Vernon George Wells (born 31 December 1945) is an Australian character actor. He began appearing on Australian television shows in the mid-1970s, such as '' Homicide'', ''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...

'' and ''

All the Rivers Run ''All the Rivers Run'' is an Australian historical novel by Nancy Cato, first published in 1958. It was adapted as a 1983 Australian television mini-series starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters. The mini-series is marketed with the tagline ' ...

''. He is best known to international audiences for his role of Wez in the 1981

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

action film '' Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior'' and Bennett in the military action film ''

Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

''. After ''Mad Max 2'', Wells began appearing in Hollywood films, such as science fiction comedies '' Weird Science'' (1985) and ''

Innerspace ''Innerspace'' is a 1987 American science fiction comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. It was inspired by the 1966 science fiction film ''Fantastic Voyage''. It sta ...

'' (1987). In the 2000s, Wells acted in the television series ''

Power Rangers Time Force ''Power Rangers Time Force'' is a television series and the ninth season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 24th Super Sentai series ''Mirai Sentai Timeranger'', running for 40 half-hour episodes from February to November 2001. I ...

'' portraying the series' main villain Ransik.

Early life

Wells was born in

Rushworth, Victoria Rushworth is a township in Victoria, Australia. It is located north of Melbourne and, at the 2016 Census, had a population of 1,335. History Rushworth was established during the Victorian gold rush in 1853. It was named by poet and later loca ...

, the son of Eva Maude (née Jackson) and Michael Wells. At the age of 14 he was part of a music band, then upon graduating high school, went to University and attained a degree in Telecommunications.

Career

1970s

Wells worked in a quarry, then as a salesman, and then in theatre and rock bands. In the 1970s, he was selected by casting agents to appear in a theatre play, and he started to appear in Australian TV commercials, print advertisements, local Australian TV shows such as '' Homicide'' and ''

'' and historical TV mini-series like '' Against The Wind'', '' Sara Dane'' and ''

All The Rivers Run ''All the Rivers Run'' is an Australian historical novel by Nancy Cato, first published in 1958. It was adapted as a 1983 Australian television mini-series starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters. The mini-series is marketed with the tagline ' ...

''. His first cinema appearance was a minor role in '' Felicity'' (1979), a low-budget, erotic fantasy film.

1980s

Wells was cast as the homicidal biker Wez, in ''

Mad Max 2 ''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film directed by George Miller. It is the second installment in the ''Mad Max'' franchise, with Mel Gibson reprising his role a ...

'' (1981), filmed around Silverton near Broken Hill in outback

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, Australia. It is the role for which he is probably best known to international audiences, as Wells portrays a psychotic, post-apocalyptic henchman who relentlessly pursues hero

Max Rockatansky Max Rockatansky is the title character and antihero protagonist of the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series ''Mad Max''. Created by director George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy, the character was originally played by actor Mel G ...

(

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...

), before meeting a spectacular death at the film's finale. Hollywood beckoned for Wells, and he spoofed his mad biker role in the popular 1985 teen comedy '' Weird Science'', written and directed by John Hughes and produced by

Joel Silver Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer. Life and career Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School i ...

. Wells so impressed Silver with his work in that film that he was immediately secured for the role of Bennett opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in ''

'' (1985). 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 The Faraday School kidnapping occurred on 6 October 1972 at a one-teacher school in the rural town of Faraday in Victoria, Australia, where two plasterers, Edwin John Eastwood and Robert Clyde Boland, kidnapped six female pupils and their teach ...

, in a starring role opposite

Rachel Ward Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian

. Wells appeared as Roo Marcus in '' Last Man Standing'' (1987).

1990s and 2000s

In 1992, Wells appeared in one of the few roles in which he is not cast as a villain, in the short-lived 1992 television comedy series '' The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys.'' The show was about a professor who accidentally enlarged three

Sea-Monkeys Sea-Monkeys is a marketing term for brine shrimp (''Artemia'') sold as novelty aquarium pets. Developed in the United States in 1957 by Harold von Braunhut, they are sold as eggs intended to be added to water, and almost always come bundled in a ...

to human-size, and then had to deal with their comical ineptness in the world. In 1993, Wells starred in the science fiction film '' Fortress'' with Christopher Lambert (no connection to the previous movie of the same name). Many of Wells's roles 1990s and 2000s portrayed villains, as in the films ''

Circuitry Man ''Circuitry Man'' is a 1990 American post apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Steven Lovy and starring Jim Metzler, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson and Vernon Wells. It was followed by a sequel, '' Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II'', in 1994 ...

'' (1990), '' Kick of Death'' (1997), ''Starforce'' (2000) and ''

'' (2001). In the ''Power Rangers'' episodes, he played the role of Ransik, a mutant crime lord from the year 3000 who travels back in time to take over the world. In 2002, he reprised this role for the ''

Power Rangers Wild Force ''Power Rangers Wild Force'' is a television series and the tenth season of Power Rangers. It is also the anniversary season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 25th Super Sentai series ''Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger'', which itself w ...

''/'' Time Force'' two-part team-up episode "Reinforcements from the Future". Wells starred in the 2009 horror film '' Silent Night, Zombie Night''. Vernon Wells also starred in an award-winning role in “Trouble Is My Business”.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1981) as Wez *'' Weird Science'' (1985) as Lord General *''

'' (1985) as Bennett *'' Fortress'' (1985) as Dabby Duck *''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both p ...

