It’s hard to top the resume of character actor Lance Henriksen. It’s even harder to top his range. In some films he’s terrifyingly menacing and others he’s incredibly sympathetic and gentle. I was taken with his presence when I saw Terminator at the cinema at the ripe old age of 6! Ever since then, I’ve followed his career and tried to catch all his films.
These are my top 5 roles in no particular order:
1 Aliens
Henriksen steals the movie as the cyborg with a heart of gold. I loved how we as an audience never knew Bishop’s intentions right until the end, and I loved even more how Henriksen played his characters ambiguity so close to his chest and kept us in suspense. Once we’re sure of who he is, Bishop becomes one of the series best characters within minutes.
2 Stone Cold
I have the screenplay for Stone Cold. It’s horrible. Reading it, it’s hard to believe such a balls to the wall action classic was born from such a dull screenplay. Part of the film’s strength (a big part!) comes from Henriksen’s turn as Chains — the evil head of the motorcycle gang The Brotherhood. On the page, Chains is bland and forgettable. In the hands of Henriksen, Chains becomes a formidable, and highly memorable, villain. Henriksen took this part and ran with it. Bigtime!
3. Hard Target
Who better to play the foe of the Muscles from Brussels in John Woo’s US debut?! Our boy Lance of course. And he gives a Van Damme movie the best villain it’s ever had. Burning charisma and spitting bile every chance he gets, Henriksen’s Fouchon is a mean, cold-hearted bastard and Henriksen conveys it with one look in the first two minutes of this awesome magnum opus. It also helps that Henriksen wasn’t afraid to get burnt in the action scenes. What a champ.
4. Pumpkinhead
Henriksen gets to show his dramatic chops in this excellent cult horror film. He’s perfect as an angry, vengeful, dad, who unleashes a demon on the teens who accidentally kill his beloved son. There’s a great scene where his character hallucinates that his son is back from the dead and ashamed of his actions, and Henriksen smashes it out of the park.
5. Powder
While I loathe to praise anything from the man who made this film, Henriksen’s heartbreaking turn as a bereaved sheriff is stunningly haunting and touching and poignant. The scene where he can feel the spirit of his deceased wife brings me to tears every time I see it. It’s beautiful and sad at the same time. For anyone who’s ever lost someone close, Henriksen’s performance will resonate. In my opinion, it is awards worthy.
What’s everyone else’s fave Henriksen role?