Lance Henriksen is a highly skilled and versatile actor who has had the opportunity to showcase his talents in a wide range of film and television projects. He has played a variety of roles, from clean-cut FBI agents to psychotic motorcycle-gang leaders, and has demonstrated his ability to seamlessly transition between different characters and genres.
Henriksen's career in television began with his starring role in the TNT original movie "Evel Knievel" in 2004, where he played the character of "Awful Knoffel." This project was based on the life of the famous daredevil Evel Knievel, who was played by George Eads.
Henriksen's most notable role to date is perhaps his portrayal of Frank Black, a retired FBI agent with the ability to get inside the minds of killers, in the critically acclaimed series "Millennium" on Fox-TV. This role earned 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 to a mother who was a waitress, dance instructor, and model, and a father who was a boxer and merchant sailor from Norway. He studied at the Actors Studio and began his career off-Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's "Three Plays of the Sea."
One of Henriksen's earliest film appearances was as an FBI agent in Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" in 1975. He then went on to appear in Lumet's "Network" in 1976 and "Prince of the City" in 1981. He also appeared in Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in 1977, as well as in "Damien: Omen II" in 1978 and "The Right Stuff" in 1983.
Henriksen has also appeared in a number of other notable films, including James Cameron's "Piranha II: The Spawning" in 1982, "The Terminator" in 1984, and "Aliens" in 1986. He has also worked with Sam Raimi on the quirky western "The Quick and the Dead" in 1995, and with Kathryn Bigelow on the cult classic "Near Dark" in 1987.
In addition to his work as an actor, Henriksen is also a talented painter and potter. He has created a number of unique ceramic artworks that are highly sought after by collectors. He currently resides in Southern California with his wife Jane and their five-year-old daughter Sage.