Wolf Larson
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Wolf Larson (born Wolfgang von Wyszecki on December 22, 1959) is a Canadian actor.
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[edit] Biography
Wolf was born in West Berlin, Germany, in 1959. His parents met when his father was stationed in Berlin for six years (his mother being of Scandinavian descent). The family moved to Canada in 1961, where his father, a doctor in Physics and Mathematics, became the Director of Applied Physics for the National Research Council of Canada. Wolf has two sisters, born in 1965 and 1967. Growing up in Ottawa, Canada, Wolf suffered from chronic tonsilitis when he was little, forcing him to miss a lot of school and to have a private teacher, but that didn't really work. Wolf missed being able to play with the other kids he knew, and had company only from his sisters. When he was 14, his tonsils were removed.
He later became a very popular soccer team captain and began to take part in acting and theater courses. But thinking he wasn't good enough, he quit his acting ambitions and began to concentrate on sports. Wolf attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, where he received a B.A. in Economics and Statistics. He continued his education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he earned his MBA, a stepping stone for what he originally expected would land him a job on Wall Street.
Following his education, he stayed at U.N.L.V. to teach Finance for two years. Having built a solid educational foundation, Wolf felt it was time to move on and pursue other goals. He moved to Los Angeles in 1985, but today still has a house in Vancouver, Canada, where he spends a few weeks every year. In L.A. he met Robert Marcucci, an agent who saw the acting talent in him immediately and encouraged him to enroll in acting classes. While taking that advice, Wolf didn't have a lot of faith in his acting abilities, so he launched a video/calendar production company called "Future World Productions."
Since that time, both Larson's business and acting careers flourished. His television credits include guest appearances on 'Thunder Alley, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Simon & Simon, Dynasty, and Santa Barbara. His film credits include Mad About You, Hard Ticket To Hawaii, Picasso Trigger, Expect No Mercy, Tracks of A Killer, Storm Chasers: Revenge of the Twister, and Hostile Force. In 1996, he was cast in the lead role of Det. Chase McDonald in the action series L.A. Heat, co-starring Steven Williams, which lasted two seasons.
His affinity for animals (he has six dogs), as well as his natural athletic ability, made him perfect for the leading role in Tarzán. He is the first of 19 actors who have played Tarzan to hold a Master's Degree in Business Administration. After completing the 75th episode of the Tarzán series, Wolf's manager approached him about playing the leading role in the television adaptation of Tribune's classic comic strip Smilin' Jack.
When not acting or managing his business, Wolf participates in a variety of sports including golf, football, baseball, soccer, volleyball, basketball and roller hockey, virtually every kind of sports but chess (too boring for him), ice skating (he once was badly injured in a crash with another skater when he was a child), and any kind of sports you have to lift off the ground because of his anxiety of altitude. He remains close friends with his L.A. Heat co-stars Steven Williams and Gary Hudson.
He's also the managing director of the American Academy of Acting, along with actor Adrian Zmed.
[edit] Filmography
- Creating America's Next Hit Television Show (2004; TV series) - Walter Montgomery #3
- Shakedown (2002) - Agent Alec 'Mac' MacKay
- Just Can't Get Enough (2001) (executive producer only)
- The Elite (2001) - Griffin
- Avalanche Alley (2001; TV movie) - Alex
- Castlerock (2000) - Cade
- Crash and Byrnes (1999) - Jack 'Crash' Riley (also screenplay)
- Storm Chasers: Revenge of the Twister (1998; TV movie) - Will Stanton
- C-Pop (1998; TV movie) - Max 'Jet' Ease
- Expect No Mercy (1996) - Warbeck
- Hostile Force (1996) - Tony Reineke
- Tarzan: The Legacy of Edgar Rice Burroughs (1996; TV special) - Himself
- L.A. Heat (1996-1998; TV series) - Det. Chester 'Chase' McDonald
- Tracks of a Killer (1995) - Patrick Hausman
- Tarzán (1991-1994; TV series) - Tarzan
- Mad About You (1990) - Jeff Clark
- Picasso Trigger (1988) - Jimmy-John
- Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987) J.J. Jackson
[edit] Quotes
- (On his L.A. Heat character, Chase McDonald): "He's impulsive and a bit thoughtless. He acts first and thinks later. He doesn't know the word 'consequence.' I really enjoy playing him."
- (On playing Tarzan, following in the footsteps of arguably the most famous portrayer, Johnny Weissmuller): "It's a bit like playing James Bond after Sean Connery.
- "The good side of television is that your character grows and changes with you. And you have a check assured at the end of the month. The other side is that...it can sometimes become boring if it lasts for a long time, after you've done every possible thing with the character. With film, it isn't much of a problem because you only play the character for a short time before moving onto something else."
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Joe Lara |
Actors to portray Tarzan 1991-1994 |
Succeeded by Casper Van Dien |
