Not Bad For A Human
The Life and Films of Lance Henriksen
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5.0 • 11 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Lance Henriksen is a Hollywood icon, with well over 150 films to his name. He's best known as the empathetic android Bishop in Aliens and the intuitive criminal profiler Frank Black in the TV series "Millennium," but he has also played gunfighters and gangsters, an astronaut, a vampire, a sadistic monk, Charles Bronson and Abraham Lincoln. He's mentored Tarzan, Evel Knievel and the Antichrist, and fought Terminators, Aliens, Predators, Pumpkinhead, Pinhead, Bigfoot, Superman, the Autobots, Mr. T, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. He's worked with directors James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Kathryn Bigelow, Sidney Lumet, Francois Truffaut, John Huston, Walter Hill, David Fincher, John Woo, Jim Jarmusch and Sam Raimi... But this is just skimming the surface. Henriksen is a true artist - a painter, a potter and a creative collaborator who brings complexity and humanity to all of his work by drawing on real life experiences that are often stranger than fiction. His biography, Not Bad for a Human, celebrates the actor's screen persona, film by film, band recounts the chaotic upbringing and early life experiences that shaped him - revealing the man behind the image. As Lance so candidly states, "This isn't just a book about me becoming an actor. It's about all the people I've crossed paths with over the years who have helped me flourish in spite of the chaos of my early life. It's about a lifelong process of becoming a human being."
Customer Reviews
Not Bad For A Human
Lance Henriksen tells great stories. And he tells stories great. This book is no exception. It is full of war stories from his chaotic youth, film set anecdotes, and glimpses into his actor's process. He reflects on his personal life without becoming gossipy, which is practically unheard of in a celebrity biography. He is open and honest equally about his successes and his failures. He never tries to put a spin on unflattering incidents or delude the reader into believing some fairytale version of poverty and loneliness. Mr. Henriksen simply lays bare his soul. One does not have to be a fan of Mr. Henriksen's or even a film buff to appreciate "Not Bad For A Human." Mr. Henriksen's achingly honest accounts are a testament that childhood is survivable, that "late-bloomers" really can flourish, and that life is a continuing journey.
Co-author Joseph Maddrey also deserves kudos for seamlessly weaving the first person and the third person narratives, the quotes, and the original writing into a very readable book.
Any reader is likely to find some aspect of this book that strikes a personal chord. I know I did. Mr. Henriksen's personal journey reminds us that if you believe in yourself when no one else does and if you have the tenacity to keep plugging away at life, then success by any definition will come. His journey reminds us that dreams-come-true aren't limited to the privileged few, but are in fact within the reach of us all. Ultimately, his journey reminds us that there is within the human spirit the capacity not only to survive, but to thrive. Mr. Henriksen does that, and he inspires us to do the same. And maybe that will be this book's legacy.