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Ron Perlman

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For the businessman, see Ronald Perelman.

Ron Perlman
Perlman looking towards a camera
Perlman in 2022
Born
Ronald N. Perlman

(1950-04-13) April 13, 1950 (age 74)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Education
OccupationActor
Years active1975–present
WorksFull list
Spouses
Opal Stone
​
​
(m. 1981; div. 2019)​
Allison Dunbar
​
(m. 2022)​
Children2, including Delroy Edwards

Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in Quest for Fire (1981), Salvatore in The Name of the Rose (1986), Vincent in the television series Beauty and the Beast (1987–1990), for which he won a Golden Globe Award, One in The City of Lost Children (1995), When the Bough Breaks (1994), Johner in Alien Resurrection (1997), Koulikov in Enemy at the Gates (2001), Hellboy in both Hellboy (2004) and its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), Clay Morrow in the television series Sons of Anarchy (2008–2013), Nino in Drive (2011) and Benedict Drask in Don't Look Up (2021). As a frequent collaborator of Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro, he has had roles in the del Toro films Cronos (1993), Blade II (2002), Pacific Rim (2013), Nightmare Alley (2021), and Pinocchio (2022). He also starred in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and two Stephen King adaptations, Sleepwalkers (1992) and Desperation (2006).

Perlman has also had a prolific career as a voice actor, including the narrator of the post-apocalyptic game series Fallout (1997–present), Clayface in the DC Animated Universe (1992–2003), Slade in Teen Titans (2003–2006), Mr. Lancer in Danny Phantom (2004–2007), Lord Hood in the video games Halo 2 (2004) and Halo 3 (2007), the Stabbington brothers in Tangled (2010), The Lich in Adventure Time (2011–2017) and its spinoff Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (2023), Xibalba in The Book of Life (2014), and Optimus Primal in both the Transformers: Power of the Primes (2018) animated series and the film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023).

Early life and education

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Ronald N. Perlman[1] was born on April 13, 1950, in Washington Heights, New York City.[2] His mother, Dorothy (née Rosen), was a municipal employee, and his father, Bertram "Bert" Perlman, was a jazz drummer and television repairman.[3] His family is Jewish, originally from Hungary and Poland, and Perlman had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony.[4][5]

Perlman said in 1988, "It was not a bad childhood but I had a perception of myself that was ... I was terribly overweight as a young kid, and it was sort of a low self image."[6] He stated this experience is something that attracts him to roles where he portrays "these sorts of deformed people who are very endearing."[7][8] Perlman had a "very close" relationship with his father, who convinced his son he "had to" pursue a career as an actor after seeing him perform in a college production of Guys and Dolls.[7]

Perlman graduated from George Washington High School in 1967 and Lehman College in 1971. He later attended the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a master's degree in theater arts in 1973.[9]

Career

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Film and television

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Perlman at the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards in September 1989

Perlman made his television debut in the soap opera Ryan's Hope in 1979. He made his feature film debut in Jean-Jacques Annaud's film Quest for Fire (1981). Annaud later revealed that when he contacted Perlman to ask him about playing Salvatore in The Name of the Rose (1986), Perlman was thinking of abandoning his career. After various minor and supporting roles in film and television, he got his breakthrough leading role as Vincent on the television series Beauty and the Beast, opposite Linda Hamilton, from 1987 to 1990. This earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series in 1989.[10]

He went on to play supporting roles in many films throughout the 1990s as well as the 2000s. His most notable film appearances were in films such as Romeo is Bleeding (1993), The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994), The Last Supper (1995), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Alien Resurrection (1997), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Blade II and Star Trek: Nemesis (both 2002) and two Stephen King adaptations, Sleepwalkers and Desperation. His appearances on television series include Highlander: The Series, The Outer Limits, The Magnificent Seven, and the Amazon series Hand of God.[11]

He played his first leading film role in 1995, when he played "One" in Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's French-language The City of Lost Children. In 2003, Perlman starred in a commercial for Stella Artois beer. This commercial, which was called "Devil's Island",[12] won a Silver Award at the 2003 British Advertising Awards.[13][14] He got another leading film role in 2004 when he played the title role in the comic book adaptation Hellboy. Perlman reprised his role as Hellboy in the straight to DVD animated features Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006) and Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007) as well as Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008).

