Lance Henriksen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lance Henriksen
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Henriksen at the 2025 Comiccon France
|
|
| Born | May 5, 1940 New York City, U.S.
|
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Mary Jane Evans
(m. 1985–1989)Jane Pollack
(m. 1995–2006)Louise Lunde
(m. 2006) |
| Children | 2 |
Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is well-known for his roles in many science fiction, action, and horror movies and TV shows. Some of his most famous characters include Bishop in the Alien film series and Frank Black in the TV show Millennium.
Henriksen has also done a lot of voice acting. He voiced Kerchak in the Disney movie Tarzan and characters in video games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the Mass Effect trilogy. He has appeared in many other films, such as The Right Stuff (1983), The Terminator (1984), Hard Target (1993), Powder (1995), Scream 3 (2000), and Falling (2020).
He was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards for his work on Millennium. He also won a Saturn Award for his role in Hard Target. In 2021, he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor for his performance in Falling.
Contents
Early Life and Challenges
Lance Henriksen was born on May 5, 1940, in Manhattan, New York. His father, James Henriksen, was a Norwegian merchant sailor and boxer. His mother, Margueritte Werner, worked as a dance instructor, waitress, and model. His parents divorced when he was two years old.
Growing up, Lance had a difficult childhood. He spent some time in foster care. He left home when he was 12 years old. He also had a reputation for getting into trouble at school. He left school after finishing first grade and could not read until he was 30 years old.
Acting Career Beginnings
Before becoming an actor, Henriksen worked as a muralist, painting large pictures on walls. He also worked as a laborer on ships. Around the age of 30, he started working in theater as a set designer. He got his first acting role because he built the set for a play. It was around this time that he taught himself to read. He recorded the entire script with a friend's help to learn his lines. Soon after, he began acting in New York City.
Henriksen's first movie appearance was in The Outsider in 1961, though he was not credited. He received his first official credit in his second film, It Ain't Easy, in 1972. He later appeared in Dog Day Afternoon (1975) as an FBI agent. He also worked with director Sidney Lumet in films like Network (1976) and Prince of the City (1981).
Notable Film Roles
Henriksen had supporting roles in many films. These included the science fiction movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and the horror film Damien - Omen II (1978). He played Police Chief Steve Kimbrough in Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1982). He also played astronaut Walter Schirra in The Right Stuff (1983). He even had a small role as The King in Super Mario Bros. (1993).
When director James Cameron was writing The Terminator (1984), he first thought of Henriksen for the main role of the cyborg. However, the role eventually went to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Henriksen still appeared in the film as Hal Vukovich, a detective.
Henriksen became famous for playing the android Bishop in Cameron's film Aliens (1986). He also played Bishop's designer, Michael Weyland, in Alien 3 (1992). Later, he played Charles Bishop Weyland, the person Bishop was based on, in Alien vs. Predator (2004). He is one of the few actors whose characters were defeated by the Terminator, the Alien, and the Predator. He also played the vampire leader Jesse Hooker in the cult film Near Dark.
He played gunfighters in the Western movies Dead Man and The Quick and the Dead. In 1995, he played Sheriff Doug Barnum in the film Powder. He also made a cameo appearance in the 2009 horror comedy Jennifer's Body.
Television and Voice Acting
In 1996, Henriksen starred in the TV series Millennium. This show was created by Chris Carter, who also created The X-Files. Henriksen played Frank Black, a former FBI agent who could understand the minds of criminals. Carter created this role specifically for Henriksen. His acting in Millennium earned him much praise and several award nominations. The series ended in 1999.
After Millennium, Henriksen became a very active voice actor. He used his unique voice for many animated movies and video games. In Disney's Tarzan (1999), he voiced Kerchak, the ape who acts as Tarzan's father. He also voiced the villain 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 the voice of Lieutenant General Shepherd in the popular game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009). He voiced Karl Bishop Weyland in Aliens vs. Predator (2010), a character who looked like him. He also voiced Master Gnost-Dural in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Henriksen also appeared in a Brazilian soap opera called Caminhos do Coração (Ways of the Heart) in 2007–2008. He guest-starred on an episode of NCIS in 2009 and had a recurring role on NBC's The Blacklist.
Recent Work
In 2018, Henriksen performed motion capture and voice acting for the character Carl Manfred in the video game Detroit: Become Human. This game explores ideas about robots gaining feelings and free will, similar to themes in his character Bishop from Aliens.
In October 2018, Henriksen was cast in Falling. This was the first movie directed by actor Viggo Mortensen, who also wrote and co-starred in it. Critics praised Henriksen's performance in the film. For his role in Falling, he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actor in 2021.
In 2022, Henriksen was cast in the American horror film Awaken the Reaper, which is expected to be released in 2024.
Personal Life
Lance Henriksen has been married two times. He was married to Mary Jane Evans from 1985 to 1989. He was then married to Jane Pollack from 1995 to 2006. He has two children, one from each marriage.
Art and Creativity
Henriksen continues to create art. Before he became an actor, he worked as a muralist. He has also worked with clay since 1960. In 2017, he launched a website to show and sell his recent clay artworks. He believes that "there is nothing as simple and beautiful as raw clay."
Images for kids
-
Henriksen at the 2025 Comiccon France
-
Henriksen in 2010
-
Henriksen receiving the Aliens Legacy Gold Award at Dragon Con 2008, Atlanta, Georgia
See also
In Spanish: Lance Henriksen para niños
