Actor Gunnar Hansen originated the iconic role of Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the role was recast for its 1986 sequel. While he might not be as famous as Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, or Michael Myers, Leatherface is still in the upper echelon of slasher villains. Part of that is due to his decidedly unique look, complete with penchant for wearing the removed faces of his victims as masks, and bulky, menacing physical stature.
While those not into horror might dismissively argue that just any actor could play a masked madman like Leatherface, anyone who’s actually seen and enjoyed the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise can attest that not all Leatherface performances are created equal. To be sure though, that’s also sometimes due to the script and direction of each entry, as a particular filmmaker might be seeking a different type of Leatherface characterization, one that better fits their specific vision.
Still, there’s no dispute among fans that Hansen’s portrayal of Leatherface in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre remains the gold standard for the character, and it’s doubtful it’ll ever be topped. The best any new actor could hope to do is craft a worthy successor. It turns out though that Hansen didn’t necessarily want to leave the coveted role when he did.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2: Why Leatherface Was Recast
As one might imagine, when the decision was made to produce a sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, those involved approached Gunnar Hansen to reprise the Leatherface role. According to Hansen though, he was initially hit with what he considered to be a lowball offer. He says he was offered “scale plus ten percent,” scale being the minimum his acting union would allow, plus ten percent for his agent. Hansen then told them he didn’t have an agent, leading them to withdraw the additional ten percent, and Hansen to decline the role.
However, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2‘s unit publicist, Scott Holton, has said that Hansen simply took too long to make up his mind, leading them to recast Leatherface with actor Bill Johnson. Holton says the feeling was that audiences weren’t really aware of who Hansen was, and thus it wasn’t vital to keep him in the role. That said, such a dismissive response makes Hansen’s story seem all the more plausible. While Johnson’s Leatherface isn’t hated, he certainly played the character quite differently, and one wonders what Hansen would’ve done if given the chance to take another shot at the part.
