Playing a menacing killer on screen, it is ironic that Kane Hodder's early life was even more menacing for him than the character that he plays. Even though he developed a muscular physique later on in life, Kane was skinny and rather small for his age early on in life. He was picked on by his peers consistently. This led him to get into fights. One incident involved three teenagers severely attacking Kane and his friend when they were in the fifth grade. According to Kane Hodder in his Autobiography Unmasked, "not only did the incident leave massive bruises, lumps, and cuts all over my face, it left me mentally scarred for life." His childhood and adolesence would be haunted by this incident. Kane has admitted that some of the anger or rage that came from this incident fueled the aggression he used in playing Jason Voorhees.
Kane became fascinated with doing stunts for movies. Eventually, he would become severely burned doing one of the stunts. Kane chronicles the emotional and physical pain from the injury in his Autobiography. "When I saw my arm, I almost passed out. Trembling, I noticed my hands were just as bad. Ignoring how everything looked, I lifted my left hand and touched my right arm. As my fingers touched the black flesh, it peeled off, just like the burnt crust on a toasted marshmallow. A large sloppy chunk slid off my bicep and fell. I watched my skin, the skin that was so tan and taut just a few minutes ago, fall into the mud." After a long hospitalization, Kane eventually recovered.
After this incident, Kane had to fight hard to break back into an industry that almost killed him. He ended up playing one of the most iconic Horror Movie Icons in Cinema History. In addition, despite being severely burned in a stunt, Kane overcame the incident by setting a precedent in film history. In Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood, Kane Hodder, while playing Jason, did a stunt where he was on fire for a full forty seconds. This was a record at the time in 1988. Since becoming known as a Horror Icon, Kane has spent much time working with children in burn centers. Despite the character that he plays, Kane has been described by people who have met him as a Genuine, Nice guy.
Kane Hodder OVERCAME THE ODDS of being skinny, being picked on, and suffering a career and life threatening injury. He overcame the injury by performing a stunt that could have caused the same injury again. However, he made cinematic history by the record he set for the stunt. He also made Cinematic History by playing a Horror Icon that is recognized by thousands of movie-goers. He also played the monster Victor Crowley in the Hatchet series.
(Information taken from Unmasked: The True Life Story of the World's Most Prolific, Cinematic Killer)
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