Stefan Arngrim

Stefan Arngrim
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Portrays:	Amphead, Male Captive
Date of Birth:	December 23, 1955
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month!
Age:	70
Nationality:	CAN
Related Media
		@ BW Media
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IMDb profile

Stefan Arngrim (sometimes credited as Stephan Arngrim) is a Canadian actor and musician who portrayed a captive aboard the Guardian basestar in Re-imagined Series' "Razor Flashbacks" and Amphead, whom Joseph Adama interrogates, in Caprica's "Ghosts in the Machine".

Early Life and Education

Arngrim was born on December 23, 1955, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to actors Thor Arngrim and Norma MacMillan. His mother was renowned for voicing animated characters such as Gumby and Casper the Friendly Ghost. He is the elder brother of actress Alison Arngrim, who is best known for her portrayal of Nellie Oleson in over one hundred episodes of Little House on the Prairie.

Arngrim entered the entertainment industry at age six, performing in live television productions and theater in New York City. He relocated to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s after securing a part in the musical film The Singing Nun (1966) alongside Debbie Reynolds.

Career

Early Television Work

Arngrim began his television career as a child actor with his first credited role in an episode of The Defenders in 1965 at age nine. His early work encompassed guest appearances on series such as Gunsmoke, Dragnet, The Virginian, T.H.E. Cat, and Combat!.

Land of the Giants

Arngrim achieved his breakthrough role as Barry Lockridge, the resourceful young stowaway and orphan traveling with his dog Chipper aboard the crashed spaceship Spindrift, in the Irwin Allen science fiction series Land of the Giants (1968-1970). He appeared in all 51 episodes of the series, and the role propelled him to recognition as a prominent child star of 1960s television.

Film Career

Arngrim's film career began with a role in the Western epic The Way West (1967), where he portrayed William J. Tadlock Jr., the son of the expedition leader played by Kirk Douglas. The film also starred Richard Widmark and Robert Mitchum.

In the 1980s, Arngrim took on more prominent roles in genre films, starting with Fear No Evil (1981), a supernatural horror film where he played Andrew Williams, a high school student revealed to be the embodiment of Lucifer. For this performance, he won the Science Fiction Film & Fantasy Award for "Best Actor" in 1981.

The following year, he appeared in the vigilante thriller Class of 1984 (1982) as Drugstore, a sleazy drug dealer and member of a violent student gang.

Arngrim's later film work includes roles in Strange Days (1995), The Final Cut (2004), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), the 2005 remake of The Fog, and The A-Team (2010) as Crazy Howard Little.

Later Television Career

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Arngrim maintained an active television career with roles in series such as Switch, Police Story, and T.J. Hooker.

His genre television work in the 1990s and 2000s includes appearances in The X-Files, Millennium (appearing in two episodes, "Goodbye, Charlie" as Delbert and "...Thirteen Years Later" as Hugo Winston), Seven Days, and Da Vinci's Inquest (appearing in two episodes).

Arngrim had a recurring role in Fringe, appearing in three episodes as Store Owner: "A New Day in the Old Town," "Night of Desirable Objects," and "Over There: Part 2."

In 2004, he was nominated for a Gemini Award (Canada's equivalent to the Emmy Awards) in the category of "Best Supporting Actor" for his role as Ed Nivens in the television movie The Life.

Music Career

In addition to his acting career, Arngrim is an accomplished songwriter and musician. He co-wrote two songs with Warren Zevon on the album Transverse City (1989): the title track "Transverse City" and "Networking." The album featured an impressive array of guest musicians including Jerry Garcia, David Gilmour, Neil Young, Jack Casady, and Chick Corea.

Arngrim continued making music with his partner Roland Devoile until the 1994 Northridge earthquake, after which he and his wife Dawn relocated to Vancouver, Canada, where they continue to reside.

Personal Life

Arngrim is married to Dawn Morrison, whom he wed in 1997. He helped his sister Alison Arngrim get one of her first roles on the series Room 222. As of 2018, he is partnered with Clare Deming.

In her 2010 memoir Confessions of a Prairie Bitch, Alison Arngrim publicly alleged that Stefan sexually abused her throughout their childhood.

Commentary

On His Work with Irwin Allen

In a 2012 interview with SFX Magazine, Arngrim reflected on his experience working with producer Irwin Allen on Land of the Giants. He described Allen as hands-on and involved in every facet of production, noting that Allen spent considerable time on set and directed the first episode to establish the show's style and tone. He emphasized that nothing made it to the screen in any of Allen's productions without his approval, often demanding specific results before approving them.

