Gunnar Hansen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gunnar Hansen
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Hansen at Days of the Dead in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2012
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Gunnar Milton Hansen
March 4, 1947 Reykjavík, Iceland
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| Died | November 7, 2015 (aged 68) Northeast Harbor, Maine, United States
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| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1973–2013 |
Gunnar Milton Hansen (born March 4, 1947 – died November 7, 2015) was an actor and author. He was born in Iceland but became an American citizen. He is most famous for playing the scary character Leatherface in the 1974 movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Early Life and Education
Gunnar Hansen was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. His father was a dentist and his mother was Norwegian. When he was five, he moved to the United States with his mother and brother. They lived in Maine for a few years.
When Gunnar was eleven, his family moved to Austin, Texas. He went to Austin High School there. Later, he studied at the University of Texas at Austin. He studied English and mathematics for his first degree. Then, he went to graduate school to study Scandinavian languages and English.
Acting and Writing Career
Before becoming an actor, Gunnar Hansen worked as a computer operator. He also played football in high school. In college, he started doing theater work. He even worked as a bar bouncer for a while.
In 1973, after finishing graduate school, Hansen heard about a movie being filmed in Austin. It was called The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. He decided to try out for a part. He got the role of Leatherface, the masked character in the movie. This role made him very well-known.
After this movie, Hansen spent many years writing. He wrote for magazines and published books. He returned to acting in 1988 in a movie called Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers. He acted in about 20 more films after that. One of his later roles was in Texas Chainsaw 3D. He saw his acting as a side job and kept writing books. He also wrote film scripts and directed documentary films.
Gunnar Hansen was also a talented author. In 1993, he published a travel book called Islands at the Edge of Time; A Journey to America's Barrier Islands. In 2013, he wrote Chain Saw Confidential. This book was about how The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was made and how people reacted to it. He also taught college classes part-time.
Later Years and Passing
Gunnar Hansen passed away at his home in Northeast Harbor, Maine. He died on November 7, 2015, at the age of 68.
See also
In Spanish: Gunnar Hansen para niños
- The White Bird
