Profile of Vernon Wells on Famous Like Me

This article is about the Australian actor. For the baseball player, see Vernon Wells (baseball player).

Vernon Wells (born 31 December 1945 in Rushworth, Victoria, Australia) is an actor.

Wells initially worked in a quarry, and then as a salesman. He then worked extensively in theatre and rock bands before being noticed by casting agents during a long-lived hit theatre play, and started to appear in Australian TV commercials, print ads, local Australian TV shows such as Homicide and Matlock Police and historical TV mini-series like Against The Wind,Sara Dane and All The Rivers Run.

His first cinema appearance was a minor role in Felicity (1979), a low budget, erotic fantasy film. However, Wells was then fortunate to be cast as the homicidal biker "Wez", in the big budget Mad Max 2 (1981) filmed around Silverton near Broken Hill in outback New South Wales, Australia. It's the role for which he is probably best known to international audiences, as Wells portrays a psychotic, post apocalyptic gang leader who relentlessly pursues hero Mel Gibson, before meeting a spectacular death at the film's finale. Hollywood beckoned for Wells, and he spoofed his mad biker role in the popular teen comedy Weird Science (1985), before taking on another villainous role as the treacherous ex-soldier "Bennett", who foolishly double crosses Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando (1985). Once more, Wells meets a dramatic end, as he is impaled against a boiler at the film's conclusion, as big Arnold remarks "Let off some steam, Bennett."

Although Vernon Wells is also credited as a writer,director and producer of several highly acclaimed films, he continued to find regular work as a villain, of one description or another, predominantly in thrillers or action films including Last Man Standing (1988), Circuitry Man (1990), Kick of Death (1997) and Starforce (2000). The talented Wells then landed a recurring role as futuristic criminal "Ransik" in the highly popular Power Rangers TV series, and subsequent series of films including Power Rangers Time Force: Photo Finish (2001) , Power Rangers Time Force: The End of Time (2002) and Power Rangers Time Force: Dawn of Destiny (2002).

This biograhy of Vernon Wells and his reflections on the character of Bennett has been taken from the 1985 press kit which was used to promote the film Commando. The full presskit is available for download at - Commandofans.com

Vernon Wells (Bennett) portrays the man who once served under Matrix's command in the world of covert operations, but has now allied with General Arius and masterminded the kidnapping of Jenny Matrix.

A native of Australia, Wells made a vivid impression on moviegoers as Wez, the madman with a Mohawk who matched Max (Mel Gibson) blow for blow in The Road Warrior.

He was recently seen in a featured role in Weird Science, written and directed by John Hughes and produced by Joel Silver. Wells so impressed Silver with his work in that film that he was immediately secured for the role of Bennett.

When first approached for the role in Commando, Wells was in Australia working on the feature film, The Fortress, in a starring role opposite Rachel Ward.

A former singer in a rock band (Le Primitive), Wells was involved in a serious car accident that forced him to recuperate for months. It was during that time that he did some modelling in his native Melbourne, which led to non-talking parts on television, and finally to talking bit roles. He is now one of Australia’s most popular actors and is a director of commercials and television shows. He runs his own television company, appropriately called P.U.B.

Wells used his military experience to prepare for Bennett. "It made certain attitudes easier to find, which gave me a foundation to build on," he says. "While I never met anyone like Bennett, there are bits and pieces that I picked up and applied."

He claims he has three fantasies in his professional life, and Commando has satisfied two of them. "My first is to do a western; two, to do a war movie and three, to enjoy myself acting. I’ve certainly had fun on this one and in it’s own way, Commando is my war movie."

"It’s immense fun doing these kind of films. Nobody gets hurt. You fire all these rounds of blanks and wave the knives in someone’s face, and at the end of the day you wipe the blood off and go home. That’s Wonderful."

Vernon Wells, who plays Bennett, is a native Australian whose knowledge of Schwarzeneggar was limited to the fact that he was a bodybuilder and did a couple of films.

"To be honest," says Wells, "I didn’t expect a whole lot from him; I imagine the flip side was he probably didn’t expect a lot from me, since the only thing he would have known me from was The Road Warrior, where I played a raving lunatic.

"As it turned out he’s an amazing guy to work with, and I was lucky because we developed an unusual chemistry between us that was essential to the finale.

Despite what has happened to these former close friends, Bennett still admires Matrix, and Matrix even feels something for Bennett, because you are never closer to anyone -- family, lovers, children -- than you are to men you fight a war with. So beneath what you see in the film is this special relationship between the two characters, as well as the actors."

It’s the small details that help the actors get into and stay in their roles. Especially when there is so much emotion, according to Vernon Wells.

"If the stunt is not too dangerous," he says, "I would prefer to do it, only because someone else does not understand the emotions of the character and how he would do it. For instance, when Alyssa (Jenny Matrix) Milano escapes me, I was supposed to kick some wood boards out of a wall so that I could get through and chase her.

Instead, I literally hurled myself through the wall like a bat out of hell and went down on all fours to the concrete, and then chased after her. You see, that’s what Bennett was all about. He was a maniac at this point and would not have kicked the boards out."

It was that kind of dedication despite masses of accumulated bumps, bruises and burns that won the actors the utmost respect of the crew. In addition, the chemistry that existed between Schwarzenegger and Wells from the start worked to the benefit of the fight between the two, since the chemistry evolved into trust.

"We talked in advance to work out what we wanted from the shot," says Schwarzenegger. "Vernon was a revelation to me because the first day I met him I thought, ‘How’s he going to pull off playing a mean guy? He’s so nice.’ But when the camera rolls, he turns into an animal, and it’s pretty scary when he comes at you with a knife just inches away."

Comments Wells: "Arnold knows I’m not going to be excessively rough, so when I’m holding him a few inches away from the flames of an open boiler, he can relax – as best he can given the circumstances – and believe in what I’m doing."

Quotes

*On Wez.......

Miller’s vision for MM2 included Vernon specifically. The two met. They joked, laughed and became acquainted. Vernon said Miller is “one of us”. Initially Vernon was reluctant after reading the script. The character was extreme and the story was a complete deviation from known screenplays.

Still hesitant Vernon showed for a costume fitting and to continue talks with Miller. Vernon wasn’t allowed to see the makeup and costumers work as it progressed. When they finished Vernon had not yet seen himself and was explaining his reluctance to Miller. Miller told him…..”turn around, mate, look at yourself in the full length mirror, ……….you are Wez” and Wesley Xavier Zonault was born. From *Mighty Wez Official Fan Site

Selected filmography

• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (post-production) (2006)
• Chastity (2005)
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
• Devil's Knight (2003)
• Power Rangers Time Force: Dawn of Destiny (2002)
• Beneath Loch Ness (2001)
• Space Truckers (1996)
• Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II (1994)
• Manosaurus (1994)
• Fortress (1993)
• Shrimp on the Barbie (1990)
• Innerspace (1987)
• Commando (1986)
• Mad Max 2 (1981)

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Vernon Wells