There is no great origin story when it comes to the life of Patrick James Traeger. No great tragedy that would lead him into a life of crime or becoming a vigilante; no legacy of any sort that he would be burdened with from birth. Born the eldest of what would be four children to Clark and Evelyn Traeger, Patrick lived a relatively quiet and uneventful life for the first few years of his life. True, his parents had been trying to start a family for some time before they were blessed with their first child, but that just made the pair of them all the more grateful once he actually did arrive. Clark worked hard at the pub he owned in the less-than nice parts of Dublin, and often escaped from his family by spending more and more hours in the pub. Evelyn had only ever wanted to be a mother in her life; being an only child herself, she wanted a whole bunch of kids she could raise up. A tough Irish broad, she taught her children to pull themselves up by the boostraps if and when life kicked them down.

That's exactly what happened early on in Patrick's life. He was only five years old when his youngest sister was born, but their family was already starting to tear at the seams. His father had a waning desire to be one, and the more children that came into their family, the more time he wanted to spend away from them. Patrick was six years old when his mother sat him down with the littlest one on her knee and told him that she needed him to be strong -- that they were moving to America to stay with her aunt and uncle in New York for a while. He wouldn't know for a few years, that his father had met someone else and wanted a life with her. He had very little contact with his children after they moved to New York -- and honestly for the most part, the children thrived without the negative influence of their father around.

Patrick's teenage years would certainly put his mother through the ringer when it came to patience levels. Instead of taking the "responsible eldest child" role in the family, he was that kid who tested the limits. Whether it was a string of detentions his freshman year of high school or the suspension he got for fighting during his junior year, he didn't quite understand the importance of maturity even as a teenager. Eventually, he grew out of it -- or at least, better learned how to channel his outgoing and sometimes reckless behavior into something a little more productive. Honestly, he never thought that theater would be anything even remotely for him, but he was "forced" to take it as an elective during high school, and sort of fell in love with it. The ability to channel so much of that shit he'd pent up was really cathartic, and it was addictive to say the least.

Time for college came, and he was accepted into New York University. His study of choice was acting for film and television -- as much as he loved the stage, there was something too alluring to him about the mask of a camera. When he graduated, he was one of those young & hungry types that hit the ground running. Little bit-parts in television series led to bigger parts, and bigger still.

Though he'd been around for a few years, he'd still claim that Alias was the biggest launchpad for his career. It still remains one of his favorite projects to date -- but even as that show continued on, he wouldn't slow down. He wanted to work, and keep working with people who would bring him to greater heights of performance. Overall, that's all he wants for the rest of his career.