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Ron Perlman

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Ron Perlman
Born
Ronald Francis Perlman
OccupationActor/Voice actor
Years active1981 – present
SpouseOpal Perlman (1981-present)

Ronald Francis "Ron" Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played "Vincent" in Beauty and the Beast, Clay Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character Hellboy in the film of the same name and its sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and the role of the intro and ending narrator of the popular post-apocalyptic game series, Fallout.

Early life

Perlman was born in Washington Heights, New York. His mother, Dorothy, was a municipal employee, and his father was a jazz drummer and repairman.[1] Perlman stated in a 1988 interview that "It was not a bad childhood but...I had a perception of myself that was, I was terribly overweight as a young kid, and it was sort of a low self image."[2] Perlman continued to say that this experience is one thing that attracts him to "playing these sorts of deformed people who are very endearing".

He attended George Washington High School and later Lehman College in New York City in 1971, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre. He has said that he and his father were "very close", and that it was his father, after seeing Perlman in a college production of Guys and Dolls, who told Perlman, "You have to do this...You understand this? You gotta do this." Perlman says, "So, he gave me permission to be an actor...wow."[3] Perlman attended the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a master's degree in theater arts.

Career

Perlman made his feature film debut in Jean-Jacques Annaud's film Quest for Fire (1981). After various minor and supporting roles in films and television series, his breakthrough role came when he played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast, opposite Linda Hamilton from 1987 to 1990. This earned him a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series in 1989.[4]

He went on to play roles in many films and television series throughout the 1980s and 1990s as well as the 2000s. His most notable film appearances were in films such as The Name of the Rose (1986), Romeo is Bleeding (1993), The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994), The Last Supper (1995), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Blade II and Star Trek Nemesis (both 2002) and two Stephen King story-to-movie adaptations, Sleepwalkers and Desperation. His appearances in television series include Highlander: The Series, The Outer Limits and The Magnificent Seven.

He played his first leading film role in 1995, when he played the gargantuan oaf "One" in Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's The City of Lost Children. In 2003, Perlman starred in a commercial for Stella Artois beer. This commercial, which was called "Devil's Island,"[5] won a Silver Award at the 2003 British Advertising Awards.[6][7] He got another leading film role in 2004 when he played the title role in the comic book adaptation Hellboy. Perlman reprised his role as Hellboy in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, released on July 11, 2008.

In 2008, Perlman joined the cast of the TV show Sons of Anarchy on FX. He plays Clay Morrow, the president of the motorcycle club and stepfather of the main character.

Roles that required make-up

File:Hellboy Shot 2.jpg
Perlman as Hellboy

He is known for playing roles which require make-up, some to the point where his entire body is covered or his face requires full facial prosthetics. Some examples include his first film role in Quest for Fire, where he played a neanderthal, The Name of the Rose where he plays a disfigured hunchback, Beauty and The Beast, where he played Vincent, a man with the face of a half-man half-lion-like beast, The Island of Dr. Moreau where he plays a half man/half animal and the Hellboy films where he plays a demon. He even gave his Beauty and The Beast co-star Armin Shimerman advice when Shimerman was going to be in full-facial prosthetics for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.[8]

Voice-over work

Perlman also has a successful career as a voice actor in addition to his onscreen acting, having portrayed characters in numerous video games and animated series. These include Vice Principal Lancer in Danny Phantom, Kurtis Stryker in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Justice in Afro Samurai and various characters in DC Comics based series such as the villainous Slade, a version of DC character Deathstroke the Terminator, in the Teen Titans animated series, Clayface in Batman: The Animated Series, Jax-Ur in Superman: The Animated Series, Orion in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, Killer Croc, Rumor, Bane in The Batman and Doctor Double X in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

His video game credits include Lord Terrence Hood, Fleet Admiral in command of Earth's space defences against the Covenant in the games Halo 2 and Halo 3, Jagger Valance in The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, and Batman in Justice League Heroes. He is well-known by Fallout fans for narrating the introductory movies in the series, including uttering the famous phrase "War. War never changes." in each installment. He also voices "Slade" in the 2008 Turok game.

Personal life

He has been married to Opal Perlman since February 14, 1981; they have two children, a daughter, Blake Amanda (born 1984), and a son, Brandon Avery (born 1990). Perlman has volunteered as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program.

Filmography

Film

Television

Voice work

References

  1. ^ Ron Perlman Film Reference biography
  2. ^ "Hour Magazine - on Ron Perlman's success on the series Beauty & The Beast" (video). YouTube. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |year2= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Ron Perlman on Becoming an Actor" (video). Glass Eye Pix. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |people= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |year2= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Golden Globe Awards official website, last accessed October 22, 2007.
  5. ^ "Stella Artois beer commercial entitled Devil's Island" (video). YouTube. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |year2= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "British Advertising Awards - Silver Honours 2003". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |year2= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Ron Perlman stars in an British Advertising Award winning Stella Artois beer commercial". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |year2= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Hobbit chat with Peter Jackson and G. del Toro peppered with big news (and little details about both films)|Hobbit Movie News and Rumors|TheOneRing.net|The Hobbit and L...

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