In 2008, Perlman joined the cast of the television series Sons of Anarchy on FX playing Clay Morrow, the national president of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. He also played Wes Chandler in the second and third seasons of StartUp in 2017–2018.

In 2022, Perlman starred in Steven Brand's noir thriller Joe Baby alongside Dichen Lachman, Willa Fitzgerald and Harvey Keitel.[15] In 2023, Perlman starred in the Western thriller Cottonmouth, which is set for release in 2024.[16] Perlman starred in the 2024 horror film Succubus, written and directed by R.J. Daniel Hanna.[17]

Voice-over work

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Perlman at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2011

Perlman also has a successful career as a voice actor. He has portrayed characters in numerous video games and animated series, and done voice-over work for television commercials.[18] These include Casper High English teacher and vice-principal Mr. Lancer in Danny Phantom, "Mickey Kaline" in Hey Arnold!, The Lich in Adventure Time, Kurtis Stryker in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, Justice in Afro Samurai and various characters in DC Comics based series such as the villainous Slade, a version of DC character Deathstroke in the Teen Titans animated series and again in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Clayface in Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, Jax-Ur in Superman: The Animated Series, Orion in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited (the former in which he reprised his role as Clayface as well as voice Orion), Sozin in Avatar: The Last Airbender, several villains (Killer Croc, Rumor and Bane) in The Batman, Doctor Double X in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and Sinestro in Green Lantern: The Animated Series. In addition, he served as the narrator for 1000 Ways to Die from 2009 to 2012.

His video game credits include Terrence Hood in the games Halo 2 and Halo 3, Jagger Valance in The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, and Batman in Justice League Heroes. He is well known by Fallout fans for narrating the introductory movies in the series, including uttering the famous phrase "War. War never changes." He also voices "Slade" in the 2008 Turok game, and Emil Blonsky / Abomination in Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Conan for the PS3 and Xbox 360, and voices the fast-talking Mayor Hoodoo Brown in the Neversoft game Gun. He also made an appearance in Payday 2 as "Rust", part of the "Biker Pack" DLC.[19] In Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2016), Perlman offered his likeness and voice to one of the lead playable characters in the game's popular Zombies mode.[20]

Perlman has also provided narration for a number of audiobooks, including City of Thieves by David Benioff. Perlman also does narration in the UFC's cold open promos for pay-per-view events.[21]

Personal life

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Perlman married Opal Stone, an Afro-Jamaican jewelry designer, on Valentine's Day 1981 and they had two children together: daughter Blake Amanda (b. 1984) and son Brandon Avery (b. 1990).[22] They separated in May 2019 and Perlman later filed for divorce.[23] In 2022, Perlman married his StartUp co-star Allison Dunbar in Italy after three years of dating.[24] His son Brandon produces electronic music under the stage name Delroy Edwards.[25]

Perlman is a lifelong Democrat.[26] He has been a vocal critic of former U.S. President Donald Trump,[27] whose son Donald Trump Jr. called Perlman "a coward" for allegedly being aware of Weinstein's sexual abuses on several women in the entertainment industry and staying silent about it.[28] In 2018, Perlman claimed that he intentionally urinated on his hand prior to shaking Harvey Weinstein's hand followed by the message "I think about that every time lil Donnie opens up his KFC."[28]

On November 9, 2016, Perlman announced via Facebook his intention to run for U.S. President in the 2020 election.[29] In January 2019, he endorsed the candidacy of Kamala Harris.[30] Perlman spoke in support of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes and criticized an executive from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers who said that the association should delay negotiations with striking workers until they began to lose their homes.[31]

Filmography

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Main article: List of Ron Perlman performances

Books

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Year Title
2014 Easy Street (the Hard Way): A Memoir[32]

