Gunnar Hansen (born March 4, 1947) is an Icelandic-American actor and author, perhaps best known for playing Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).

Biography

Early life

Hansen was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, and moved to the United States when he was five. He lived in Maine until age eleven, when his family moved to Texas, where he attended both Austin High School and the University of Texas at Austin. He majored in English and mathematics as an undergraduate, and then went to graduate school in Scandinavian Studies and English.

Career

His first job out of high school was as a computer operator, before he started doing theater work during college. He also was a football player during high school, and for a while a bar bouncer. In 1973, just after finishing graduate school, Hansen heard that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was being filmed in Austin and decided to try out. He got the part of Leatherface the masked killer in the movie and made movie history.

As the movie went on to become a cult classic, Hansen co-starred in the movie Demon Hunter (also known as Demon Lover) and after the experiences he had on that film, he decided not to continue acting. He chose to pursue a writing career. So, in 1975, Hansen after one more year of graduate school, moved back to Maine and started writing. Devoted to his writing, he rejected a part he was offered in the cult classic The Hills Have Eyes.

After working, for a while, writing (and occasionally editing) for magazines and writing books, Hansen got back in to acting in 1987, appearing in the horror spoof Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, and has appeared in 20 films since. Hansen's new acting career, though, is a side project and he continues to write books. He has written some film scripts too and now writes and directs documentary films.

Gunnar is also an author; his nonfiction travel memoir, Islands at the Edge of Time, A journey to America's Barrier Islands, was published in 1993. In addition, he has taught college as an adjunct instructor.

Selected Filmography

• Reykjavík Whale Watching Massacre (2009) (filming) .... Captain Pétur
• Brutal Massacre: A Comedy (2008) .... Krenshaw
• Gimme Skelter (2007) .... Porter Sandford
• The Deepening (2006) .... Dr. Chambers
• Swarm of the Snakehead (2006) .... Gunner Squint
• Wolfsbayne (2005) .... The Elder
• Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen (2005) .... Reggie
• Chainsaw Sally (2004) .... Daddy
• The Business (2004) .... Grandfather
• Next Victim (2003) .... Doctor Howard
• Rachel's Attic (2002) .... Ronald
• Hatred of a Minute (2002) .... Barry
• Hellblock 13 (1997) .... The Executioner
• Freakshow (1995) .... Freakmaster
• Mosquito (1995) .... Earl Howard
• Campfire Tales (1991) .... Ralph
• Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988) .... The Stranger
• The Demon Lover (1977) .... Prof. Peckinpah
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) .... Leatherface

Miscellaneous Crew - filmography

• Knight of the Living Dead (2005) (special thanks)

Self - filmography

• Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw (2006) (V) .... Himself
• UnConventional (2004) .... Himself
• Behind the Attic Door: The Making of "Rachel's Attic" (2002) (V) .... Himself
• Leatherface Speaks: An Informal Interview with Gunnar Hansen (2001) .... Himself
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000) (V) .... Himself
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (1988) (V) .... Himself

References

External links

• Gunnar Hansen official web site
• Gunnar Hansen at the Internet Movie Database