Lenny Von Dohlen | Harry Ryles
Born in Augusta, Georgia, Lenny Von Dohlen’s remarkable film debut was in the Oscar winning ‘Tender Mercies’ (1983), starring Robert Duvall, written by Horton Foote and directed by Bruce Beresford.
He was quickly given the leading role in MGM/UA’s cult musical-fantasy, ‘Electric Dreams ‘ opposite Virginia Madsen (1984). Many more extraordinary performances followed, including “Under the Biltmore Clock’ (1984), ‘Blind Vision’ (1992), ‘Jennifer 8’ opposite Andy Garcia (1992), Edward Zwick’s ‘Leaving Normal’ (1992), and the title role in Billy Galvin (1986), opposite Karl Malden.
A string of highly regarded indie hits followed, including Tollbooth (1994), Bird of Prey (1995), One Good Turn (1996), Entertaining Angels (1998), Cadillac (1997) and Breaking News (1994). However, he is probably best known for having created the beloved, agoraphobic orchid-growing “Harold Smith” in David Lynch’s cutting-edge TV series Twin Peaks (1990).
Other TV work includes the Emmy Award-winning Kent State: The Day the War Came Home (2000), and such iconic shows as Thirtysomething (1987), Picket Fences (1992), Chicago Hope (1994), The Lazarus Man (1996), The Pretender (1996), CSI: Miami (2002), and many more.
In New York theater, Lenny created roles in “Asian Shade”, “The Team”, “Twister” and “Vanishing Act” and “The Maderati”, both by Richard Greenberg. For nine months, he starred in Carol Churchill’s hit play “Cloud 9”, directed by Tommy Tune, followed by The Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of “Desire Under The Elms”, opposite Kathy Baker. He has starred in “Hamlet”, “Romeo and Juliet”, Joe Orton’s “Loot”, Wedekind’s and Lanford Wilson’s one-man play “A Poster of the Cosmos”.
On the West Coast, Mr. Von Dohlen has been see in Wedekind’s “Lulu” at the La Jolla Playhouse, “The Blue Room” at the Pasadena Playhouse, in “Theater Distric” at the Black Dahlia Theater, and at the Theater & Boston Court played “Voltaire” in the much acclaimed World Premier of Jean Claude van Italie’s “Light” garnering the Los Angeles Critics Circle and Ovation Best Actor Award nominations.
Most recently, Lenny starred as Oskar Knight in ‘The Oskar Knight Story’ (2019) and as ‘The Pope, Valondis’ in Seth McFarland’s hit Sci-Fi comedy series ‘The Orville’.
Lenny Von Dohlen currently resides in New York and Los Angeles.
