Wednesday, May 04, 2011
The Cult-TV Faces of: Lance Henriksen
award-winning creator of Enter The House Between and author of 32 books including Horror Films FAQ (2013), Horror Films of the 1990s (2011), Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), TV Year (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007), Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair (2006),, Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company (2004), The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi (2004), An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith (2002), The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film & Television (2004), Exploring Space:1999 (1997), An Analytical Guide to TV's Battlestar Galactica (1998), Terror Television (2001), Space:1999 - The Forsaken (2003) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002).
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I'm going to cherry pick just one of these, as I believe (5) is Lance as Frank Black from the closing moments of Millennium's "The Beginning and the End". Which, if I'm right, offers a spooky little coincidental tie-in to my blog posting over at Back to Frank Black today!
ReplyDeleteIt would be a blogathon without a proper Cult Faces in order for Lance! Nice.
ReplyDeleteOne of the images made me consider this.
As much as I LOVE Rutger Hauer in the role of Roy Batty in Blade Runner. Could you imagine Lance in that role? I actualy could and I wouldn't say that lightly.
I wouldn't change a thing about Blade Runner, but often times we cannot consider some roles with any other actor.
Lance is the kind of actor that would make me consider it.
Cheers.
SFF
Hello, my friends,
ReplyDeleteAdam: That's an outstanding deduction for #5, but no, that's not it! It is from Millennium, however!
SFF: Oh my goodness, you know, I was having thoughts along the same lines today. I was imagining Lance Henriksen as Captain Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He auditioned for that part. It would have been a very different interpretation, and I would have loved to see a Shatner/Henriksen showdown...
great comment...
Best,
John
Picture #3: Lance from Tales from the Crypt. I can't remember the name of the episode but it had to do with high-HIGH stakes poker against two old rivals who will go to any lengths.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, but such a chameleon! He disappears into the role.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteJames: Yes, that's Lance in Tales from the Crypt, "Cutting Cards!" Great catch.
And Jane, you're right -- these images reveal what a chameleon Mr. Henriksen truly is.
best to you both,
JKM
Belatedly revisiting this! Darn... is that from "Pilot", then? I'm at least convinced (and therefore probably completely wrong) that Frank is gazing out from his red Cherokee at the yellow house.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the top one is, but the second pic is from Beauty and the Beast, I believe. The third is the cutting cards episode of Tales from the Crypt, the fourth is from his other Tales from the Crypt episode, Yellow. The fifth is from Millennium, the sixth I think might be from his X-Files episode. The final pic is from Harsh Realm I believe..
ReplyDeleteLance Henriksen has been my favourite actor for most of my film going life, and I ordered the book immediately on hearing about it being up for sale. Because of where I live I doubt I'll ever get to meet him in person, shake his hand, and thank him for all the entertainment he has injected into my life over the years (though I did get to ask him some questions during a live online chat on Sideshow Collectibles website a few years back), but reading this book I suppose will be the next best thing.
Lance Henriksen is one of those all too rare breed of actor who instantly makes a project better just by being in it, whether it be film, tv, or voice acting in cartoons or videogames. Like Keith David, James Hong, Tracey Walter, Christopher Lee, and the late Brion James and Peter Cushing, if Henriksen's name is in the credits then you know that there will always be at least one thing worth watching in the film or show in question, even if the project overall doesn't quite come together in other regards. He makes everything a bit better just by being in it, and could you truly ask anything more of any actor?
Now if only Hollywood would remember the quality of Henriksen as an actor and throw a few quality roles his way, as it is way beyond time for a career rediscovery (of course fans never forgot about him, I mean purely in 'hollywood' terms).
Jay.