With fifty years in the business and over three hundred credits to his name, Lance Henriksen is enjoying a deserved resurgence of recognition and interest in his enormous talent. He’s a versatile and iconic actor who has starred in a wide variety of films and television projects that exemplify the diversity of his talent.
In the actor’s latest feature film, Henriksen plays opposite Viggo Mortensen in Mortensen’s directorial debut, Falling (Perceval Pictures). The film premiered to sold-out crowds at the Sundance Film Festival and was one of the selections at the Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. Henriksen’s performance in Falling has been lauded as a career highlight and garnered rave reviews. He won Best Actor at the Macau International Film Festival for his role as Willis. Lance also has a heavily recurring role in the Kate Bosworth/Michael Polish series Bring on the Dancing Horses.
Henriksen has worked with some of the most prominent directors in the motion picture industry, including Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Sidney Lumet, and Sam Raimi, Katherine Bigalow, to name a few. He’s most notably recognized for his work in blockbuster films, The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Quick and the Dead (1995), Near Dark (1987), and Alien vs. Predator (2004).
Constantly working, Henriksen can be seen in the leading role in Gone Are the Days (2018) with Tom Berenger and Danny Trejo, and Mom and Dad (2017), with Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair. He also was the star of the FOX hit series Millenium created by Chris Carter and had a recurring role on The Blacklist (NBC), Into the Badlands (AMC) as well as The Nightshift (NBC).
Henriksen has also appeared in episodes of Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), Criminal Minds (CBS), and Legends of Tomorrow (CW). He’s also lent his voice to numerous animated projects including Tangles (Disney), Wabbit (WB), Future Worm (Disney), American Dad (FOX), and Tron: Uprising (Disney), to name a few. The actor can be seen in Pamela Adlon’s Better Things, and the original Hulu series Slugfest, where he plays the legendary comic book icon Stan Lee. Next, the actor can be seen in On Fire, starring opposite Peter Facinelli, Asher Angel, and Fiona Dourif.
Inspired by true and harrowing events, On Fire tells the story of an ordinary man (Peter Facinelli) who finds his world suddenly torn apart as devastating wildfires rip through the surrounding countryside. With precious moments ticking by, he must flee with his father (Henriksen), his son (Asher Angel), and his pregnant wife (Fiona Dourif) if they have any hope of surviving the rapid forces of mother nature.
Lance Henriksen as George Laughlin and Peter Facinelli as Dave Laughlin in the survival drama/thriller, “On Fire” (2023), a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Cineverse.
Cinema Scholars’ own Glen Dower recently sat down (again) with legendary actor Lance Henriksen, one of the stars of On Fire. They discussed the metaphor of fire throughout the film, playing the gruff and salty father character, George, and how Lance’s time in the military helped prepare him for this role, among other topics.
Note from the Filmmakers: SAG-AFTRA has approved an interim agreement forOn Fire since the film is being released by Cineverse, an independent, non-AMPTP-affiliated distributor. Under the terms, members “may work on these productions without being in violation of the strike order,” per the guild. The entire team ofOn Fireexpresses their gratitude to SAG-AFTRA for allowing the cast to promoteOn Fireduring this challenging time for the industry.
Interview
Lance Henriksen:
I recognize you! I think we’ve interviewed before…
Glen Dower:
We have, Sir, we spoke a few months ago when you were promoting your previous film.
Lance Henriksen:
Yes, I don’t forget, I just don’t.
Glen Dower:
Thank you! I thought that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And here we are again to talk about your new film. How lucky am I?
Lance Henriksen:
Oh, man. This has always been my problem, really, doing interviews, only because not everybody is as flexible as you are when you’re talking to someone, and whatever journey, whatever rogue, we suddenly turn, it’s fine. We’re just giving each other a flavor of what we went through or what we did. Right. You take it very well.
Glen Dower:
So let’s get to it. You play George, the father of the main character. Now, I was fully invested, not only because you play him, but George is the name of my grandfather, who I loved very much.
Lance Henriksen:
Are you serious?! Was he as salty as that?
Asher Angel as Clayton Laughlin, Fiona Dourif as Sarah Laughlin, and Peter Facinelli as Dave Laughlin in the survival drama/thriller, “On Fire” (2023), a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Cineverse.
Glen Dower:
Yes, indeed, Sir. He really was. But I loved him so much and named my first son after him, so he could live on a little.
Lance Henriksen:
Oh boy. That’s great. You are absolutely describing what this movie is about and the value of it because fire is only a metaphor. In this case, we didn’t burn, none of us burned, but fire. We all know. We all know. And the family is fire. That’s what they are. They’ve been sticking around with each other for so long that anything you do, I could forgive unless you kill one of my relatives. But I mean, I didn’t realize that the arrow would go in that deep with this, but I made a deal with myself that I’m going to be absolutely honest. I’m not going to BS. I’m not going to try to win you over by being such a nice guy. It’s not the case because as you get older, you’re juggling and you’re dropping one ball at a time.
