Ronald Francis Perlman
13 April 1950, New York City, New York, USA
6' 1"
Ron Perlman, a classically trained actor, has appeared in countless stage plays. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Opal, and their two children, Blake and Brandon. He was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York. His mother, Dorothy, still lives there and is retired from the City Clerks Office. His father, now deceased, was a repair man and a drummer with 'Artie Shaws Band. With a career spanning over three decades, Perlman has worked alongside such diverse actors as 'Marlon Brando, Sean Connery, Cameron Diaz, Brad Dourif, Ed Harris (I), John Hurt, Jude Law, Christina Ricci, Wesley Snipes, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Wincott, and Elijah Wood to name a few. While he has never been a bankable star, Perlman has always had a large fan-base. He started out strong as Amoukar, one of the tribesmen in Jean-Jacques Annaud's Academy Award-winning film La guerre du feu (1981), for which he got a Genie nomination. Perlman teamed up with Annaud again in '86, this time as a hunchback named Salvatore in Der Name der Rose (1986). His first real breakthrough came later, when he landed the role of Vincent, the lion-man, opposite Linda Hamilton (I) in the cult-series "Beauty and the Beast" (1987). His work in this role earned him not only a Golden Globe Award, but a huge fan following. After that, he spent time working on independent films such as Sleepwalkers (1992), The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), Cronos (1993), and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's surreal La cité des enfants perdus (1995). He returned to mainstream films in Alien: Resurrection (1997), again with Jeunet, and, in 2004, his good friend Guillermo del Toro helped him land the title role in the big-budget comic book movie Hellboy (2004). Perlman has played everything from a prehistoric tribesman to a good-hearted Colonel, and will always be a rarity in Hollywood. His other films include The Last Supper (1995), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Blade II (2002) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
'Opal Stone' (14 February 1981 - present); 2 children
Deep, rolling voice.
Frequently appears as characters who are deformed or not human, starting with his role as Amoukar in La guerre du feu (1981). These roles include Salvatore in Der Name der Rose (1986), Vincent in "Beauty and the Beast" (1987), Sayer of the Law in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Reinhardt (a vampire) in Blade II (2002), the Reman Viceroy in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), and Hellboy in Hellboy (2004).
Frequently has a role in the films of Jean-Jacques Annaud and Guillermo del Toro.
Children, with Opal Perlman, Blake Perlman (b. 1984) and Brandon Avery Perlman (b. 1990).
He is left-handed, but was forced to use his right as a child - therefore he is relatively comfortable using his right hand.
Attended the University of Minnesota from fall 1971 to spring 1973. On July 20th 1973 he graduated with his then new degree of Master of Fine Arts.
Attended George Washington High School.
Attended the Lehman College in NYC in 1971, where he got the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre.
His wife, Opal Perlman, was a fashion designer, but now works as a jewelry designer.
Upon meeting to discuss Hellboy (2004), creator Mike Mignola and director Guillermo del Toro decided to reveal to each other their choice for the lead role. They both said at the same time, Ron Perlman. Revolutions studio wanted a bigger name like Vin Diesel to play the title role, but del Toro fought for Perlman to get the role, and in the end, he did.
Doesn't speak French and was the only American on set of the French film La cité des enfants perdus (1995). But he learned all of his lines, and delivered them flawlessly.
His favorite movie is Nobody's Fool (1994).
Is a New York Yankees fan.
Broke a rib while filming the subway scenes in Hellboy (2004). He jumped onto a train that was coming towards him.
To prepare for his role in Hellboy (2004), he read all the Hellboy comics and worked out three hours a day, five to seven days a week. He also worked out while shooting, every day he had off from filming, he would work out.
Is the godfather to Nicholas Kadi's daughter.
Was ranked in Star Magazine's Reader's Poll - Best Dramatic Actor as Vincent in "Beauty and the Beast" (1987).
