September 7th marks Doug Bradley’s 65th birthday. I can’t think of a better way to spend this September day than to share nine reasons to celebrate this horror icon. I promise, the suffering will be legendary.
9. He is part of Blackcraft Wrestling as The Preacher.
8. He has some of the best friends. Clive Barker is at the top of this friends’ list, and what a talented friend to have. This long term companionship began when the two were in secondary school and has now spanned multiple decades and collaborative projects. Then there are the friendships he has with with all his fellow Hellraiser Cenobites: Barbie Wilde (read our interview with her here), Nicholas Vince (read our interview with him here), and Simon Bamford (read our interview with him here). Let’s not forget his camaraderie with Tom Savini, who is known for his acting, directing, and prosthetic makeup artistry.
7. He is an author. He wrote Behind the Mask of the Horror Actor in 2004. In this book, he is your tour guide to the world of cinematic monsters and the men who played them. If you haven’t read it, you should!
6. He cares about his fans and put a hell of an experience together for them back in 2017 at Mad Monster Arizona. He transformed into Pinhead once again to let his fans have a hellish encounter.
5. He is one of six actors that are able to say that they have played the same role at least six times in a horror franchise.
4. He has a great voice. If you listen to songs by Cradle of Filth, you may have been pleasantly surprised to hear his voice narrations on their tracks. You may have also recognized his voice from Barbie Wilde’s audiobook, The Venus Complex.
3. He has appeared in multiple, non-Hellraiser horror films, such as Nightbreed (1990), Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes (2006), Book of Blood (2009), Exorcismus (2010), and Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (2012), just to name a few.
2. He is Pinhead. No other actor has come close to the spine tingling portrayal that Doug Bradley gifted us with in his performance as Pinhead in the Hellraiser franchise.
1. Today is his 65th birthday! PopHorror would like to wish this wonderful talent a very happy birthday!