Biography
An actor since the age of six, when he began appearing in TV commercials, Elden Henson got his first big break in 1998 when he was cast as a warm-hearted giant opposite
Sharon Stone and
Kieran Culkin in
The Mighty. Often cast as social misfits, the red-haired, stocky actor was born in Rockville, MD, on August 30, 1977. Two years later he entered show business as a model, and at the age of six moved to Los Angeles with his family in order to better pursue his career.
After getting bit parts in Jaws: The Revenge (1987) and
Turner and Hooch (1989), Henson won a more substantial role in the 1992 preteen hockey comedy
The Mighty Ducks, and also appeared in the film's 1994 and 1996 sequels. Following his recognition in
The Mighty, which earned him some positive critical notices, he became part of the late-'90s teen flick trend when he was chosen for supporting roles in the Freddy Prinze Jr./
Rachael Leigh Cook romantic comedy
She's All That (1999) and
Idle Hands (1999), a schlocky teen murder ditty that had the misfortune of being released in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre.
In 2001, Henson won one of his most substantial roles to date in
Manic, a teen-ensemble drama directed by first-time filmmaker Jordan Melamed. Set entirely in a teen psychiatric ward, it cast Henson as an angry young man in the company of Joseph Gordon Levitt and
Zooey Deschanel, as well as the always reliable
Don Cheadle. That same year he further increased his exposure by appearing opposite
Julia Stiles,
Josh Hartnett, and
Mekhi Phifer in
O,
Tim Blake Nelson's modern-day prep school take on Shakespeare's Othello. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide