subject: Ron Perlman [print this page] If Ron Perlmans acting career was as big as his jaw he would have been a star by the time he was out of high school. However, the actor has had to take his lumps to get to where he is at now and he is by no means at the peak of his career. After his father gave him leave to pursue his acting career in college, Ron Perlman
transferred to the University of Minnesota and got his masters in theatre arts after attending Lehmen College, that did not offer a theatre degree at the time.
After landing his first major role in the television series, Beauty and the Beast, Perlman said in an interview that he has always been able to connect with characters that are physically and emotionally misshapen. He struggled with his weight as a teenager, and uses this experience to bring a surprising amount of depth to characters that are often the creation of hours and hours in a make up studio.
Perlman is most famous for his role as Hellboy in the films by the same name, and this coincides with his career in acting in roles requiring heavy amounts of makeup. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, who is best known for creating vibrant creatures and worlds, Perlman has had success with Hellboy, Hellboy2: The Golden Army
, and a rumored Hellboy 3 in the works.
Since the Hellboy movies, Ron has been able to land acting gigs that do not require him to sit in a make up studio for six hours a day. His biggest role has been the one of Clarence Clay Morrow in FXs hit series, Sons of Anarchy which documents the trials and tribulations of a biker gang in northern California.
Perlmans gruff voice makes him perfect for voice acting with the right role, of course and can be heard on Archer, Tangled, the Halo series, and American Dad just to name a few of his voice acting roles.
For all of his recent success, Ron has yet to score a major leading role and there does not seem to be one on the plate in the near future. A case of always the brides made and never the bride, Perlman has made a name for himself as a stellar supporting actor. His strong presence on screen can act as a protagonist or antagonist (such as he does with the character of Clay) and boosts the leading role who can play off of Rons experience. He went as far to win a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Vincent in Beauty and the Beast.
From slogging his way through positions that required more time off the set to hide his features, Perlman has certainly come a long way. But do not think that he is done hiding his face just yet. Always a team player, Ron will go where his talents take him. He has often joked that his genre roles have always come about through coincidence, but it will be interesting to see where he goes with more weight behind him.
