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Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in various science fiction, action and horror genre productions, including
Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
in the ''Alien'' film franchise and Frank Black in the Fox television series ''
Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
'' (1996–99) and ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
'' (1999). He has also done extensive voice work, including the Disney film ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
'' (1999) and the video games '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' (2009) and BioWare's ''
Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology left behind by Elder race, a ...
'' trilogy (2007–2012). Other film credits include '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), '' The Terminator'' (1984), '' Hard Target'' (1993), '' Color of Night'' (1994), '' The Quick and the Dead'' (1995), '' Powder'' (1995), '' Scream 3'' (2000), '' Appaloosa'' (2008), and ''Falling'' (2020). Henriksen was nominated for three
Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...
for his role on ''Millenium,'' and won a Saturn Award (out of four total nominations) for his performance in ''Hard Target''. In 2021, he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor for ''Falling''.


Early life

Henriksen was born on May 5, 1940, in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, New York. His father, James Henriksen, was a Norwegian merchant sailor and boxer nicknamed "Icewater" who spent most of his life at sea, while his mother, Margueritte Werner, struggled to find work as a dance instructor, waitress and model. Henriksen's paternal grandmother was a Sámi reindeer herder. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and his mother struggled to raise him and his brother Walter, leading to his spending part of his childhood in foster care. During an interview, Henriksen recounted how, at the age of seven, his mother handed him his birth certificate and said, "You'll always know who you are", then pushed him out of his home. Henriksen did not actually leave home until he was 12, saying he'd "had enough" of his home life, and that he had been physically assaulted by multiple family members: "I got bludgeoned a lot. Different people, relatives. I remember every single face from my childhood. My alcoholic uncles, whoever. I'm not having a pity party here; I'm not Quasimodo. That's just how it was". On another occasion, two of his uncles tried to persuade him to take Methadrine and then take part in a staged car accident for the insurance money. Growing up, Henriksen had a reputation for getting into trouble in the various schools he attended, and even spent time in a children's home. He left school after completing first grade, and was illiterate until the age of 30.