Regarding the experience of working on the series as a child, Arngrim characterized it as both challenging and enjoyable, stating that the two were not mutually exclusive and calling it the most fun job imaginable despite often being very hard work. He described the 20th Century Fox lot as his personal playground, with all its varied sets providing fertile ground for imagination.

Arngrim identified the distinctive visual style as a unifying element across Allen's productions, noting the identifiable look created by film stock choices, lab selections, and skilled cinematographers who could deliver what Allen wanted.

On His Legacy and Land of the Giants

Reflecting on his relationship with Land of the Giants in his later years, Arngrim expressed gratitude for the show's enduring appeal. He admitted that for many years he rarely took credit for it and was fine with people forgetting it, explaining that it was appropriate for youth to be embarrassed. However, he noted that after living longer, he became pleasantly grateful that so many people received genuine enjoyment from the show.

On Being a Child Actor

In a 2020 interview with Greasy Kid Stuff Magazine, Arngrim reflected that he never thought of himself as a child star, nor did his parents or agents. He started around age six on mostly live television in New York and some theater, eventually being cast in The Singing Nun with Debbie Reynolds after MGM won a bidding war for his services.

Regarding the pressures of child stardom, he observed that fame is an occupational hazard, noting that while initially exciting with perks like good restaurant tables and free gifts, the novelty wears off quickly. He maintained that maintaining respect and professional decorum was essential, as the industry would not tolerate egocentric or spoiled behavior from child actors.

On Class of 1984

Discussing his role in Class of 1984, Arngrim explained that he was active in the Los Angeles punk scene in the late 1970s, having been introduced to punk by friends in the UK when the movement first started in London in 1976. He worked with various bands and frequented venues like The Masque, Madame Wong's, and the Atomic Café.

When director Mark L. Lester approached him for the film, originally titled Guerilla High, Arngrim was given creative freedom to develop his character Drugstore. He was invited to wear whatever he wanted, look and act however he chose, and improvise dialogue, with many of the clothes being his own, including items from Vivian Westwood's shop Sex on the Kings Road. He became well immersed in Toronto's punk scene during the shoot.

The highlight of the film for Arngrim was working with Roddy McDowall, whom he had known since first arriving in Hollywood when McDowall lived at the Chateau Marmont. He described McDowall as a real mentor and noted that the opportunity to work with him, combined with developing a reputation as a trouble-shooter who could figure out how to make underwritten characters watchable, made the challenging fourteen-hour days worthwhile. Actor Perry King came up with the film's title during takes at Central Tech High.

On Music and His Parents' Influence

In a 2018 interview with Tactanium Publications, Arngrim revealed that his original aspiration was to become a musician, though acting became his day job from age five and a half. He emphasized that while he loves acting, music is in his soul.

He began playing piano at age five and added guitar, trumpet, and drums at age eight. At age twelve, he made a record produced by Kim Fowley, and at eleven, he quit formal coaching after discovering Robert Johnson, leading him to characterize himself as more self-taught.

In the Greasy Kid Stuff interview, Arngrim shared a humorous anecdote about making records as a child in the late 1960s, when any television actor with an interesting haircut could make a record if they could fog a mirror. He established a mutual exploitation arrangement with record companies that gave him invaluable education working in great studios with accomplished players, engineers, and producers.

Arngrim cited his parents as major inspirations. His mother Norma MacMillan was a singer, actress, and voice artist for characters including Casper the Friendly Ghost, Gumby, and Sweet Polly Purebread, as well as a wonderful musician. His grandmother was a concert pianist, and his father Thor was a producer who also worked in music and fashion.

Discussing his collaboration with Warren Zevon, Arngrim identified it as a career highlight, noting that when Zevon asked to write with him, they worked on a couple of albums together and became great friends. He learned significantly from Zevon and expressed that the musician is greatly missed.

Public Discussion of Family Allegations

In a 2010 interview with Smashing Interviews Magazine, Alison Arngrim publicly discussed the allegations detailed in her memoir. When asked if she still had contact with Stefan, she stated she likely spoke to Jonathan Gilbert more often. She explained that while some people try to make such relationships work, they usually do not succeed, particularly citing serious drug problems over the years.

Arngrim indicated that she had addressed the abuse with Stefan after both became adults, noting that the situation was not one where he denied the allegations. She stated that he characterized the incidents as the greatest experiences of his life and had not expressed remorse or claimed he did not engage in the behavior. She suggested that this lack of denial or apology, while disturbing, allowed her to avoid the confusion that victims sometimes experience when perpetrators apologize and they must decide how to respond.

External Links

• Stefan Arngrim at ActorDatabase.com (web.archive.org backup link)
• Stefan Arngrim at the Internet Movie Database

References