Was ranked in US Magazine's "20 Who Turned us on" list. [December 26, 1988]
Was ranked in US Magazine's First Annual Reader's Poll - Third runner-up for Best Dramatic Actor as Vincent in "Beauty and the Beast" (1987). [1988]
His favorite episode of "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) is 'Happy Life'.
Was friends with Sammy Davis Jr.. They met at the Golden Globe Awards in the late 80s, apparently Davis was a huge "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) fan and had seen every single episode.
Voiced the mutant villain Clayface on "Batman" (1992), a character who, ironically, was a disfigured actor, then voiced the villain Slade on "Teen Titans" (2003), and also did the voice of the Hulk/Bruce Banner twice in two separate series, one for a guest spot on "Fantastic Four" (1994) and one for a guest spot on "Iron Man" (1994), in addition to providing the voice of Orion for "Justice League" (2001). He then played the comic book character Hellboy in Hellboy (2004). He went to portray Batman in Justice League Heroes (2006) (VG).
Has a dog (terrier) named Nigel.
Hobbies include golf, jazz, and pool.
With the creation of Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), at 58 he became the oldest actor ever to play a main superhero.
Frequent voice collaborator with fellow voice-actor Keith David (I). Computer games: Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role-Playing Game (1997) (VG), Lords of Everquest (2003) (VG), Halo 2 (2004) (VG), Halo 3 (2007) (VG). Animated series: "Aladdin" (1994), "Fantastic Four" (1994), "Justice League" (2001), "Teen Titans" (2003). And they have both had a guest appearance on the TV series "The Outer Limits" (1995).
Good friends with former "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) co-star Linda Hamilton (I). They reunited in the theatre play Lover Letters (1991) and in the post-Vietnam War drama Missing in America (2005).
Was presented with the Acting Award of Excellence at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival [September 18th, 2004].
Worked on the Acadamy Award winning short film Two Soldiers (2003) for free as a favor to writer/director Aaron Schneider (I).
Was offered promotional advertisements as Vincent, his character from the "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) series, but he refused, stating that the character was not there to be exploited.
Gave former "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) co-star Armin Shimerman advice on how to emote effectively under full-head prosthetic appliances when Shimerman landed the role of Quark on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993).
Said in his audio commentary for La cité des enfants perdus (1995), that of all the things his characters have done in films, his most hated action was when his character, One, attacked Miette under the influence of the evil Octopus Sisters' drug.
His characters are frequently seen smoking cigars (The Last Supper (1995), Happy, Texas (1999), Price of Glory (2000), Night Class (2001), Hellboy (2004), et cetera). Perlman is an avid cigar smoker in real life.
Early in his career, he tried doing stand-up comedy.
Producers Lawrence Gordon (I) and Lloyd Levin tried hard for Perlman to get cast as Edward Blake aka The Comedian in Watchmen (2009).
Was offered the role of Piccolo in Dragonball Evolution (2009), but turned it down to work on Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) instead.
Was considered for the role of Uncle Dave in Postal (2007), before Dave Foley (I) was cast.
Wrote a script some years ago entitled Wooden Lake which he was also going to direct, but as of this date, it has not gone into production (2009).
TV commercial: Stella Artois (2003).
Stage: Appeared in "Thieves' Carnival" [stage debut] at George Washington High School.
Stage: Worked with New York's Classic Stage Company, an organization specializing in Elizabethan and Restoration plays (1974-76).
Stage: Appeared in "American Heroes", directed by Tom O'Horgan, on Broadway and in touring company.
(2002) Audio book: Narrated the audio book "The Fourth Perimeter", written by Tim Green. Published by Time/Warner Audio Books.
(1995) Audio book: Narrated the audio book "Superstitious" written by R.L. Stine. Published by Time/Warner Audio Books.
(1994) Audio book: Narrated the audio book "Caliban's Hour" written by Tad Williams. Published by Harper Collins Audio.
(1993) Narration: Narrated a documentary on the Trans-Siberian Railroad entitled "The Red Express".
