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Credits
Henry Rollins Film Roles
The Chase - 1993
Johnny Mnemonic - 1994
Heat - 1995
Lost Highway - 1996
Frost - 1998
Desperate But Not Serious - 1998
Morgan's Ferry - 1998
House on a Hill - 1999
The New Guy - 2001 (not released yet)
Scenes of the Crime - 2001 (not released yet)

Henry Rollins Television
Comedy Central Special "Live and Ripped from London" - August 2000
Hosting new program for Fox Television called "Nightvisions" - airing in May/June 2001

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Television and Film Biogaraphy

Henry Rollins is a force of nature. So it's no surprise that the enigmatic frontman approaches the acting profession with the same enthusiasm he applies to his music, writing, and spoken-word romps. The only difference - Rollins proclaims - is that he never pretends for one minute that he is an actor. "When you come from a music background, it's not easy to get into the 'movie thing,' in L.A.. When you work on a record that's the thing you're concentrating on for months at a time, then you go out and promote it. With movies it's like 'hey, good doing business with you - next.' There's a lot more cooks in the kitchen with movies. When I act, I'm under no illusions. I consider myself a tool of the director. I show up on time and just try to soak everything in."

Of course, Rollins has not reigned as a one-man cultural provocateur for two decades by just doing what he's told. His incredible career stats include some 19 albums under both the Black Flag and Rollins Band banners, 9 spoken word discs, 12 books, and a host of TV appearances, including his own special on The Comedy Channel this summer, Henry Rollins: Live And Ripped From London, which was shot in a British club in May of 1999. Rollins' acting stints, which he once defined as his own 'bend in the road,' have for the most part, reflected his bombastic - and sometimes misunderstood - public image. A quick perusal of his film credits include variations on that theme: a prison guard, a bartender, an over-zealous cop, a hockey coach, and of course, the obligatory psycho. "I get a lot of comedy parts. The directors usually have heard of me and they want to see me. Sometimes I get 'Oh, you jump up and down on stage and wrote a book once.' But pretty soon they see what I can do."

The range of films that Rollins has appeared in reveals something about his intensity and his intelligence. From his screen debut in 1994 with actor Charlie Sheen in The Chase, to the Robert Longo directed - William Gibson classic Johnny Mnemonic, to David Lynch's acclaimed Lost Highway in 1997, to the tense thriller Morgan's Ferry, in which Rollins landed his biggest role opposite veteran actress Kelly McGillis, Rollins has always relied on his instincts, as well as each director's vision.

He's appeared in a total of 8 movies, bringing to the set the same DIY philosophy and willingness to learn that has personified his entire career. "All my favorite musicians and actors have come through the ranks in a very unorthodox manner. They come from all walks of life and they just do their thing. I know it's also valid to come from lots of training, too, but there is something to be said for a loose cannon like me who just goes for it. With me it ain't ten years of violin classes, so it's make-it-or-break-it time. I come from a world where you had to work ten hours until your feet hurt, so when someone says 'will you be in this movie and they have free lunch,' I'm like 'you bet, and by the way, I'm taking the socks home."

Rollins does recall one early attempt to garner some professional acting lessons. "I took one improv class about ten years ago because Crispin Glover insisted I go. He knew this teacher that you kind of had to rent out. So we and some other people all threw in fifty backs and rented this guy at a small church in Venice. It was interesting. What I learned is what a great actor Crispin Glover is."

Rollins does insist that he pays rapt attention on every movie set. "You'd be an idiot not to want to learn all you can. I mean, I had a small role in 'Heat' for example, with Al Pacino, directed by Michael Mann. Those two were incredible. I learned more in one day from them than I could ever have hoped for. Pacino was incredible. When they say 'action' and you're standing next to him you better take off your red belt and put your black belt on. Acting with him was 'jump school.' I've learned to be a sponge on a set. A blank page, just taking everything in."

He's quick to conjure up snapshots of his other memorable film experiences:

The Chase: "I played a cop. That was great because after the first day the director told my partner and I to throw away the script. we were able to improvise the rest of our scenes together."

Johnny Mnemonic: "I've always respected Robert Longo as an artist. And William Gibson was on the set every day hanging out, it was great. I played a good guy nerd. It was fun, I'd rather play good guys. That's closer to what I am, a boy scout trapped in the body of a hulk-necked maniac."

Heat: "What can you say when you get the opportunity to be on the same set as Pacino. It was great."

Lost Highway: "I'm a huge fan of David Lynch. We knew each other because we would send each other books. They wanted me to be in the movie but he said he had no money left. I was like: 'I'm happy to take out the trash.' Most of the scenes I was in were cut out. Most of the experience was just hanging out with David Lynch. He's a great artist. When you are around someone you so admire, you listen to what the man has to say."

Jack Frost: "I got the role of a Sgt. Rock type psycho hockey coach of a little kids team. John Rocker played Santa Claus. The kids all thought I was funny. After shooting they'd come into my set and ask me about music."

Desperate But Not Serious: "I don't know if it will ever come out in theaters but it was a lighter movie. I played a bartender. The movie was about these pretty girls trying to help one girl find the love of her life at some club. I had the funniest lines in the movie. I was the loose-nut bartender, getting kind of typecast here. I had the wildest lines. The set was eight blocks from where I live. I showed up in jeans and T-shirt and they were like 'ok, fine you're the bartender alright."

Morgan's Ferry: "Billy Zane was in the film. He wanted me in the movie, he's a fan. There was no audition and I went right to where they were filming in Cape Fear, North Carolina. The part was a redneck, psychopath badguy, one of three prison inmates who escape and take over a house and threaten Kelly McGillis. The director wasn't sure if I could pull it off. He was a little dubious. But about five days into it he pulled me aside and said I did a good job. I had to get naked in it and assault Kelly. That was tough. I'm a gentleman, and I was nervous before the scene where I assault her. I went over to her and said 'are you going to be all right.' She said 'we're actors, do what you have to do.' It was a stretch for me. I was shaking after it and she was like 'anyone have a cigarette.' She was great. I really inhabited the character. I didn't want the shooting to end. I think it was my best role."

House On The Hill: "I worked one day. The movie was about an architect, kind of a 'Fountainhead' theme. A guy who is 65 and says 'fuck 'em.' I played his artist friend who is in awe of him. It was fun because the character was a rich, megabucks, successful artist. It was one day but I worked every bit of it."

One television project Rollins is excited about is his participation in an upcoming Fox TV series, Night Visions. "It's kind of like the old Night Gallery show. I'm kind of like the Rod Serling host. They offered me the part after I was supposed to be in an upcoming episode of X-Files. My concert schedule got in the way of that. So they offered me this, instead. It was really cool. It's rare when an opportunity like this falls so easily into your lap."

Rollins says he is currently up for two more movie roles. He auditions when the spirit moves him, feeling more and more comfortable in front of the camera. And he says he puts the movie industry in the proper respective compared to the other aspects of his career. "They always take a meeting with me. The movie business and the music business are cousins. But with films, it's basically about getting the word out. And I'm always in awe of the great directors. When I see someone like Michael Mann, I know I could never get my shit together like that. At this stage of the game, my goal is to just keep getting better at what I'm doing."

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