Career

Henriksen found work as a muralist and as a laborer on ships. For a time, he worked in Europe. Around age 30, he found theater work as a set designer, and he received his first acting role because he built the set for a production. It was around this time that he taught himself to read. For his first role, he put the entire script on tape with the help of a friend, then learned his part and all of the others. Soon afterward, he graduated from the Actors Studio and began acting in New York City. Henriksen's first film appearance was in '' The Outsider'' in 1961, as an uncredited extra. He received his first credit in his second film, 1972's '' It Ain't Easy.'' He auditioned for the role of Leon Shermer in '' Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), but received the smaller part of an
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agent that kills John Cazale's character. He would appear in two more films directed by
Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...
: ''Network'' (1976) and '' Prince of the City'' (1981). In a 2009 interview, Henriksen called Lumet "the kind of guy that loves New York actors, because that's where he works and that's what he knows....He would give you the job that was maybe only meant for four days, and he'd give you the run of the show because he wanted to help support young actors in New York." Henriksen had supporting roles in a variety of films, including the science-fiction film '' Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' (1977) and the horror film '' Damien - Omen II'' (1978). He also had a co-starring role in the low-budget horror film '' Mansion of the Doomed'' (1976). He played Police Chief Steve Kimbrough in '' Piranha Part Two: The Spawning'' (1982), the astronaut Walter Schirra in '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), actor Charles Bronson in the television film ''Reason for Living: The Jill Ireland Story'' (1991), and a cameo appearance as The King in '' Super Mario Bros.'' (1993). When
James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
was writing '' The Terminator'' (1984), he originally envisioned Henriksen, with whom he had worked on ''Piranha II'', as playing the title role, a
cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
. Henriksen does appear in the film as Hal Vukovich, a Detective in the
Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
. Henriksen played the android
Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
in Cameron's film '' Aliens'' (1986), and as Bishop's designer Michael Weyland in '' Alien 3'' (1992). He also played Charles Bishop Weyland, the man upon whom Bishop was based, in '' Alien vs. Predator'' (2004). Bill Paxton and Henriksen are the only actors whose characters were killed by the Terminator, the Alien, and the
Predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
. He played the vampire leader Jesse Hooker in
Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most i ...
's cult film '' Near Dark''. He portrayed gunfighters in the Westerns '' Dead Man'' and ''The Quick and the Dead'', and appeared with British actor Bruce Payne in '' Aurora: Operation Intercept'' in 1995. That year, he also played Sheriff Doug Barnum in the film '' Powder''. He appeared with Payne again in ''Face the Evil'' (1997), and the dystopian classic '' Paranoia 1.0'' (2004). In 1996, Henriksen starred in the television series ''
Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
'', created and produced by Chris Carter, the creator of ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
''. Henriksen played Frank Black, a former
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agent who possessed a unique ability to see into the minds of killers. Carter created the role specifically for the actor. His performances on ''Millennium'' earned him critical acclaim, a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite New Male TV Star, and three consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series (1997–1999). The series was canceled in 1999. On television, Henriksen appeared in the ensemble of '' Into the West'' (2005), a
miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. He appeared in a Brazilian soap opera, '' Caminhos do Coração'' (''Ways of the Heart'') from Rede Record, aired in 2007–2008. Henriksen guest-starred on a Season 6 episode of '' NCIS'' (2009) playing an Arizona sheriff, and appeared in a recurring role as The Major on NBC's '' The Blacklist''. In the years after ''Millennium'', Henriksen has become an active voice actor, lending his distinctive voice to a number of animated features and video game titles. In Disney's ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...
'' (1999) and its direct-to-video followup, he is
Kerchak Kerchak is a fictional ape character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's original '' Tarzan'' novel, '' Tarzan of the Apes'', and in movies and other media based on it. History In the novel ''Tarzan of the Apes'', Kerchak is the "king" of a tribal band of ...
, the ape who serves as Tarzan's surrogate father. He provided the voice for the alien supervillain Brainiac in '' Superman: Brainiac Attacks'' (2006) and for the character Mulciber in '' Godkiller'' (2009). Henriksen is the voice of the character Molov in the video game '' Red Faction II'' (2002) and has also contributed to '' GUN'' (2005), '' Run Like Hell'' (2002), the canceled title '' Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (2004), and the role-playing game ''
Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology left behind by Elder race, a ...
'' (2007) as Admiral Hackett of the Human Systems Alliance. Henriksen was also the voice behind
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
's internet promotional videos. In 2005, Henriksen was the voice of
Andrei Rublev Andrei Rublev (, ; ) was a Russian artist considered to be one of the greatest medieval Russian painters of Orthodox Christian icons and frescoes. He is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his feast day is 29 January. Ear ...
in
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
's '' IGPX''. The actor lent his voice to the animated television series '' Transformers: Animated'' as the character Lockdown. In 2009, Henriksen voiced Lieutenant General Shepherd in the award-winning game '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2''. He would later voice Karl Bishop Weyland in '' Aliens vs. Predator''; also, this character's appearance resembles Henriksen's. Henriksen voiced Master Gnost-Dural in '' Star Wars: The Old Republic'', and he also reprised his role as Admiral Hackett in ''
Mass Effect 3 ''Mass Effect 3'' is a 2012 action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. The third major entry in the ''Mass Effect'' series and the final installment of the original trilogy, it was released in March 2012 for ...
''. Henriksen reprised his role as Bishop in '' Aliens: Colonial Marines''. He starred in a 2003 series of Australian television commercials for Visa, titled ''Unexplained'' (about the raining of fish from the sky over
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
) and ''Big Cats'' (about the Beast of Bodmin Moor). In these commercials, Henriksen speaks as a Frank Black-type character about these phenomena as
Mark Snow Mark Snow (born Martin Fulterman; August 26, 1946) is an American composer for film and television. Among his most famous compositions is the theme music for science fiction television series '' The X-Files''. ''The X Files'' instrumental wa ...
-inspired mysterious music plays in the background, as a link to Henriksen's TV series ''Millennium''. ''Unexplained'' went on to a gold world medal at the 2004 New York Festivals. He made a cameo appearance in the 2009 horror comedy '' Jennifer's Body'', and starred in the
After Dark Horrorfest After Dark Horrorfest (also known as "8 Films to Die For") was an annual horror film festival featuring eight independent horror movies, sometimes with "secret" bonus films, all distributed by After Dark Films in the USA. The first HorrorFes ...
film, '' Scream of the Banshee'', released in 2011. He played Henry Gale in Leigh Scott's '' The Witches of Oz''. In January 2015, he was signed for the lead in the indie thriller ''Monday at 11:01 am'' In 2016, he starred in the feature film '' Deserted'', a psychological thriller. Henriksen played the role of Hopper. In 2018, Henriksen performed motion capture and vocal performance for the character of Carl Manfred in the video game '' Detroit: Become Human''. The game's plot involves androids gaining sentience and free will, topics explored briefly with Henriksen's Bishop character in ''Aliens''. In October 2018, Henriksen was signed for one of the two leads in '' Falling'', the directorial debut of actor
Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Mortensen made his film debut with a small role in ...
, who also wrote, produced and co-starred. Reviewing the film's 2020 premiere, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''s John DeFore noted not only the quality of Henriksen's performance, but the opportunity Mortensen's script presented: " w moviegoers who've enjoyed him over the years will be surprised, but many will resent that we, and he, have waited so long for a role like this." He received a
Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...
nomination for Best Actor at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, for his performance in ''Falling''. In 2022, Henriksen was cast in the upcoming American horror film, ''Awaken the Reaper''. The film is currently shooting in New York and slated for a 2024 release date. It is directed by Justin Paul and Dave Campfield and produced by Fourth Horizon Cinema, Impact Media Studios and Design Weapons.