But I love my family. They gave me hope when I watched them thriving long beyond when I was there. That’s a big deal. And I think that’s what an audience might get out of it. You know what I mean? We need to hear and see that this is not like I’m looking for a News company to come and take pity on us. No, we want to fight the fire or get out of it. This thing is an asshole. It’ll kill you. And we wanted to live in a country like that because I don’t want a guy coming up and breaking my car window and taking my wallet and shooting me. That’s why I wanted to live out there, fish, secluding myself! Ha!
Glen Dower:
Like you say, George, the introduction we get to him is not the warmest. He is arguing, he calls his pregnant daughter-in-law a bitch. But then we learn about him and we learn that he’s carrying a life. He’s had enough, he wants to be with his wife again. And we have those moments where he cries with his son and he can’t decide what photo to save. Was that what really attracted you to the part, Mr. Henriksen?
Lance Henriksen:
Yeah, I mean, I’ve mentioned this in another interview. When I was in the military, in the Navy, they gave us real technical firing fire about how to fight a fire on a ship. Now that’s not branches, that’s oil. That’s hot. If you don’t knock it off pretty quickly, you’re going to go down. So I was always happy about that, that I got that training anyway, and I’ve always had respect for guys in the fire department. So the story based around fire excited me. But anyway, we all live and die. I’m not even at my age. I’m not afraid of that. It’s going to be a surprise anyway. It’s going to be, you’re reaching for a glass of water, and so there’s no drama. It’ll just be the surprise of being overtaken. That’s what we fear the most. I think Lincoln didn’t know he was going to be shot! He wants that damn bad play!
Peter Facinelli as Dave Laughlin in the survival drama/thriller, “On Fire” (2023), a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Cineverse.
Glen Dower:
Speaking of which, the film brings to mind, of course, the classic 1970s disaster flicks like Earthquake, The Poseidon Adventure, and The Towering Inferno. Then we returned to the genre in the 1990s. Why do you think audiences love it watching Mother Nature kicks our asses?
Lance Henriksen:
Because we’ve been kicking its ass in our own opinions for so long. Why did we poison the water, why are we still talking about our homes? They’re buying them like they are an investment. I mean, our relationship with nature has been brutal. We’ve had many world wars and shooting, chopping trees, and shooting everything. And anybody, we’re kind of afraid of having to pay the price. I know. I think we’re going to get some real surprises from outer space. If we get hit by the right asteroid, we’re going to be a forest fire!
Glen Dower:
Then we like the idea of us seeing it on screen manifested?
Lance Henriksen:
Yeah. Yeah. Because creating the environment for it. If you look at pictures, I’ve been to India, I’ve been, I haven’t been to China, but when I look at the atmosphere over those cities in those countries, certain poor countries, I feel bad. I feel really bad because that could combust in the right circumstances. It could combust. But anyway, Canada, they don’t like us and they’re sending all their smoke down here! Their fires. Yeah, they can’t put it out. It’s too far out. They can’t reach it. So it’s burning and burning and burning and burning and burning, and we’re getting all the smoke. It’s coming south. How did that happen?!
Glen Dower:
It’s a really interesting thought. We could talk about it for a long time, but I want to talk about the director. In your career you have worked with kids like Steven Spielberg, Jim Cameron, Wes Craven, and in this movie, Nick Leon. How was this movie to work on with the director? Also, I read that he got COVID-19, and on one of the last days of filming, they had to hand it over to the lead actor, but how was he director-wise in your experience?
Lance Henriksen:
I really like him. I really respect him.
Glen Dower:
Did he go out of his way to cast you as George?
Lance Henriksen:
Oh yeah. It was a great experience.
Ashlei Foushee as Kayla the Operator in the survival drama/thriller, “On Fire” (2023), a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Cineverse.
Glen Dower:
Oh great. Well, Mr. Henricksen, of course, I could talk to you for weeks, but my time is up and it’s been so wonderful to see you again. Sign me up for your next project.
Lance Henriksen:
We’ll do that. We’ll do that.
Glen Dower:
Remember I’m flexible! My boxing training!
Lance Henriksen:
Ha! I love fighting! When I was young, I couldn’t be beat, but I believe you. I was as small as could be, but boy, I’m from New York and I used to fight in the streets. Got in fights constantly. Black eyes and beat up.
Glen Dower:
I believe you. Take care of yourself, Sir.
Lance Henriksen:
I think we made contact. I’m serious.
Glen Dower:
I hope so.
Co-starring and co-directed by Peter Facinelli, On Fire, will be given a limited theatrical release starting on September 29, 2023.
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