(1989) Album: Narrated an album of poetry "Of Love and Hope" with music from "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) (as Vincent).
DVD: Audio commentary for Hellboy (2004) with Selma Blair, Rupert Evans (II) and Jeffrey Tambor.
DVD: Audio commentary for La guerre du feu (1981) with director Jean-Jacques Annaud, producer Michael Gruskoff and actress Rae Dawn Chong.
TV commercial: Bidgestone tires (2008, voice).
TV commercial: the Walt Disney Company for its "Year of a Million Dreams" spot (2006, voice).
(2009) TV commercial: Netflix DVD rental company (as "Hellboy" character).
Stage: Appeared in "Pal Joey", directed by Tom O'Horgan, on Broadway and in touring companies.
Stage: Appeared in "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui", directed by Tom O'Horgan, on Broadway and in touring companies.
Audio book: Narrated the audio book "The Strain" written by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan (II). Published by Unabridged (2009).
I've always felt there were aspects of me that were monstrous, and you can either hide from it or confront it, embrace it and understand that those are aspects that make you unique and define you and motivate you. You can either overwhelm or overcompensate for them -- but they truly define you as a human being...So that life became a question of either dealing with this monstrousness in one way or another...One finds a way to understand and make friends with that monster and understand that that's the very thing that makes you who you are. That's your emotional and spiritual fingerprint.
I've done millions of mediocre movies. I've done way more than my fair share. You do what you gotta do. This is not heart surgery. I'm not curing cancer. I'm just trying to put my kids through school.
[On being a director]: "I don't like working with me. I would punch myself in the mouth if I had to take my direction."
[When asked what his idea of Hell is]: "Working at a job that you hate. Having a career and a life that you have no passion for. That's hell."
[On Guillermo del Toro]: "It seems as though we are like brothers. After knowing the guy for five minutes, it was one of these instances, where you felt, that you've known him for twenty-five years. This instantaneous friendship and recognition. Very very similar way of viewing the world. And then we found, that working with each other, there was a real simpatico. And I think you could even say, that we are alter egos for one another. Like if he was and actor he would be me and if I was a filmmaker I would be him. We seem to be trying to make the same statement in the world."
I'd be dead without my sense of humor. I can't imagine processing the shit we are slogging our way through in life without it. In a twenty-four-hour space, you get an acute sense of how all of this injustice and out-rage is absurd. There are things that are truly serious, like when one loses his health or gets into a life- threatening accident. But the rest of it.... If you can't laugh your way through life, then you are fucked. Humor was the first form of armor I ever wore to counteract my self-image. The first girl I ever asked out on a date laughed at me, because she thought I was kidding. While I didn't cry on the surface, inside I was weeping. But outwardly I made a joke out of the situation. So humor has always been my shield against the slings and arrows. I turn them into something satiric.
[1990]: "People are doing sitcoms on stage rather than theater. You go to the theater, and it's as if you were watching a sitcom at 8:30 on Channel 4."
[When asked if he is afraid to be type-cast as a tough guy after Alien: Resurrection (1997)]: I don't bear any label. I perform very extreme characters, but at the same time men with an enormous goodness. Take for example the Hercules from La cité des enfants perdus (1995), One, he is a child in an adult body; One is pure, simple and innocent. My character in "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) had an enormous generosity, far from this world; the Beast was too good to be real. It's true that I hardly play ordinary people due to my appearance, anyway I am not a captive of any register, I don't systematically play tough and not very bright people. I congratulate myself for my varied filmography and for being able to do all roles.
I lost 90 pounds and my blood pressure went down to a normal level and the salt in my urine disappeared. And that was when I had to make the transition from fat character actor to thin character actor.
[On acting]: "It's nice to get paid for therapy rather than having to pay $240 an hour for it."
I just think that there are those people that their resolve is strengthened by what it is that's keeping them down, and there are some people that will buckle under it. You never know which one is which until you get into the eighth or ninth round of the fight.
