Biography for
Gunnar Hansen (II) Leatherface Texas ChainSaw Massacre Movie

Nickname

Gunner
Leatherface

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Height

6' 4" (1.93 m)

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Mini biography

He was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, and moved to the US at the age of five. Gunnar lived in Maine till he was eleven, when his family moved to Texas, where he went to high school and then the University of Texas. He majored in English and mathematics and then went to graduate school in Scandinavian Studies and English. Gunnar Hansen will forever be remembered as 'Leatherface' the original slasher from Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. His first job out of high school was as a computer operator. Hansen was a graduate from the University of Texas - Austin. He did some theater work in college. In the summer of '73 he heard that Tobe Hooper and others were in town and were doing a movie and decided to give it a try. After interviewing with Tobe Hooper and Kim (the writer of Texas Chainsaw Massacre) he got the part of Leatherface the retarded killer. After Texas Chainsaw Massacre he tried to make a living as a writer. Gunnar worked as a magazine editor for a while and then wrote for a magazine for several years. He have written several screenplays one with his partner Gary Jones (director of 'Mosquito'). Hansen has also written books and some film documentaries. Gunnar who is originally from Iceland also directed a documentary on Greenland. He also spent some time designing webpages for GTE.

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IMDb mini-biography by

Sujit R. Varma

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Trivia

During the filming of the dinner scene towards the end of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre', Gunnar's character Leatherface was supposed to cut the finger of Marilyn Burns' character with a knife. Gunnar was having trouble working the fake-blood dispenser and was very fatigued by the heat and long hours of doing take after take, so unbeknown to everyone but him and Marilyn, he simply cut her for real, which is the take used in the film.

Was asked to reprise the role of Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), but declined, claiming that he was insulted by the idea of the original 1974 film being remade.

Worked as a computer operator outside of high school

After acting in the movie Demon Lover, he decided to quit acting and continue his dream of writing, but after being offered many jobs that he refused (including Hills have Eyes and Eaten Alive) he decided that he could both be an actor and a writer.

Said in a TV interview that he is so unlike his TCM character that when people who meet him learn that he played Leatherface, they often react in total shock.

Was a football player in high school; also worked as a bar-bouncer prior to acting.

Checkout all films Mr. Hansen appeared in at the Gunner Hansen Leatherface Page at IMDB

Please visit the true Gunnar Hansen website

Cool fun facts found at "The Unofficial Home Of Gunnar Hansen"
Check it out... very cool !!!

Gunnar Hansen: The Man Behind The Mask

"The Unofficial Home Of Gunnar Hansen"

T.C.M. - The doorway with the big metal sliding door had a false floor.

T.C.M. - Gunnar had a hard time seeing with the mask on.

T.C.M. - Gunnar hit his head on the door, dropped the girl and fell out cold on the floor (in the scene where he grabs the girl and is carrying her through the doorway).

T.C.M. - They did not use stunt doubles.

T.C.M. - Gunnar handled a "live" saw through the whole making of the movie.

T.C.M. - Gunnar was doing some cutting with a "live" saw only "three inches" from a guy's head (Tobe Hooper wanted it to look real).

T.C.M. - While filming another scene, Gunnar fell and landed on his back and threw the "live" saw up in the air which ended up landing on the ground right beside him.

Mosquito - In the scene in the basement the chain broke on the chainsaw, flew off, and hit the assistant cameraman.