Pat Roach had no idea the surprising paths his extraordinary life would take. From Andre the Giant to Indiana Jones, Pat Roach competed against legends in the wrestling ring and became an iconic presence on the silver screen!
From delivering bodyslams in the ring to making waves on the silver screen, Pat Roach’s journey took an unexpected turn when a particular Hollywood legend took an interest in his work! Artwork by Pro Wrestling Stories.
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The Unlikely Career Of Pat Roach
Born in 1937, Pat Roach grew up in Birmingham, England. And boy, grow up, he did! At six foot five, 275 pounds, Pat used his size and strength to his advantage and began training in amateur boxing and martial arts, finding most of his fighting success in Judo.
Roach would earn a black belt in the discipline by age 22.
The following year, he would prove his skills by becoming the National Judo Champion in 1960 and then the Midland Area Black Belt Champion in 1962.
Pat Roach was trained by fellow Birmingham native Alf Kent and would make his professional wrestling debut against George Sleko in 1960.
With his size, strength, and athleticism, Pat was a natural thanks to his Judo, which he still practiced.
Under the tutelage of Leicestershire-based promoter Jack Taylor, Pat learned the business and became more skilled at his craft, earning a decent wage.
With British wrestling getting more exposure on TV, by the time the ’70s rolled around, “Big” Pat Roach had settled comfortably into his heel persona.
“Big” Pat Roach. [Photo: @JoeDoraziowrestler on Facebook]He worked with such legends of British wrestling as Marty Jones, Danny Collins, Skull Murphy, Giant Haystacks, Robbie Brookside, Kendo Nagasaki, Mark Rocco, Tony St. Clair, and virtually every name of that era.
Roach preferred wrestling in his native land. As he told Simon Garfield in the 1996 bookThe Wrestling, “I’ve got nothing against American wrestlers, but the British boys are the best, and I think that’s still probably just about true.”
Roach Worldwide
Pat Roach worked worldwide, including in Germany, Japan, and South Africa. He won the British and European championships and even had a brief stint in the USA.
He also appeared for the Los Angeles office, where his bouts were televised on their Spanish-language telecasts in multiple major cities in the United States, including New York.
Pat Roach competes against Steve Veidor. [Photo: @realernestars on Twitter]Between 1974-1975 under the name “Lord” Pat Roach (many British wrestlers were a “lord” when wrestling stateside back then), Roach competed against legends such as Dino Bravo, The Rock‘s grandfather Peter Maivia and even took a pinfall loss to one of the few men who made him look small, the 8th Wonder of the World, Andre The Giant himself.
Among them were Andre, Angelo Mosca, Dutch Savage, Haystacks Calhoun, Karl and Kurt Von Brauner, Kinji Shibuya, Moondog Mayne, Mr. Wrestling, Pepper Martin, High Chief Peter Maivia, the underrated Raul Mata, The Brute (Bugsy McGraw) and Victor Rivera.
And on that card, beloved Haystacks Calhoun and Raul Mata defeated Kinji Shibuya and Roach.
The day before, in L.A., Dennis Stamp of wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat fame and Victor Rivera competed against legendary manager Sir Oliver Humperdink and Roach.
In short, he was a respected professional who laced up his boots with the very best.
But little did Pat know that a particular Hollywood legend was watching as his career progressed.
Stanley Kubrick, Pat’s Big Break, and Big Miss
The life of Pat Roach forever changed when film director Stanley Kubrick cast him as a milkbar bouncer in his classic A Clockwork Orange.
Roach did something right as Kubrick cast him again for his next film Barry Lyndon. Playing the character “Toole,” Roach would have a memorable combat scene against Hollywood heartthrob Ryan O’Neal.
Pat Roach squares up against Ryan O’Neal while Stanley Kubrick shoots the action. [Photo: /r/StanleyKubrick on Reddit]What was it Kubrick saw in Roach? Maybe despite being so big, he could move gracefully in the ring, and he saw it translating well into film. But, of course, the ever-humble Pat saw it a different way.
“Stanley Kubrick gave me my first acting job in Clockwork Orange; then he cast me in Barry Lyndon. I didn’t even get an agent until I did three films. Twenty or so years ago, there weren’t so many big, ugly guys around, so there was plenty of work for me!”
Roach soon managed to land an audition for the role of a villain in an up-and-coming Sci-Fi feature. The part ended up going to fellow British bodybuilder David Prowse.
That role was none other than Darth Vader. Talk about a giant, “What if?”
Despite losing out on the iconic Star Wars character, Roach must have impressed George Lucas. The director ended up referring him to none other than Steven Spielberg to be cast in another famous Lucasfilm trilogy.
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Pat Roach in Indiana Jones
Pat Roach exchanges blows with Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones! Photo Credit: Disney.
“I’ve played four different characters in three Indiana Jones films and have met my end each time!” Pat told the BBC in an interview.
“I was the guy who got caught in the propeller; they now show that stunt scene all the time at Universal Studios in America.”
As well as playing the mechanic caught in the propeller incident, Pat was also a Sherpa who confronted Indy at Marion’s bar earlier in the film in a scene that almost went very wrong.
