Lukas Daniel Haas (born April 16, 1976) is an American actor and musician. His acting career has spanned four decades, during which he has appeared in more than 50 feature films and a number of television shows and stage productions.
Early life
Haas was born in
West Hollywood
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...
, California, the son of Berthold Haas, an artist, and Emily Tracy, an author. His mother is from
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and his father emigrated from Germany. He has two brothers: twins Simon Jakoway Haas and Nikolai Johannes Haas, both designers.
Acting career
Haas was discovered at the age of five in his kindergarten by
casting director Margery Simkin. His first screen role was as a child in the 1983
nuclear holocaust
A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scen ...
film ''
Testament
A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament.
Testament or The Testament can also refer to:
Books
* ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book
* ''Testament'', a thriller nov ...
''. He became more widely known in 1985 when, at the age of eight, he appeared in ''
Witness
In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
''. His performance as an
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...
boy who is the sole witness to a police officer's murder was well received by critics. Haas followed this with roles in films such as ''
Solarbabies'' (1986) and ''
Lady in White'' (1988). In 1989, he appeared in the film ''
Music Box
A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae ...
'', as the 12-year-old son of
Jessica Lange's character, and grandson of an immigrant who is accused of being a
war criminal. For this role he was nominated for the Young Artist Award. He also starred in the films ''
Alan and Naomi'' (1992) and ''
Rambling Rose'' (1993).
Haas received an
Emmy nomination for his portrayal of
Ryan White
Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagnos ...
in the television movie ''
The Ryan White Story
''The Ryan White Story'' is a 1989 American made-for-television biographical drama film starring Lukas Haas, and Judith Light, directed by John Herzfeld. The film first aired on the ABC network on January 16, 1989. It is based on the true story of ...
'' (1989), about an American teenager who contracted AIDS through contaminated blood treatments for
hemophilia
Haemophilia, or hemophilia (), is a mostly hereditary, inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to coagulation, make blood clots, a process needed to hemostasis, stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer ti ...
. On stage in 1988, he performed in
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic ex ...
's ''
Waiting for Godot'' at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
in New York City. He went on to appear in ''
Everyone Says I Love You'', ''
Mars Attacks!
''Mars Attacks!'' is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film directed by Tim Burton, who also co-produced it with Larry J. Franco. The screenplay by Jonathan Gems was based on the Topps trading card series of the same name. The film fe ...
'', and ''
Breakfast of Champions''. His work in the 2000s includes ''
Brick'', ''
Last Days'', and ''
While She Was Out''. Haas also gained recognition for his portrayal of The Patient in the music video for the
My Chemical Romance song "
Welcome to the Black Parade".
In March 2010, Haas was inducted into the
Texas Film Hall of Fame. More recently he appeared in ''
Red Riding Hood'', ''
Contraband
Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...
'' and
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&n ...
's ''
Inception
''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infil ...
''. He has made guest appearances in ''
Amazing Stories
''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...
'', both the
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
and the
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...
versions of ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television program, television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dysto ...
'', ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'', ''
As Told by Ginger'', ''
The Zeta Project'', ''
24'', ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
'', ''
Dirt'' and ''
Entourage''. He had a role on the 2012 television series ''
Touch
In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position ( proprioception), and pain. It ...
''. During 2014 he co-starred also in the horror film ''
Dark Was the Night''.
In 2018, Haas played astronaut
Michael Collins, the
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, a ...
Command Module Pilot, in ''
First Man'', a film about the first human moon landing space flight in 1969. The film was directed by
Damien Chazelle, with whom he'll reunite in the 2022 film ''
Babylon''.
Music career
Haas is the drummer and pianist for The Rogues. He has composed parts of several film soundtracks, including ''
Breakfast of Champions'' and ''
Last Days'', and performed as a guest musician on the
Macy Gray
Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday.
Gray ha ...
album ''
The Trouble with Being Myself
''The Trouble with Being Myself'' is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Macy Gray, released on April 28, 2003, by Epic Records. The album peaked at number 44 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and by February 2007, it had sold 134, ...
'' and the
Jet
Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to:
Aerospace
* Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines
** Jet airliner
** Jet engine
** Jet fuel
* Jet Airways, an Indian airline
* Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline
* Journey to Enceladus a ...
album ''
Shaka Rock''. In 2008, he released a solo
EP. He appeared in the music videos for
OutKast's "
Roses
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
,"
My Chemical Romance's "
Welcome to the Black Parade,"
UGK's "
International Player's Anthem (I Choose You)
"International Players Anthem (I Choose You)" is a song by American hip hop duo UGK, released on June 6, 2007, as the second single from their fifth studio album ''Underground Kingz'' (2007). The song, produced by DJ Paul and Juicy J of Three 6 ...
,"
Death Cab For Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...
's "
Cath…," and Jet's "
She's a Genius
"She's a Genius" is a song by Australian rock band Jet. It was released as the lead single from the band's third album ''Shaka Rock''. The song was played at a secret show in Melbourne in November 2008 and was announced as the first single alo ...
".
On February 25, 2011, the media announced that Haas had released a musical collaboration with
Isabel Lucas
Isabel Lucas (born 29 January 1985) is an Australian actress and model. She is mainly known for her roles in '' Home and Away'' (2003–06), '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' (2009), '' Daybreakers'' (2009), '' The Waiting City'' (2009 ...
called "Made for You". The recorded and video clip were filmed in Lukas' LA studio, and were later revealed to be a marketing campaign of the Portuguese band
The Gift for their album ''Explode''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
*"
Welcome to the Black Parade" (2006) by
My Chemical Romance as the Patient
*"
Roses
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
" (2006) by
OutKast as the Dancing Student
*"
International Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (2007) by
UGK as groomsman
*"
Cath..." (2008) by
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...
References
Bibliography
* Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 398.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Lukas
1976 births
Male actors from California
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American people of German descent
Living people
People from Greater Los Angeles
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors