NOT BAD FOR A HUMAN

Nonfiction

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NotBadForAHumanBy LANCE HENRIKSEN, JOSEPH MADDREY (Alexander Henriksen Press; 2011)

I’ve long wondered why it is that Lance Henriksen, an actor whose abilities match those of any thespian working today, has been relegated largely to the grade-B sphere—and after reading this, the first and thus far only biographical resource on Henriksen, I’m still wondering.

This isn’t to say that NOT BAD FOR A HUMAN is unsatisfying.  The format—a series of lengthy quotations by Henriksen tied together by commentary from author/interviewer Joseph Maddrey—is far from ideal but does its job adequately, filling us in on the particulars of its subject’s life and career with great thoroughness and affection.

Henriksen, we learn, came from a broken family.  Abandoned by his father, the young Henriksen had a nomadic childhood that left him illiterate (he learned to read, he claims, by perusing screenplays).  An epiphany came when as a teenager he wandered into the Central Park Playhouse and was so impressed with what he saw he decided to pursue acting.

It was Cameron who cast Henriksen in his breakthrough role of Bishop the android in ALIENS.  That role, alas, appears to have had the effect of typecasting Henriksen as a horror/sci-fi fixture. 

That, however, didn’t occur until after a year-long stint in the Navy (during which he went AWOL twice), multiple incarcerations, a brief overseas trip and employment as a graphic artist.  Thus Henriksen had plenty of life experience that shows through in his performances; his lined face and world-weary demeanor are things that can’t be faked, and mark him out from his pretty boy fellows.  So too his acting methodology, a sort of uber method approach of his own invention.

Lance HenricksonHenriksen’s early acting experience was of the stage-bound variety, in plays (and venues) that steadily increased in stature.  His first film role was in the obscure Canadian production TO KILL THE KING (1974), a “miserable” experience in which Henriksen played “a pretty girl part for a boy.”  He followed it with a supporting role in DOG DAY AFTERNOON, a far more positive experience that led to parts in high-profilers like CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (from which much of his role was cut), DAMIEN: OMEN II and THE RIGHT STUFF, as well as low budget quickies like THE EYES OF DR. CHANEY, THE VISITOR and PIRANHA 2: THE SPAWNING, whose director, a debuting James Cameron, would have a rather sizeable influence on Henriksen’s life.

Lance HenricksonIt was Cameron who cast Henriksen in his breakthrough role of Bishop the android in ALIENS.  That role, alas, appears to have had the effect of typecasting Henriksen as a horror/sci-fi fixture.  Certainly there’s nothing wrong with that; if Maddrey is to be believed, Henriksen has a real affinity for horror, and has graced quality post-ALIENS genre fare like NEAR DARK, PUMPKINHEAD and the TV series MILLENNIUM, as well as some notable mainstream projects like THE QUICK AND THE DEAD and DEAD MAN.  More typical, however, are the (dis)likes of MAN’S BEST FRIEND, MIND RIPPER and ALONE IN THE DARK 2, which aren’t worthy of Heriksen’s talents.

Still, Henriksen, who’s now in his ninth decade and currently has 259 acting credits, has demonstrated a resilience that few other actors in or out of the B-movie sphere can claim.  Plus, his life story is undeniably inspiring with its harsh beginnings and (somewhat) upbeat finale.