Personal life

Henriksen has been married two times. He was married to Mary Jane Evans from 1985 to 1989 and to Jane Pollack from 1995 to 2006. Henriksen has two children; one with Pollack, one with Evans.


Art

Henriksen continues to produce art. He worked as a muralist before he became an actor, and he has worked with clay since 1960. In September 2017, Henriksen set up a website to showcase and find homes for some of his most recent clay works. He "still believes that there is nothing as simple and beautiful as raw clay... And that Potters have the remaining soul of the nomads...always searching...."


Filmography


Film


Television


Voice work


Video games


Books

;Autobiography * ''Not Bad for a Human – The Life and Films of Lance Henriksen'' – Lance Henriksen with co-author Joseph Maddrey, published in 2011 by Bloody Pulp Books, featuring art by Bill Sienkiewicz, Mike Mignola,
Tom Mandrake Tom Mandrake (born 1956) is an American comics artist, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer John Ostrander on several series, including ''Grimjack'' (from First Comics) and ''Firestorm (comics), Firestorm'', ''The Spectre (DC Comi ...
, Tim Bradstreet, Eric Powell and Ashley Wood. ;Comic books * '' To Hell You Ride'' (five-issue comic book from Dark Horse Comics) (2012) – Lance Henriksen and Joseph Maddrey (co-authors) with Tom Mandrake (artist); a motion-comic video was also made by Dark Horse Comics) (2012) – Lance Henriksen and Joseph Maddrey (co-authors), Tom Mandrake (artist), Lance Henriksen (narrator), TKU: Tecamachalco Underground (Cesar Gallegos/Mateo Latosa) (musical score)


Footnotes


References


External links

* * *
''Films in Review'' interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henriksen, Lance 1940 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Scandinavian descent Living people Male actors from Manhattan Male Western (genre) film actors American people of Sámi descent