'' (1985) as Catlin *''Coming of Age'' (1986) as Chuck Proby (Donald) *'' Hunter'' (1986) as Sonny Zajak *''

'' (1987) as Mr. Igoe *'' Last Man Standing'' (1987) as Roo Marcus *'' P.I. Private Investigations'' (1987) as Detective North *'' Sunset'' (1988) as Houseman *''

'' (1988) as Paul Donnay * ''

Nam Angels ''Nam Angels'' is a 1989 Philippine biker Vietnam war film directed by Cirio H. Santiago and written by Dan Gagliasso. The film was released in West Germany as ''Hell's Angels in Vietnam''. Plot During the Vietnam War an American patrol engag ...

'' (1989) *''American Eagle'' (1989) as Johnny Burke *''

'' (1990) as Plughead *'' The Shrimp on the Barbie'' (1990) as Bruce *'' Fortress'' (1992) as Maddox *''Ultimatum'' (1994) as Gerard Richter *'' Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II'' (1994) as Plughead *''Manosaurus'' (1994) as Professor Sorenson *''

Space Truckers ''Space Truckers'' is a 1996 comic science fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Dennis Hopper, Stephen Dorff, Debi Mazar and Charles Dance. It was filmed at Ardmore Studios, County Wicklow, Ireland. The story concerns John Canyon ...

'' (1996) as Mr. Cutt *'' Billy Frankenstein'' (1998) as Otto von Sloane *''

'' (2001, TV Series) as Ransik *''

'' (2002, TV Series) as Ransik *''Beneath Loch Ness'' (2001) as Constable *'' Curse of the Forty-Niner'' (2003) as Jeremiah Stone *'' Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' (2003) as Acme VP, Child Labor *''Devil's Knight'' (2003) as Frank *'' King of the Ants'' (2003) as Beckett *''

Chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when ma ...

'' (2005) as Trucker *''

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

'' (2006) as Dr. Dennis Lanyon *'' Tru Loved'' (2007) as Coach Wesley *'' Green Street 2: Stand Your Ground'' (2009) as Tankersley Governor *'' The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie'' (2010) as Scott the Network Head *'' Silent Night, Zombie Night'' (2011) as Paul Irwin *''Jurassic Attack'' (2013) as Agent Grimaldi *'' Throwback'' (2014) as Detective McNab *''

Jurassic City ''Jurassic City'' is a 2015 American action film written, edited, and directed by Sean Cain. The film, produced by Anthony Fankhauser, stars Ray Wise, Kevin Gage, Vernon Wells, Robert LaSardo, Dana Melanie, Sofia Mattsson, Kayla Carlyle, Moniqu ...

'' (2014) as Agent LaFranco *''Relentless Justice'' (2015) as Mayor Jason Macendale *''

Timber the Treasure Dog ''Timber the Treasure Dog'' is a 2016 American family film directed by Ari Novak and starring Wilford Brimley and featuring the voice of Kix Brooks as the titular character. The film was released to DVD and streaming platforms on January 5, 2016. ...

'' (2016) as Wolf (Voice) *'' The Perfect Weapon'' (2016) as The Interrogator *''

Death House ''Death House'' is a 2017 American horror film written by Gunnar Hansen, who has a cameo in the film, and directed by Harrison Smith. The film features an ensemble cast of horror icons including Kane Hodder, Barbara Crampton, Bill Moseley, Dee Wa ...

'' (2017) as Nela *''

Landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

'' (2017) as Wexler *''Der Vertrag'' (2017) as Cooper Ryan (Television film) *''Trouble Is My Business '' (2018) as Detective Barry Tate *''Lilith'' (2018) as Phillip *''Loss Prevention'' (2018) as CEO Reginald Bachman *''Glass Jaw'' (2018) as Happy *''The City of Gold'' (2018) as The Inquisitor *''Impact Event'' (2018) as Ed *''Crossbreed'' (2019) as Murphy *''The Silent Natural'' (2019) as Sarah's Father *''Eason's Gold'' (2019) as Eason *''Slayer: The Repentless Killogy'' (2019) as Prison Guard #1 *''Zombies V the C.W.A.'' (2019) as Narrator (Short) *''Emerald Run'' (2020) as Dodson *''No Chance'' (2020) as Barrett Transformed *''Debt Collectors'' (2020) as Cyrus Skinner *''Kill Giggles'' (2020) as Malcolm Fossor (Giggles) *''Await the Dawn'' (2020) as Zed *''Maverick N Grundy'' (2020) as Wesley *''Camp Twilight'' (2020) as Detective Bennett *''Charlie's Christmas Wish'' (2020) as Hank Wentworth *''Starspawn: Overture'' (2020) as Randolph Sutton (Short) *''Social Distance'' (2020) as Gil Oldman Jr. *''

Red Snow Red Snow was a British thermonuclear weapon, based on the US W28 (then called Mark 28) design used in the B28 thermonuclear bomb and AGM-28 Hound Dog missile. The US W28 had yields of and while Red Snow yields are still classified, declassifie ...

'' (2021) as Julius King *''Frost'' (2021) as Grant

Video games

*'' Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan'' (2005) Ridge *''

Darksiders ''Darksiders'' is a hack and slash action-adventure video game franchise created by Vigil Games, now developed by Gunfire Games, which consists of some of the original members of Vigil. The series is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, where mank ...

'' (2010) Samael *''

Darksiders II ''Darksiders II'' is an action role-playing hack and slash action-adventure video game developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ. It is the sequel to '' Darksiders'' and was released in August 2012 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xb ...

'' (2012) Samael *'' Deus Ex: Mankind Divided'' (2016) Jim Miller *'' Darksiders Genesis'' (2019) as Samael

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Vernon 1945 births Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian male video game actors Australian male voice actors Living people People from Victoria (Australia)