On Fire is the latest film from filmmaker Nick Lyon (Species: The Awakening). It’s a disaster film, loosely based on real events, that follows a family that’s stranded in the middle of a raging wildfire. Their only chance for survival is to come together as a family, risking everything they have for survival. It stars Peter Facinelli (The Twilight Saga), Fiona Dourif (Chucky), Asher Angel (Shazam!), and the legendary Lance Henriksen (Pumpkinhead).
It’s a harrowing and intense drama set in a very real circumstance that’s much too common of an occurrence, and the film attempts to bring attention to the problem and those who bravely fight wildfires every day.
Lance Henriksen knows first-hand just how serious and dangerous they can be. In fact, he had some real-life experience. He explains, “I trained to fight fires on a ship since I was in the Navy. During boot camp, they broke us in on how to fight a fire. Over the years, I’ve seen houses burned down, and it’s a very difficult job. Fire will not give up until you put it out. It’ll just keep going at you. It’s not a lover of humans if you know what I mean. It’s almost like an asteroid coming out of the universe; it exists, and it’s relentless unless you stop it.”
Henriksen takes on the role of George Laughlin, the father of Facinelli’s character, who is in failing health and living the rest of his life in his son’s care. “He’s a father and has a grandson; grandchildren are like your children too. I loved the complexity of all that.” Lance continues, “He’s a real kind of hardworking sportsman kind of guy, and with the family decides, together, to move out of the city, off the grid. They just want to have a simpler life so they can really see each other and live their lives together. That really appealed to me because I’ve never even considered that. I’m a guy raised in New York City. There’s drama and plenty of it; that’s why I wanted to do it. I liked it, I liked the way it was written.”
With Facinelli playing the father, Fiona Dourif as his wife, and Asher Angel as their son, they come together to form a believable family unit, and Henriksen is the cornerstone. He describes the process, “We hungered for it (their chemistry), that’s why. We hungered for it as we started playing it, then we realized there were no boundaries here. You know, what we do here is what we are. It felt good.”
Over the years, Henriksen has appeared with Brad Dourif (Child’s Play) in films like Millennium to Color of Night. Along with being screen pals, they maintained a friendship off-screen as well. While working with Brad Dourif’s daughter may be new, the relationship goes back many years. “I met Fiona when she was a child, of course. Brad was always so proud of his beautiful daughter. There was a big gap in time since we all were so busy, but when I saw her all grown up, I saw just how beautiful, smart, and tough she’d become. I wouldn’t want to get her pissed at me, I’ll tell you. I think Fiona is a poet and brave too.”
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His affection for the actress is apparent, and the best way he can explain her pureness is through a story. Henriksen remembers, “My favorite story to tell about her was years ago at this hotel, a huge golf resort, with greens and all. We were there just because there were enough rooms for all of us. Fiona would be outside, and there would be a bunch of sheep or goats in a pen, and there were big signs that said: do not feed or pet the animals. Fiona would be crouched down, right up against the fence, feeding and petting them, and she did it with such pure heart they couldn’t back her down. I really love her and think she’s a very talented actress.”
With a limited budget, On Fire manages to capture just how fierce and relentless a wildfire can be. Films like these can sometimes fail and lose their impact if the effects don’t work, but Henriksen has nothing but praise for the director and his team. “It’s not a drop of reality; it was incredible. The way the lighting went, I mean, they really brought a lot of drama to the whole look, a very talented group.” When asked his opinion on the final film, he spoke candidly, “It scared the shit out of me, it really did. Nick (Lyon, the director) is a very bright guy; he did a great job.”
With the SAG-AFTRA strike in full swing, discussing other film projects wasn’t in the cards, but Lance was happy to talk about a couple of other things he’s interested in and has worked on, like his 2012 comic book series To Hell You Ride from Dark Horse Comics and his love of pottery. Lance describes, “When the moment came where I decided I wanted to do a comic, I really wanted to do it. I did a biography, two versions. The first one I threw in the trash and restarted again when I realized what it is to write. That kind of connected to the comic because it was about a myth I knew about. I love the Native American communities, and it was something I really wanted to do. I wanted to do a morality play for the modern man. I just dabble, and you never know what will turn out right or what takes. Every pot I make, I have no idea how it’s going to turn out.” It has been well-known that the man is quite the accomplished potter and is very dedicated to the craft. “I just spent about $40,000 on equipment. I even have a three-hundred-ton hydraulic press. Equipment is real, and you need it if you’re going to try to do what I’m doing. It’s not easy, but now I don’t have to go out and buy equipment anymore. I have it. It’s something I’m very passionate about,” he gushes.
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At 83 years young, most people have long retired and are taking it easy. When pressed if retirement is around the corner, he laughs, but you get the sense he’s dead serious about his answer. “No! I don’t do this for the glamour part; I do it for the adventure of what happens. I’ve never been afraid to go up to a director and tell them, ‘This is what I’m doing.’ They’d always engage me with it. They never thought I was trying to take over; it was just about discovering something, in the moment, to do in the movie. I’d tell them what it is and nurture the idea, never having a tantrum by saying, ‘I can’t do that. Why am I doing that?’ I’m not that guy. I love the process, especially when we’re good, or you’re good at it, then it becomes something special. There’s always the last moment before the director calls action, and you do it. It’s really beautiful.”
After five decades in the business, the actor obviously still has a passion for the job, and it shines through in his performance in On Fire. The movie has a lot to say in its short and precise eighty-minute runtime, and Henriksen sums it up best in two short statements. “Be happy with what you have rather than what you’ve lost. Don’t be a victim, and just appreciate what’s left.”
On Fire opens in theaters on Friday, September 29th.
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