Edwin Neal

Edwin Neal
Edwin Neal in 2024
Born
Joseph Edwin Neal Jr.

(1945-07-12) July 12, 1945 (age 79)[1]
Houston, Texas, U.S.
OccupationActor[2]
Years active1972–present

Joseph Edwin Neal Jr. (born July 12, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the hitchhiker in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre[3] and has been a voice talent, appearing on screen and off, including three voices in Wii's Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and three voices in the DC Universe Online game; those of Two-Face, Killer Croc, and Harvey Bullock. Neal set a record of doing 26 different voices in the only completely unedited version of all 103 episodes of Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets), which included the lead villain Berg Katse.

Early life and career

Neal, after high school, studied at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas. While there, he auditioned for the role of the Hitchhiker in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and got it. He has said that, when auditioning, he acted as an eccentric relative of his. The movie gained major popularity over the years and went on to become a cult classic[4][5][6][7]

Neal still continues to act. His most notable roles since The Texas Chain Saw Massacre were playing the Mercer interrogator in Oliver Stone's JFK, and one of Big Chuck's Henchmen in the 1993 movie My Boyfriend's Back. He has also done voice work, for films, games, and cartoons. Neal annually tours worldwide making many public appearances as "The Hitchhiker" at horror conventions and related gatherings.

Honors

Neal was inducted into the "Hollywood Horror Hall of Fame" in 1993 alongside Vincent Price, and owns one of the world's largest movie poster collections, from the year 1900 to the present day. He received a Bronze Star for Valor during his service in Vietnam in 1969.

Filmography

Film

Anime

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi The Emperor (voice)
1995 Crusader: No Remorse Dr. Gregor Hoffman (voice)
2000 Starlancer Admiral Petrov
2001 Conquest: Frontier Wars Spinelayer / ESP Coil / Troopship
2003 Deus Ex: Invisible War Generic Citizen #5 / WTO Guard #1
2007 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Ghor, Trooper, Noncom
2011 DC Universe Online Two-Face, Killer Croc, Harvey Bullock [25]
2023 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Hitchhiker

Voice Work

  • Love Lost In a Boat (2009)[26] - Narrator

References

  1. ^ "Edwin Neal - Biography". IMDb.
  2. ^ "Edwin Neal".
  3. ^ "Edwin Neal". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014.
  4. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (June 13, 2024). "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre review – original 1974 shocker is grotesque but brilliant masterpiece". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  5. ^ "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Phipps, C. T. (April 23, 2020). "MOVIE REVIEW: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)". Grimdark Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  7. ^ "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  8. ^ "Neurotic Cabaret". IMDb.
  9. ^ "The American Nightmare". IMDb.
  10. ^ "The M.O. Of M.I." IMDb.
  11. ^ "Zombiegeddon". IMDb.
  12. ^ "Murder-Set-Pieces". IMDb.
  13. ^ "Mr. Hell (2005) | MUBI".
  14. ^ "Mr. Hell (2006) - IMDb". IMDb.
  15. ^ "The Man Who Came Back | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  16. ^ "It Came from Trafalgar".
  17. ^ "Holy Hell". IMDb.
  18. ^ "Dropping Evil". IMDb.
  19. ^ "Butcher Boys". IMDb.
  20. ^ "Kill or be Killed". IMDb.
  21. ^ "Kill or be Killed (2015) - IMDb". IMDb.
  22. ^ The Best Laid Plans (2019) - IMDb
  23. ^ "The Giant Mummy That Summons Storms". Gatchaman. Season 1. Episode 3. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. - closing credits
  24. ^ BTVA Anime Dub Awards 2015 – Movies – Behind The Voice Actors
  25. ^ a b c d e f "Edwin Neal (visual voices guide)". BTVA. Retrieved July 18, 2019. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  26. ^ Angelo, Michael, Love Lost in a Boat (Short, Drama, Horror), Tommy Bo, Amy Rene LaFavers, Paul H. Fielder, Raging Dogs Productions, retrieved August 13, 2024