“We did a take where Harrison hit me with a table, but the table didn’t break, and it knocked me out,” he laughed to Empire film magazine.
“One of the stunt guys ran in and pulled me out of the fire, which was very brave because he made a decision that spoiled Spielberg’s shot.”
Pat Roach is filmed during the dramatic fire scene in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). [Photo: @barnett_college on Twitter]Pat would return to the Temple Of Doom in the second film as the temple guard who meets his end in a tragic encounter with a stone mechanism.
Pat Roach in Indiana Jones: Temple Of Doom (1984). [Photo: Amazon]Interestingly, his character’s death scene was edited out of 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but reportedly it involved the blimp sequence, and Pat can still be seen in the movie.
Pat Roach in a deleted scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).
Friends With Film Immortals
Pat Roach’s presence can be felt primarily in fantasy movies, where he had the most dialogue.
He played Hephaestus in Clash Of The Titans, sharing scenes with legendary actor Laurence Olivier who portrayed Zeus.
Pat Roach in Clash Of The Titans (1981). [Photo: Amazon]And he brought intensity to the screen in Willow, playing the formidable General Kael.
Pat Roach as General Kael in the 1988 film Willow. [Photo: Amazon]Another famous collaborator of Pat’s was Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom Roach co-starred alongside in Conan The Destroyer and Red Sonja.
Conan The Destroyer was filled with giant stars for Arnie to face, such as NBA great Wilt Chamberlain and the most famous giant of all, Andre!
Andre the Giant and Wilt Chamberlain make Arnold Schwarzenegger look tiny on the set of the film Conan the Destroyer in 1984! [Photo: AllThatsInteresting.com]Although Andre was hidden by a mask and a rubber suit in an uncredited role as the character Dagoth, Pat played a much larger part as the sorcerer Thoth-Amon, which is remarkable to consider after Pat had faced Andre years earlier in the wrestling ring.
Pat Roach as the sorcerer Thoth-Amon in the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer.
When the heroic barbarian thwarts Thoth-Amon’s villainous plot, the sorcerer transforms into a monster and battles Conan in a now iconic confrontation sequence in a room of mirrors that features the gif-tastic and often parodied big swing.
Pat Roach delivers an impressive swing against Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Destroyer (1984). [Photo: itrwrestling.com]No doubt a young Claudio Castagnoli was taking notes.
Pat Roach and Arnold Schwarzenegger visit Andre the Giant at a UWA show during the filming of Conan the Destroyer. [Photo: @SirLariato on Twitter]Looking back at the list, Roach worked with Kubrick and Spielberg, shared screen time with Laurence Olivier and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and competed against Indiana Jones, Conan The Barbarian, and Sean Connery’s James Bond 007 in the “unofficial” Bond film Never Say Never Again!
In a Bond trivia note, Roach competed against Harold “Oddjob” Sakata of Goldfinger fame in Japan.
Any way you slice it, though, that’s quite an impressive IMDB (International Movie Data Base) list!
Role in the Film Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
But the role Pat Roach will always be remembered for, at least by audiences in his home country, is that of Bomber from Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
Pat Roach with the rest of the cast from Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. [Photo: ChronicleLive.co.uk]Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was a comedy-drama that followed the adventures of a group of bricklayers from Newcastle, England, who go off to work abroad.
For American readers, imagine a group of construction workers who all sound a bit like characters from a Newcastle pub, and you’re halfway there.
Pat’s role as Bomber was the gentle giant and almost a father-like figure to the lads. The character was loved by fans, so much so that it made it impossible for Roach, who was still competing in the ring, to play the part of a heel anymore.
He even added “Bomber” to his ring name and continued to be cheered by adoring fans until his final match against Hangman Shane Stevens in 1998.
As Pat told the BBC, “I still get approached for autographs for wrestling, James Bond, and Indiana Jones, but I now sign more Auf Wiedersehen, Pet autographs than ever before!”
The Legacy of Pat Roach
Pat Roach took all the love he received during his career and gave it back.
Pat would open a second gym during the ’80s in London’s busy Piccadilly Arcade and continued to support British wrestling after his retirement as director of operations for Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA), which, at the time, was Britain’s premier wrestling federation.
Pat Roach in his Piccadilly gym. [Photo: BirminghamMail.co.uk]Pat passed away in 2004 but left behind an enduring legacy, which should serve as a lesson for all.
He was a hardworking, genuine, kind, and humble individual who achieved international success but never forgot where he came from.
Harrison Ford and Pat Roach share a lighthearted moment at an event. [Photo: Pinterest]Thank you, Bomber!
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Tim Buckler, a senior writer here at Pro Wrestling Stories, has been an author for over a decade, penning articles for sites such as WhatCulture, Screen Rant, Inside The Ropes, and many more, but his heart will always belong to Pro Wrestling Stories. He also presents a pop culture radio show entitled "The Little Telly Upstairs," which airs every Thursday 8-10 pm on Radio Woking, featuring news, views, and music from film, television, comic books, video games and, of course, Pro Wrestling. Follow him @blockbusterman on Twitter for more of his ramblings!
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