An intense, versatile actor as adept at playing clean-cut FBI agents as
he is psychotic motorcycle-gang leaders, who can go from portraying
soulless, murderous vampires to burned-out, world-weary homicide
detectives, Lance Henriksen has starred in a variety of films that have
allowed him to stretch his talents just about as far as an actor could
possibly hope. He played "Awful Knoffel" in the TNT original movie
Evel Knievel (2004),
directed by John Badham and executive
produced by Mel Gibson. Henriksen
portrayed "Awful Knoffel" in this project based on the life of the
famed daredevil, played by George Eads.
Henriksen starred for three seasons (1996-1999) on
Millennium: Fürchte deinen Nächsten wie dich selbst (1996), Fox-TV's
critically acclaimed series created by
Chris Carter
(Akte X: Die unheimlichen Fälle des FBI (1993)). His
performance as Frank Black, a retired FBI agent who has the ability to
get inside the minds of killers, landed him three consecutive Golden
Globe nominations for "Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama
Series" and a People's Choice Award nomination for "Favorite New TV
Male Star".
Henriksen was born in New York City. His mother, Margueritte, was a
waitress, dance instructor, and model. His father, James Marin
Henriksen, who was from Tønsberg, Norway, was a boxer and merchant
sailor. Henriksen studied at the Actors Studio and began his career
off-Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's
"Three Plays of the Sea." One of his first film appearances was as an
FBI agent in Sidney Lumet's
Hundstage (1975),
followed by parts in Lumet's
Network (1976) and
Prince of the City - Die Herren der Stadt (1981). He
then appeared in Steven Spielberg's
Die unheimliche Begegnung der 3. Art (1977)
with Richard Dreyfuss and
François Truffaut,
Damien - Omen II (1978) and in
Philip Kaufman's
Der Stoff aus dem die Helden sind (1983), in which
he played Mercury astronaut Capt.
Wally Schirra.
James Cameron cast Henriksen in
his first directorial effort,
Fliegende Killer - Piranha II (1982),
then used him again in
Terminator (1984) and as the
android Bishop in the sci-fi classic
Aliens: Die Rückkehr (1986).
Sam Raimi cast Henriksen as an outrageously
garbed gunfighter in his quirky western
Schneller als der Tod (1995).
Henriksen has also appeared in what has developed into a cult classic:
Kathryn Bigelow's
Near Dark - Die Nacht hat ihren Preis (1987), in which he plays the
head of a clan of murderous redneck vampires. He was nominated for a
Golden Satellite Award for his portrayal of
Abraham Lincoln in the TNT
original film
The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998).
In addition to his abilities as an actor, Henriksen is an accomplished
painter and potter. His talent as a ceramist has enabled him to create
some of the most unusual ceramic artworks available on the art market
today. He resides in Southern California with his wife Jane and their
five-year-old daughter Sage.
