic Jimmy Barrett, whose vicious run-in with Don Draper turned into one of the show’s most-quoted scenes. That opened the door to a string of recurring parts on the era’s biggest dramas. If you want to know what happened to the rest of that ensemble, see our Mad Men cast — where are they now roundup.
Here’s a timeline of his signature work, per Wikipedia and TMDB:
| Year(s) | Role | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Man behind the diner (uncredited-style cameo) | Mulholland Drive |
| 2008 | Jimmy Barrett | Mad Men |
| 2009–2010 | Phil (Dharma Initiative) | Lost |
| 2009–2010 | Detective Kenny “No-Gun” | Southland |
| 2011 | Mickey Cohen (voice/motion capture) | L.A. Noire (video game) |
| 2015 | Isaac Heller | Once Upon a Time |
| 2017 | Duncan Todd | Twin Peaks (revival) |
| 2018 | Lon O’Neil | Barry |
| 2020 | Dan Rifkin | Defending Jacob |
| 2025 | Recurring role | NCIS: Origins |
Look closely,y and one stretch stands out. Around 2009 and 2010, he was playing Phil on Lost in Hawaii and Detective Kenny “No-Gun” on Southland in Los Angeles at the same time, and Remind Magazine reported that his schedule had him flying back and forth constantly while his wife was pregnant. Lost fans can catch up with the rest of the island in our Lost cast reunions and updates post.
In 2011, he played real-life gangster Mickey Cohen in Rockstar’s L.A. Noire, using facial performance capture, according to TV Tropes.
He’s told the story of landing Twin Peaks more than once. Fischler said the call “was a shock,” and that the production kept the script so locked down that couriers dropped pages at his door and he only ever saw his own scenes, per Nerdist. When he asked how it all fit together, nobody would say.
The Patrick’s Roadhouse connection most bios miss.
Here’s the bit that rarely makes his filmography. In a roundabout way, Fischler had his name on a Santa Monica landmark before he was old enough for school. Remind Magazine reported that his father, Bill Fischler, bought a restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway when Patrick was five and named it Patrick’s Roadhouse after him. The place went on to become a long-running celebrity haunt.
So the guy who keeps getting cast as odd Hollywood insiders grew up with his name over the door of a spot where famous faces actually ate. It’s a minor thing, but it fits, and it’s the kind of specific, checkable detail the usual “where do you know him from” pieces tend to miss.
Patrick Fischler in Paradise Season 2
His biggest current role is Henry Miller in the second season of Hulu’s Paradise, Dan Fogelman’s political thriller. According to Wikipedia, Miller is a quantum scientist and the former owner of Vestige Quantum. Season 2 started streaming in February 2026.
Deadline broke the casting news in October 2025, describing the part at the time as a brilliant professor juggling his work with a quietly tough personal life. The show stars Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson and James Marsden. Around that same window, Deadline also reported he’d joined Apple TV+’s Cape Fear limited series opposite Javier Bardem and Amy Adams. If you’re keeping up with the show, our Paradise Season 2 cast guide runs through the new arrivals.
Family: Lauren Bowles and Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Fischler has been married to actress Lauren Bowles since 2004, per Wikipedia, and they have one child. The two met at NYU. That marriage also makes him the brother-in-law of Seinfeld and Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, since Bowles is her half-sister.
They’ve worked together as well. IMDb credits Fischler with co-directing a stage musical Bowles was involved in at The Powerhouse Theater in Poughkeepsie, New York.
FAQ
How old is Patrick Fischler?
Patrick Fischler was born on 29 December 1969 in Los Angeles, which makes him 56 as of 2026, per Wikipedia.
What is Patrick Fischler best known for?
He’s best known for Jimmy Barrett on Mad Men, Phil on Lost, Detective Kenny “No-Gun” on Southland, and Duncan Todd in the 2017 Twin Peaks revival, per Wikipedia.
Is Patrick Fischler related to Julia Louis-Dreyfus?
Yes, by marriage. His wife, actress Lauren Bowles, is Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s half-sister, making Fischler her brother-in-law.
Who does Patrick Fischler play in Paradise?
He plays Henry Miller, a quantum scientist and former owner of Vestige Quantum, in Season 2 of Hulu’s Paradise, per Wikipedia.
Did Patrick Fischler appear in a video game?
Yes. He portrayed gangster Mickey Cohen in the 2011 game L.A. Noire using facial performance-capture, according to TV Tropes.
Nearly 35 years in, Patrick Fischler is what a working character actor looks like: rarely top of the bill, but usually the scene you walk away remembering with Paradise Season 2 and Cape Fear both coming, that familiar face is sticking around a while longer.
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