I will not do a role that I don't think I can do, that I'm not interested in, where there's no humanity, that doesn't have any kind of handle for me at all because I know I'll just stink the joint up.
I think there are a lot of technocrats in the business who would much rather work with just wheels and gears and machinery. Those things interest them more than humanity and I wish them the best of luck.
I don't think anything is ever going to replace the human heart and what that generates in terms of performance.
"I was not dealt the best physical hand in the world. My nose didn't fit my mouth. My forehead didn't fit my cheeks. And those are traditionally the years when a boy is judged primarily on his looks. So, consequently, I suffered from very low self- esteem. In a sense, I had a beast inside me. That beast was fear and insecurity." (on his childhood days)
(2004) Now lives in Los Angeles, California, but also keeps a home in New York City.
(July 2005) Currently filmingIn the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
(June 2004) Was Guest of Honor at the multi-genre Dreamcon, in Jacksonville, Florida.
(May 2001) Attended the A Diamond is Forever - Cinema Against Aids 2001 gala at the Moulin de Mougins restaurant, to benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research.
(January 2009) Budapest, Hungary - filming Season of the Witch (2010).
Two Soldiers (2003) -> $0.00
"Starlog" (USA), July 2008, Iss. 367, pg. 46-49, by: Joe Nazzaro, "The Big Red One"
"Fangoria" (USA), May 2006, Iss. #253
"Shock Cinema" (USA), 2006, Iss. 31, pg. 3-7, by: Jeremiah Kipp, "Some Kind of Hero: An Interview With Ron Perlman"
"Widescreen" (Germany), 18 August 2004, Iss. 09/2004, pg. 24-25, by: Emanuel Bergmann, "Das Monster bin ich!"
"Dreamwatch" (USA), January 2003, Iss. 101, by: Abbie Bernstein, "Beast Master"
"Comics2Film" (USA), 13 March 2002, "Blade II"
"Starburst" (USA), 2002, Iss. 284, by: Ian Spelling, "Don't Fear the Reaper"
"Star Trek Monthly" (USA), 2002, by: Ian Spelling, "Reman Rogues"
"Starlog" (USA), February 1998, Iss. 247, by: Ian Spelling, "Beast Resurrected"
"Starlog" (USA), June 1989, Iss. 143, pg. 17-19,+42, by: Edward Gross, "Ron Perlman: Prince of the Underground City"
"The Sydney Morning Herald" (Australia), 20 August 2004, by: Alexa Moses, "Quite Simply the Beast"
"Correio da Manhã, TV" (Portugal), 28 August 1998, pg. 16-17, "Por detrás da máscara"
"Back Stage West" (USA), 14 August 1997, by: Dale MacDiarmid, "Ron Perlman and Elya Baskin"
"TV Guide" (USA), 9 July 1988, by: Mary Murphy, "Will Hollywood Ever Take Him at Face Value?"
"Starlog" (USA), March 1988, by: Marc Shapiro, "Television's New Prince Charming"
"Los Angeles Times" (Los Angeles, USA), 28 January 1988, by: Diana Haithman, "An Unlikey Sex Symbol"
"Veronica" (Netherlands), 5 April 2008, Iss. 14, by: Universal Pictures, "Hellboy II (as Hellboy)"
"STX" (USA), December 2002, Iss. 99, pg. 1, "Ron Perlman - Viceroy"
"Cinescape" (USA), November 1997, pg. 1, by: Chandra Palermo, "Ron Perlman"
"Playboy" (USA), December 1989, Vol. 36, Iss. 12, pg. 180, by: Jim Harwood, "Holy Sex Stars of 1989!"
"Empire" (UK), March 2008
"Empire" (Russia), February 2008, Iss. 2
"Smoke Magazine" (USA), 2008, Iss. Fall
"Shock Cinema" (USA), 2006, Iss. 31
"Starlog" (USA), March 1988, Vol. 11, Iss. 128
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