Actors - Vernon Wells

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	Actors - Vernon Wells

Vernon Wells (born 30th December, 1945 in Rushworth, Victoria, Australia) is an actor.

Wells initially worked in a quarry, and then as a salesman. He then worked extensively in theatre and rock bands before being noticed by casting agents during a long-lived hit theatre play, and started to appear in Australian TV commercials, print ads, local Australian TV shows such as Homicide and Matlock Police and historical TV mini-series like Against The Wind,Sara Dane and All The Rivers Run.

His first cinema appearance was a minor role in Felicity (1979), a low budget, erotic fantasy film. However, Wells was then fortunate to be cast as the homicidal biker "Wez", in the big budget Mad Max 2 (1981) filmed around Silverton near Broken Hill in outback New South Wales, Australia. It's the role for which he is probably best known to international audiences, as Wells portrays a psychotic, post apocalyptic gang leader who relentlessly pursues hero Mel Gibson, before meeting a spectacular death at the film's finale. Hollywood beckoned for Wells, and he spoofed his mad biker role in the popular teen comedy Weird Science (1985), before taking on another villainous role as the treacherous ex-soldier "Bennett", who foolishly double crosses Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando
(1985). Once more, Wells meets a dramatic end, as he is impaled against a boiler at the film's conclusion, as Arnold remarks "Let off some steam, Bennett."

Although Vernon Wells is also credited as a writer,director and producer of several highly acclaimed films, he continued to find regular work as a villain, of one description or another, predominantly in thrillers or action films including Last Man Standing (1988), Circuitry Man (1990), Kick of Death (1997) and Starforce (2000).

Although not a regular, he also appeared in the short-lived 1992 TV series The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys.

Wells then landed a role in 2001's Power Rangers: Time Force as Ransik, a mutant crime lord from the year 3000 who escapes capture and travels back in time to take over the world of 2001.

This biograhy of Vernon Wells and his reflections on the character of Bennett has been taken from the 1985 press kit which was used to promote the film Commando. The full presskit is available for download at

Vernon Wells (Bennett) portrays the man who once served under Matrix's command in the world of covert operations, but has now allied with General Arius and masterminded the kidnapping of Jenny Matrix.

A native of Australia, Wells made a vivid impression on moviegoers as Wez, the madman with a Mohawk who matched Max (Mel Gibson) blow for blow in The Road Warrior.

He was seen in a featured role in Weird Science, written and directed by John Hughes and produced by Joel Silver. Wells so impressed Silver with his work in that film that he was immediately secured for the role of Bennett.

When first approached for the role in Commando, Wells was in Australia working on the feature film, Fortress based on the real life Faraday School kidnapping, in a starring role opposite Rachel Ward.

A former singer in several rock bands,joining Angry Anderson in pre-Rose Tattoo days in band(Le Primitive), He is now one of Australia’s most popular actors and is a director of commercials and television shows. He runs his own television company, appropriately called P.U.B.,now owned by his son.

"As it turned out he’s an amazing guy to work with, and I was lucky because we developed an unusual chemistry between us that was essential to the finale.

Despite what has happened to these former close friends, Bennett still admires Matrix, and Matrix even feels something for Bennett, because you are never closer to anyone -- family, lovers, children -- than you are to men you fight a war with. So beneath what you see in the film is this special relationship between the two characters, as well as the actors."

It’s the small details that help the actors get into and stay in their roles. Especially when there is so much emotion, according to Vernon Wells.

"If the stunt is not too dangerous," he says, "I would prefer to do it, only because someone else does not understand the emotions of the character and how he would do it. For instance, when Alyssa (Jenny Matrix) Milano escapes me, I was supposed to kick some wood boards out of a wall so that I could get through and chase her.

Instead, I literally hurled myself through the wall like a bat out of hell and went down on all fours to the concrete, and then chased after her. You see, that’s what Bennett was all about. He was a maniac at this point and would not have kicked the boards out."

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Vernon Wells ]

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Actors - Vernon Wells

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