References

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  1. ^ @perlmutations (January 15, 2014). "N. Yes" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Kane, Paul; O'Regan, Marie (2014). Voices in the Dark: Interviews with Horror Writers, Directors and Actors. McFarland. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-7864-5672-7. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Perlman, Ron (September 30, 2014). Easy Street (the Hard Way). Hachette Books. ISBN 9780306823459 – via google.ca.
  4. ^ Perlman, Ron (September 30, 2014). Easy Street (The Hard Way): A Memoir. Hachette Books. ISBN 9780306823459. Archived from the original on September 26, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  5. ^ Taylor, Drew. "Movies | Movie Times | Tickets Online | MoviesTrailers – Moviefone.com". Screened.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  6. ^ BEAUTY & THE BEAST - Ron Perlman on HOUR MAG March 1988 on YouTube
  7. ^ a b Ron Perlman on Acting on YouTube
  8. ^ Perlman, Ron (2015). Easy Street (the hard Way): A Memoir. Da Capo Press. pp. 29, 67. ISBN 978-0306824180.
  9. ^ "Alumni of Notable Achievement: College of Liberal Arts: University of Minnesota". University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on January 16, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  10. ^ Golden Globe Awards official website Archived August 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, last accessed October 22, 2007.
  11. ^ Johns, Nikara (March 28, 2014). "Dana Delany to Star in Amazon Pilot 'Hand of God'". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Penske Business Media, LLC. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  12. ^ Stella Artois "Devil's Island" on YouTube
  13. ^ "British Advertising Awards – Silver Honours 2003". 2003. Archived from the original on September 29, 2006.
  14. ^ "Ron Perlman stars in a British Advertising Award winning Stella Artois beer commercial". 2003.[dead link‍]
  15. ^ Grobar, Matt (June 27, 2022). "'Severance's Dichen Lachman, Willa Fitzgerald, Ron Perlman & Harvey Keitel To Topline Noir 'Joe Baby'". Deadline. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  16. ^ Andreas Wiseman (September 28, 2023). "Martin Sensmeier, Ron Perlman, Esai Morales & Eric Nelsen Lead Western 'Cottonmouth'; Filming Underway In Oklahoma". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  17. ^ Lang, Brent (May 14, 2024). "Archstone Entertainment Acquires International Rights to Ron Perlman Horror Film 'Succubus,' Vanessa Del Rio Biopic (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  18. ^ "2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon TV Commercial, 'The Truth'". iSpot.tv. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  19. ^ Sykes, Tom (June 13, 2016). "Ron Perlman stars in Payday 2's Biker Packs DLC, out this week". PC Gamer. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on September 26, 2024. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  20. ^ O'Connor, Alice (July 10, 2015). "Jeff Goldblum & Ron Perlman Star In Cod Blops 3 Zombies". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  21. ^ Okoh, Joseph (January 16, 2021). "How long has Hellboy actor Ron Perlman been working with the UFC?". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  22. ^ Perlman, Ron (2015). Easy Street (the Hard Way). Boston: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306824180.
  23. ^ Fernandez, Alexia (November 5, 2019). "Ron Perlman Files for Divorce from Wife of 38 Years, 5 Months After He Was Seen Kissing Costar". People. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  24. ^ Perri, Juliana (June 28, 2022). "Ron Perlman Marries Fiancée Allison Dunbar in Italy: 'Spring Has Indeed Sprung'". people.com. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  25. ^ "Interviewly". April 7, 2014. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  26. ^ Ron Perlman [@perlmutations] (November 11, 2016). "I am a lifelong Democrat. Because I believe that when Government is at its best, it is meant to help the average Joe!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 14, 2017 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Moran, Lee (July 3, 2020). "Ron Perlman Names 'Sick And Twisted' Part Of Trump Presidency That Blows His Mind". HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  28. ^ a b Sharf, Zack (June 26, 2018). "Donald Trump Jr. Suggests Ron Perlman Knew About Harvey Weinstein's Sexual Abuse, Calls Him a 'Coward' For Being Silent". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  29. ^ Brill, Karen (November 9, 2016). "Ron Perlman Announces Intention to Run for President in 2020, Seemingly Beats You to Being Able to Laugh About Any of This". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  30. ^ Folley, Aris (January 24, 2019). "Ron Perlman Says Kamala Harris Already Has His Vote For 2020". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  31. ^ Travis, Emlyn (July 15, 2023). "Ron Perlman clarifies remarks warning studio exec about their home". EW.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  32. ^ Klimek, Chris (October 3, 2014). "Review: 'Easy Street (The Hard Way),' a memoir by actor Ron Perlman". Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
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