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I'm pretty slapstick in my life but nobody sees that. You get typecast. I'm from New York and I have a shit-detector that's outspoken. I'm very streetwise and the producers detect that. So they get me on a movie and kill me. I go into their offices and I'm sure when I leave they say, "You know, he'd be great to kill". I've been killed every way you can imagine.
- Lance Henriksen -
Lance has led an admirable life, extraordinarily diverse and rather difficult to chronicle! His parents split when he was 2 and he was brought up by his mother. He was, by all accounts, a difficult child, kicked out of various schools and spending time in a children's home. As a result of all this disruption he performed very poorly academically, in fact he didn't learn to read properly until he was 30. He also claims to have lived with relatives in Borneo, Fiji and Malaysia.
His interest with the cinema began at an early age, he would escape to the matinees whilst he was supposed to be at school! It is said that his yearning to be an actor came from seeing a production of The Lark when he was 16. The broadway production starred Julie Harris.
Lance says, "When one of the stars came on stage eating an onion and shouting profanities to a totally accepting audience I thought 'This is the life for me"
Lance left home aged 12, skipping the rest of what little schooling he had experienced.
After leaving home he hitchhiked across the US, doing odd jobs to pay his way including shrimp fisherman and fruit picker. He occassionally got into trouble for vagrancy, and even spent time in jail! In fact, a spell in jail in Tucson, Arizona led to his first professional acting job. A film starring Lee Marvin about the life of American Iwo Jima hero, Ira Hayes was being shot in the area. Lance became an extra on the film, earning 5 dollars a day for his efforts. (Some say this may actually be the 1961 film The Outsider starring Tony Curtis instead of Lee Marvin, or alternatively the Lee Marvin film Emperor of the North).
Having been adopted by show business, Lance then went on to train with stuntman Rex Rossi, learning various skills that might get him into stunt work. It is said that Rossi suggested Lance take up acting professionally.
At 16 he auditioned for the Actors Studio but got turned away. At this stage in his life (early to mid 20's) Lance was, perhaps understandably, restless and unsettled. He wanted to find out what kind of life his father had lived, so he went to sea.
The next chapter of his life is told in two different ways:
1. He spent 3 years in the Navy , rising to Petty Officer Third Class. He also spent 2 years in the merchant marine. OR ...
2. He shipped out on a Swedish freighter sailing the Atlantic and the Caribbean, later sailing on another tanker to the Middle East. Returning to the States, Lance ended up in Boston, where he auditioned for the Boston Opera Company as a mime and got the job. (taken from a press kit for'Johnny Hansome').
Following this he returned to New York where, at some point, he put some of his other talents into use: he made a living painting murals, some of which still grace varoius hotels and New York's World Fair site. It seems that Lance has had a life long love affair with art and artists. Once he wrote a screenplay about Modigliani
Once back on dry land he found work at the Boston Opera Company as a mime. At the age of 30 he auditioned for a part in Eugene O'Neils 'Three Plays of the Sea'. However, he so impressed the casting people with tales of his itinerent lifestyle that he got the lead.
Now, at 30, he had a significant handicap. Whilst being well-schooled in life, his academic schooling was virtually non-existent and he was pretty much illiterate. He couldn't read so "I got a friend to read my script on tape and I memorised everyone's parts". In fact, he taught himself to read by closely studying and analysing his scripts.
Returning to New York in 1969 he finally enrolled at the Actor's Studio. He spent several years working in various theatres, both on-stage and behind the scenes. He eventually appeared alongside Al Pacino in an off-Broadway production of The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel. His friendship with Pacino lead to small roles in a couple of Pacino's films, including Dog Day Afternoon. Lance describes Al Pacino as a "great influence on my life".
Lance works hard to get into character. Usually immersing himself completely in a role for periods of time. He has said that after playing a part he has to take time off, simply to get back into his own head. And what about that famous throaty voice? The result of many years of heavy smoking. Although it seems he has given up in the last couple of years, his voice is just as memorable.
Lance must have a lucky streak - early in his career he landed parts in 3 films shot by Sidney Lumet, a first rate director. This was in the mid 70s, with Dog Day Afternoon, Network and Prince of the City. However, it was tough for Lance with no agent or anyone else to advise him on career moves. "I was grabbing at pieces of the business, but I wasn't willing to stand still and take any flak that might come. I ran off to the woods after every project."
Lance has gained a reputation beyond all others with fans of horror and sci-fi. In fact, he says it was the original version of The Thing that sparked his interest in the genre. With memorable roles in films such as Near Dark and hammeresque b-movie, The Pit and the Pendulum. However, he is probably best known for his role as the android, Bishop, in Aliens.
But it was his role as Frank Black in Millennium that is outstanding above all. It took its toll on Lance, with long hours and difficult issues, particularly for someone who gives so much to his characters. However, for the fans and critics alike, Lance's toils were hugely appreciated. Frank Black is loved and admired the world over and Lance was twice nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor for the part.
Lance has other passions in life. He has written several unproduced screenplays - one based on the life of Italian artist, Modigliani. And over the years he has patiently developed his own project, a screenplay called Tracer Pierce. Let's hope one day he'll get to direct it.
In the mid-1980's Lance married Mary Jane, and their daughter, Alcamy, ws born in 1987. Sadly the marriage collapsed shortly after, during the shooting of The Horror Show. | VITAL STATS | | Lance Henriksen Information: | | Birth Name : Lance James Henriksen | | Eye color: Blue | | Height: (1.78 m) | | Nickname(s): | Notable feature(s):
- His gravelly low, yet commanding voice
- He has two tatoos:
- One is a shark, the other dolphins. I felt attacked, and I felt like a beast. It was dark stuff. I think if we had gone on another year, it really would have taken hold.
| | Education: | Family:
- His father was a Merchant Marine seaman nicknamed "Icewater".Parents divorced when he was two.
| | Resides in: | | Religious affiliations: | | Political affiliation: | Personal interests/hobbies:
- Another of his passions is painting and he also loves making pottery.
| | Charities/Causes: | | Other: | | |
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