- Was illiterate until the age of thirty, when he learned to read by studying movie scripts.
- He and Bill Paxton are the only two actors to face off against a Terminator, an Alien and a Predator.
- He was James Cameron's original choice for the title role in The Terminator (1984) when the concept was for a machine that could blend into a crowd. Cameron had even made concept drawings of Henriksen as the Terminator. When the concept was changed, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast, Henriksen was re-cast as Det. Vukovich. When Cameron made Aliens (1986), he cast Henriksen as Bishop, an android.
- He is the only actor besides Sigourney Weaver to appear in more than one "Alien" movie.
- By the time he was 8 years old, he had spent time in two orphanages, a boarding school and a foster home.
- Did not start acting until he was 30 years old.
- Spent four and a half months in Miami's Dade County Jail at age 17 for being an accomplice to a vehicle theft and eluding police in a car chase (the man driving, and guilty of the crime, was a person that had picked him up hitchhiking). Also spent a short stint in a Tucson, Arizona, jail for vagrancy in 1960.
- Dropped out of school and left home at age 12.
- Served in the United States Navy.
- There was talk of having him reprise his role as Detective Vukovich in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). The idea was to have his character bound in a wheelchair (after having survived the events of the original film). However, that idea was eventually rejected.
- Claims to have improvised his entire role in Stone Cold (1991). He still believes it to be among his best roles.
- As a young man, he hitchhiked across the United States.
- Has had at least two franchise characters written for him over the years. James Cameron originally wrote The Terminator (1984) character with him in mind, as did Victor Salva with the Creeper from the Jeepers Creepers (2001) movies.
- Broke his hand while filming Piranha II: The Spawning (1982) in Jamaica after jumping 40 feet out of a helicopter doing his own stunts. A crew member took him to the local hospital, but the sight of chickens rooting in a dumpster full of bloody bandages prompted him to reconsider medical treatment. He finished the shoot (in extreme pain) with a broken hand.
- Enjoys pottery and has been doing it for over 40 years.
- The Irish electronica group Machines of Love have a song entitled "Lance Henriksen". The group's frontman P.A.L.A.S has said that he's a huge fan of his films and says that he's "criminally underrated".
- In addition to having faced off against lethal aliens in the "Alien" and "Predator" films, he has also appeared in a film about more benevolent aliens: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
- Bears a striking resemblance to actor 'Stephen McHattie', with whom he is often confused. They even once played twin brothers, on an episode of the television series Beauty and the Beast (1987) called "Snow".
- Lived in Borneo for three years when he was a kid.
- Along with Charles Nelson Reilly, David Fredericks and Brittany Tiplady, he is one of only four actors to play the same character (Frank Black) in both The X-Files (1993) and Millennium (1996).
- His father was a Merchant Marine seaman nicknamed "Icewater".
- Was cast as the voice of Kerchak in Tarzan (1999) because the filmmakers felt that his powerfully deep voice was perfect to fill the size of the character.
- Working in Clay since 1960, before he was an actor, Henriksen continues, to this day, to push the boundaries of his creativity, the ceramic materials and his equipment. In September 2017, Henriksen set up a website to showcase and find homes for some of his most recent clay works. He "still believes that there is nothing as simple and beautiful as raw clay... And that Potters have the remaining soul of the nomads...always searching....".
- The part of Frank Black in Millennium (1996) was written with him in mind.
- His father was a Norwegian immigrant, born in Tønsberg.
- He has filmed over seven movies in Romania.
- Is a big fan of Eminem's music.
- He was considered for the lead role in RoboCop (1987).
- As of 2015, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Right Stuff (1983).
- Has two daughters: Sage Ariel (12 October 1999) and Alcamy (b. 1987), two sons: Thiise and Lawrence, and two grandchildren.
- He was the original choice for Commodore DeMarco in The Abyss (1989), but he couldn't appear due to a scheduling conflict.
- He has appeared in five films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Right Stuff (1983) and The Terminator (1984).
- He was the original choice for the Creeper in Jeepers Creepers (2001).
- The western The Big Sky (1952) was one of his biggest influences to get into film as a young man.
- Loves to vacation in Hawaii.
- He was considered for Commander William Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).
- Parents divorced when he was two.
- He was considered for Don Rafael Montero in The Mask of Zorro (1998).
- He was walking through a hotel lobby in Romania (where he was wrapping up another film) when he was offered One Point O (2004).
- Lives in Santa Clarita, California.
- He was a front runner for the part of the lobotomized driver of the Chevy Malibu in Repo Man (1984).
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