Lance Henriksen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lance Henriksen
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Henriksen at Comic Con
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| Born | May 5, 1940 New York City, U.S.
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| Years active | 1961–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Mary Jane Evans
(m. 1985–1989)Jane Pollack
(m. 1995–2006)Louise Lunde
(m. 2006) |
| Children | 4 |
Lance James Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is famous for his roles in science fiction, action, and horror movies. You might know him as Bishop from the Alien movies. He also played Frank Black in the TV show Millennium (1996–1999) and The X-Files (1999).
Lance Henriksen has also done a lot of voice acting. He was the voice of Kerchak in the Disney movie Tarzan (1999). He also voiced characters in video games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and the Mass Effect series (2007–2012). Some of his other movies include The Right Stuff (1983), The Terminator (1984), and Scream 3 (2000).
Early Life
Lance Henriksen was born in Manhattan, New York, on May 5, 1940. His father was a Norwegian sailor and boxer. His mother worked as a dance instructor, waitress, and model. His parents divorced when he was two years old. His mother had a tough time raising him and his brother. Because of this, he spent some of his childhood in foster care.
Henriksen left home when he was 12 years old. He had a reputation for getting into trouble at school. He only finished first grade and could not read until he was 30 years old! He joined the United States Navy and served from 1955 to 1958.
Career
Before becoming an actor, Lance Henriksen worked as a mural painter and on ships. He even worked in Europe for a while. Around age 30, he started working in theater as a set designer. He got his first acting role because he built the set for a play. This was also when he taught himself to read. For his first acting job, a friend helped him record the whole script so he could learn all the parts. After that, he studied at the Actors Studio and began acting in New York City.
Henriksen's first movie was It Ain't Easy in 1972. He then had smaller roles in movies like Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He played astronaut Walter Schirra in The Right Stuff (1983).
When director James Cameron was writing The Terminator (1984), he first thought of Lance Henriksen for the main role of the cyborg. However, the role went to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Henriksen still appeared in the movie as Detective Hal Vukovich.
Henriksen became very famous for playing the android Bishop in Cameron's movie Aliens (1986). He also played Bishop's designer, Michael Weyland, in Alien 3 (1992). Later, he played Charles Bishop Weyland in Alien vs. Predator (2004). He is one of the few actors whose characters have been killed by the Terminator, the Alien, and the Predator! He also played a vampire leader in the movie Near Dark.
In 1996, Henriksen starred in the TV series Millennium. He played Frank Black, a former FBI agent who could see into the minds of killers. The show's creator, Chris Carter, wrote the role just for Henriksen. His acting in Millennium was highly praised. He was nominated for a People's Choice Award and three Golden Globe awards for his role.
After Millennium, Henriksen became a very busy voice actor. He used his unique voice for many animated movies and video games. He was Kerchak, Tarzan's ape father, in Disney's Tarzan (1999). He also voiced the supervillain Brainiac in Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006).
In video games, he voiced Molov in Red Faction II (2002) and Admiral Hackett in the Mass Effect series (2007, 2011, 2012). He was also Lieutenant General Shepherd in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009). He voiced Karl Bishop Weyland in Aliens vs. Predator, a character who even looked like him!
In 2018, Henriksen performed motion capture and voice for the character Carl Manfred in the video game Detroit: Become Human. This game is about androids gaining feelings and free will, which is similar to the ideas explored with his Bishop character in Aliens.
In 2020, he starred in the movie Falling, directed by Viggo Mortensen. Critics praised his performance in the film. He was even nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor in 2021 for this role.
Personal Life
Lance Henriksen has been married three times and has five children. He currently lives in Tumwater, Washington.
Art
Besides acting, Henriksen is also an artist. He worked as a muralist before he became an actor. He has also worked with clay since 1960. In 2017, he created a website to show and sell his clay artwork. He believes that "there is nothing as simple and beautiful as raw clay."
Voice work
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Alien III | Bishop |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Run Like Hell | Nick Conner | |
| Red Faction II | Molov | ||
| 2002–2004 | Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | Abaddon | |
| 2005 | Gun | Major Thomas Magruder | |
| 2007 | Mass Effect | Admiral Steven Hackett | |
| 2008 | Transformers Animated: The Game | Lockdown | |
| 2009 | The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena | Max Dacher | |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | General Shepherd | ||
| 2010 | Aliens vs. Predator | Karl Bishop Weyland | Voice and likeness |
| 2011 | Mass Effect 2: Arrival | Admiral Steven Hackett | |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic | Jedi Master Gnost-Dural | ||
| 2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Admiral Steven Hackett | |
| Infex | Hazelton | ||
| 2013 | Aliens: Colonial Marines | Bishop | Voice and likeness |
| Michael Weyland | |||
| 2018 | Detroit: Become Human | Carl Manfred | Voice, performance capture, and likeness |
| 2022 | The Quarry | Jedediah Hackett |
Books
Lance Henriksen has also written books:
- Not Bad for a Human – The Life and Films of Lance Henriksen (2011) – This is his autobiography, where he tells his life story.
- To Hell You Ride (2012) – This is a five-issue comic book series he co-wrote.
Images for kids
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Henriksen at Comic Con
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Henriksen in 2010
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Henriksen receiving the Aliens Legacy Gold Award at Dragon Con 2008
See also
In Spanish: Lance Henriksen para niños
