Mark Patton

In December 2015, it was announced that Patton was cast in the independent paranormal horror film, Family Possessions, which is written and directed by Tommy Faircloth of Horse Creek Productions. Mark will play the role of Tyson, a male Regina George who torments a new girl in town with his best friend Tristen. Filming took place in March 2016 in Greenville, North Carolina. Family Possessions had its World Premiere in mid October 2016 and won many awards at film festivals around the globe. This film marks the first horror movie Mark has acted in since A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. In February 2018, "Family Possessions" was released on North American by 4Digital Media/Sony Pictures. It was also released in South Korea and Taiwan.

In 1985, Patton landed the lead role in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge portraying Jesse Walsh, a teen whose body becomes possessed by Freddy Krueger. Critics and audiences noted the gay subtext of the film, something screenwriter David Chaskin initially attributed to Patton's portrayal of Jesse. However, in the 2010 documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy Chaskin acknowledged that he, himself, was responsible for the film's deliberate gay subtext.

Patton grew up in Riverside, Missouri and, after graduating high school, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. Within a few years he landed the role of Joe Qualley in the 1982 Broadway production of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Patton reprised the role in the 1982 film of the same name. Although his character in the play and film was gay, Patton was not allowed to do an interview with the LGBT-interest magazine, The Advocate. Patton identified this as an early indicator of the homophobia in Hollywood at that time.

Mark Patton (born September 22, 1959) is an American interior designer and actor. Beginning his professional acting career in 1982, Patton is perhaps best known for his feature film roles as Joe Qualley in the dramatic film Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean and as Jesse Walsh in the 1985 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, a role for which he is touted as the first male scream queen in modern cinema.

Patton is openly gay. On his 40th birthday, he was diagnosed with HIV along with pneumonia, thrush and tuberculosis. His medications interacted badly and he was hospitalized. Upon recovering, he moved to Mexico, where he met and later married Hector Morales Mondragon. The couple owns and operates an art store in Puerto Vallarta.