Gunnar Hansen

Gunnar Hansen (March 4, 1947 – November 7, 2015) was an Icelandic-born American actor and author best known for playing the mentally impaired cannibal Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).
== 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 began theater work during college. He was also 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. Hansen apparently visited and studied children with special needs to determine mannerisms for Leatherface.
After the success of the movie, Hansen co-starred in Demon Lover, but after the experience he decided not to continue acting, instead pursuing a writing career. In 1975, after one extra year of graduate school, Hansen moved back to Maine and started writing. During this time he rejected a part he was offered in the cult horror film The Hills Have Eyes.
After writing (and occasionally editing) for magazines and writing books, Hansen returned to acting in 1988, appearing in the horror spoof Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, and has appeared in 20 films since. He considers his recent acting as a side project and has continued to write books. He has also written film scripts, and writes and directs documentary films.
Hansen 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 2013 he wrote the nonfiction book Chain Saw Confidential, which focuses on the making and reception for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. In addition, he has taught college as an adjunct instructor.
==Death== 
Hansen died at his home in Maine from pancreatic cancer on November 7, 2015 at the age of 68.'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Actor Gunnar Hansen Dies at 68Associated Press staff, "Gunnar Hansen, killer of 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre,' dies," Associated Press via Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, Tx) accessed at 3:56 am November 8, 2015.
==Filmography==
 Film and television
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1974	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 	Leatherface 	
1977	The Demon Lover 	Prof. Peckinpah 	
1988	Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers 	The Stranger 	
1991	Campfire Tales 	Ralph 	
1995	Exploding Angel 	Walter 	
1995	Mosquito 	Earl 	
1995	Freakshow 	Freakmaster 	Direct-to-video
1996	Repligator 	Dr. Kildare 	
1999	Hellblock 13 	The Executioner 	Direct-to-video
2002	Hatred of a Minute 	Barry 	
2002	Witchunter 	Michael Jones 	Direct-to-video
2002	Rachel's Attic 	Ronald 	
2002	Sinister 	The Piper 	Short film
2003	Next Victim 	Doctor Howard 	
2004	The Business 	Grandfather 	Short film, direct-to-video
2004	Chainsaw Sally 	Daddy 	
2004	Murder-Set-Pieces 	Mechanic 	
2005	Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen 	Reggie 	
2005	Wolfsbayne 	The Elder 	
2006	Swarm of the Snakehead 	Gunner 	
2006	The Deepening 	Dr. Chambers 	
2007	Brutal Massacre: A Comedy 	Krenshaw 	
2007	Shudder 	 	Direct-to-video
2007	Gimme Skelter 	Porter Sandford 	
2009	Won Ton Baby! 	Dr. Kurt Severson 	
2009	It Came from Trafalgar 	Tex Ghoul 	
2009	Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre	Captain Pétur 	
2013	Texas Chainsaw 3D 	Boss Sawyer, Leatherface (Archive Footage)	Cameo
*Knight of the Living Dead (2005) (special thanks)
===As self===
*Terror in the Aisles (1984) – archival footage 
*Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (1988) 
*Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000) 
*Leatherface Speaks: An Informal Interview with Gunnar Hansen (2001) 
*Behind the Attic Door: The Making of "Rachel's Attic" (2002) 
*UnConventional (2004) 
*Flesh Wounds: Seven Stories of the Saw (2006)
==See also==
* The White Bird
==References==
* 
==External links==
*Gunnar Hansen official web site
*
Category:1947 births
Category:2015 deaths
Category:actors from Reykjavík
Category:American male film actors
Category:American people of Icelandic descent
Category:Icelandic emigrants to the United States
Category:Austin High School (Austin, Texas) alumni
Category:Icelandic male film actors
Category:20th-century American writers
Category:21st-century American writers
Category:The Texas Chainsaw Massacre