Ron Perlman's bigness and distinctive features seem to lend themselves to playing beasts and monsters, as he did in the hit TV series Beauty and the Beast (1987-90) and the feature film versions of the comic book Hellboy (2004 and 2008). Perlman began in the movies in the early '80s, starring in the serious caveman movie Quest For Fire (1981). He has worked steadily ever since in TV and feature films; in the '90s he was a regular voice actor for television cartoons, including Batman: The Animated Series (as Clayface) and The Fantastic Four (as The Incredible Hulk). Perlman's best-known movies include The City of Lost Children (1995); The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996, starring Marlon Brando); Alien: Resurrection (1997, starring Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder); Enemy at the Gates (2001, starring Ed Harris); Blade II (2002, starring Wesley Snipes); and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). In 2003 he appeared in Two Soldiers, an Oscar-winning short film based on a story by William Faulkner.
Career Highlights: The City of Lost Children, Quest for Fire, Cronos
First Major Screen Credit: Quest for Fire (1981)
Biography
Ron Perlman grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City, where his father was a radio/TV repairman and his mother an employee with the city's Department of Health. A profoundly unhandsome youth, Perlman was nonetheless very active in high school theater by virtue of his height (6-foot-2) and his deep, rolling voice. He continued studying drama at Lehman College and later at the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a master's degree in theater arts. He went to work with New York's Classic Stage Company, an organization specializing in Elizabethan and Restoration plays. Perlman starred in several Manhattan and touring productions staged by Tom O'Horgan of Hair fame before accepting his first film role as a Neanderthal man in 1981's Quest for Fire. Emotionally drained, Perlman backed off from acting after finishing the movie, but was soon back in the groove, essaying such attention-getting roles as the hunchbacked Salvatore in The Name of the Rose (1986). Most often cast as brooding, inarticulate, villainous characters in films (such as Pap in 1993's The Adventures of Huck Finn), Perlman became best known for his performance as the beneficent, albeit hideously ugly, sewer-dwelling Vincent in the late-'80s TV series Beauty and the Beast. Though this remained the actor's defining role for years after the show's run had drawn to a close, he was busier than ever through the '90s.
Appearing in everything from obscure arthouse hits (Cronos [1993] and The City of Lost Children [1995]) to voice-over work for television (Aladdin) and video games (Fallout, A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game) to overblown Hollywood blockbusters (Alien Resurrection), Perlman left few stones unturned in terms of flexibility and experimentation in new media. He continued this trend into the early 2000s, alternating between various arenas with remarkable ease and refusing to be pigeonholed, appearing in such high-profile releases as Titan A.E. (2000), Enemy at the Gates (2001), and Blade II (2002). Though his recognition factor seemed higher than ever, few could foresee the opportunity just ahead when Blade II and Cronos director Guillermo del Toro announced that Perlman would star in the film adaptation of Mike Mignola's popular comic book Hellboy, although it seemed highly unlikely that studios would invest the millions of dollars needed to bring the comic to life with an actor of such minimal "marquee value." They wanted Vin Diesel for the role, but del Toro, with the blessing and encouragement of character originator Mignola, eventually won out to have Perlman play the Nazi-creation-turned-superhero in the 2004 fantasy-action film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
He finally got another leading film role in 2004 when he played the title role in the comic-book adaptation Hellboy. The director Guillermo del Toro, who worked with him previously on Cronos and Blade II, had to fight to secure the role, as the studio wanted someone more
well-known such as Vin Diesel. Perlman is expected to reprise his role as Hellboy in
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, which is to be released on August 1, 2008.
He also might play the role of the character "Larson" for Guillermo del Toro's film adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story "At
The Mountains of Madness".
Perlman took part in an award-winning commercial for Stella Artoisbeer. This commercial, which was called "Devil's Island", won a Gold Award at the British Advertising Awards.[1]
Perlman was born in Washington Heights, New
York. His mother, Dorothy, is a municipal employee, and his father is a jazz drummer and
repairperson.[2] He has been married to Opal Perlman since
February 14, 1981, and he has two children, Blake Amanda (born
1984), and Brandon Avery (born 1990).
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