Dan Yeager (born January 1, 1965) is an American actor, art director, writer, producer, and director who is known for his portrayal of the fictional cannibalistic killer

Leatherface Leatherface is a character from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (franchise), ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' series. He first appeared in ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' (1974) as the mentally disabled member of a family of deranged Human cannibalis ...

in the 2013 American

slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...

Texas Chainsaw 3D ''Texas Chainsaw 3D'' (stylized on-screen and in home media simply as ''Texas Chainsaw'') is a 2013 American 3D slasher film directed by John Luessenhop, with a screenplay by Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan and Kirsten Elms. It is the seventh in ...

'' (2013).

Early life

Yeager was born and grew up in a small farm town south of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. As a child in the 1960s, he enjoyed watching

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

on television. His parents had too little resources for regular trips to the movie theater, but the family did enjoy an occasional night at the

drive-in theater A drive-in theater/theatre or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, c ...

. In his early teens, Yeager saw the movie '' Boys in the Band''. He found a copy of the play, and after reading it, decided he would like to be an actor. By the time he was sixteen, he was watching movies critically and reading books to better understand the medium.

Career

In 1980, the Yeager family moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. There, Yeager joined The Community Drama Workshop and was cast as an

extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

in one of the growing number of productions filming in that city. While working on the movie, he met the horror genre actor,

Robert Quarry Robert Walter Quarry (November 3, 1925 – February 20, 2009) was an American actor, known for several prominent horror film roles. Life and career Quarry was born in Santa Rosa, California, the son of Mable (née Shoemaker) and Paul Quarry ...

, known for ''

Count Yorga, Vampire ''Count Yorga, Vampire'' (also known as ''The Loves of Count Yorga, Vampire'') is a 1970 American vampire horror film written and directed by Bob Kelljan and starring Robert Quarry, Roger Perry and Michael Murphy. It was followed by a sequel, ' ...

'', and they became friends. In 1985, Yeager moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He managed a cabinet shop in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

for several years. The economy failed and Yeager was faced with dismissing five employees. He realized his own departure would be less painful, so he resigned in an attempt to let the business keep a few of those family men. Yeager took the opportunity to at last enter the movie industry. While helping a friend develop a reality television show

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

, Yeager met Carl Mazzacone, producer of ''

'' which led to the role of

in the sequel to ''

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, ...

'' (1974).Sampson M
''The Crazy story of how 'Texas Chainsaw 3D' found its new Leatherface.''
Screen Crush website. Accessed 26 September 2015. In 2015, Yeager and one Ron Scott created BADanger Pictures, a film production company.

Filmography

Screenplays

* ''Slaughter Farm'', a horror tale. * ''The Gospel of George'', a short film about loss, survival, resurrection and the human condition. * ''Brains'', a brain eating disease hits Los Angeles and turns the homeless and body builders into cannibals. * ''Zombie Bear Attack'', a tale of the lethal hunter and man eater, the undead bear.

References

External links

*
''BADanger Pictures''

''Dan Yeager''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeager, Dan American art directors 1965 births Living people Actors from Cleveland American male film actors