Trivia

In 2012, Perlman once again endured the 4-hour makeup routine required to transform him into Hellboy -- not for a sequel or other acting job but to fulfill the Make-A-Wish request of a six-year-old boy named Zachary who has leukemia. Creature effects house Spectral Motion applied Perlman's Hellboy makeup (and later also made up Zachary as Hellboy as well), and then Zachary got to spend the day hanging out with "Hellboy".

Does not speak French and was the only American on the scenery of the French film The City of Lost Children (1995). Regardless, he learned most of his lines and delivered them without mistake.

With the creation of Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), at age 58, he became the oldest actor ever to play a main superhero.

Early into his career, he attempted performing as a stand-up comedian.

Was friends with Sammy Davis Jr. They met at the Golden Globe Awards in the late 1980s, apparently Davis was a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast (1987) and had seen every single episode.

Was offered promotional advertisements as Vincent, his character from the television series Beauty and the Beast (1987), but he refused stating that the character was not there to be exploited.

His characters are frequently seen smoking cigars (The Last Supper (1995), Happy, Texas (1999), Price of Glory (2000), Night Class (2001), Hellboy (2004), etc.). Perlman is an avid cigar smoker in real life.

He is left-handed but was forced to use his right as a child, therefore he is relatively comfortable using his right hand.

Good friends with Beauty and the Beast (1987) co-star Linda Hamilton. They reunited in the theatre play "Lover Letters" (1991), and in the post-Vietnam War drama Missing in America (2005).

Is well known for his extensive body of work with acting under prosthetic and has given many actors, like Armin Shimerman (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)) and Michael Chiklis (Fantastic Four (2005)), advice on how to emote effectively under full-head prosthetic appliances.

Bears such a striking resemblance to singer and actor Tom Waits, that once, Waits was credited as Perlman on a movie poster.

Took graduate education in Theatre at the University of Minnesota from fall 1971 - spring 1973. On July 20, 1973, he graduated from the university with his then new Master of Fine Arts degree. Attended Lehman College in New York City where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre.

He was offered the role of Lord Piccolo in Dragonball Evolution (2009), which he turned down to work on Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) instead. The role went to James Marsters.

Frequent voice collaborator with fellow voice actor Keith David in these computer games: Fallout (1997), Lords of EverQuest (2003), Halo 2 (2004), Halo 3 (2007). Animated series: Aladdin (1994), Fantastic Four: The Animated Series (1994), Justice League (2001), Teen Titans (2003). In addition, they have both had a guest appearance on the television series The Outer Limits (1995).

Producers Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin tried hard for Perlman to get cast as Edward Blake aka The Comedian in Watchmen (2009).

He was going to play the role of Beorn in The Hobbit films when Guillermo del Toro was at the helm, but as pre-production was prolonged again and again, del Toro left and so did Perlman.

Was ranked in US magazine's First Annual Reader's Poll - Third runner-up for Best Dramatic Actor as Vincent in Beauty and the Beast (1987). (1988)

Voiced the mutant villain Clayface on Batman: The Animated Series (1992), a character who, ironically, was a disfigured actor, then voiced the villain Slade on Teen Titans (2003), and also did the voice of the Hulk/Bruce Banner twice on two separate series, one for a guest spot on Fantastic Four: The Animated Series (1994) and one for a guest spot on Iron Man (1994), in addition to providing the voice of Orion for Justice League (2001). He then played the comic book character Hellboy in Hellboy (2004). He went onto portray Batman in Justice League Heroes (2006).

His wife, Opal Perlman, was a fashion designer but currently works as a jewelry designer.

His favorite episode of Beauty and the Beast (1987) is "A Happy Life".

Said in his audio commentary for The City of Lost Children (1995), that of all the things his characters have done in films, his most hated action was when his character, One, attacked Miette under the influence of the evil Octopus Sisters' drug.

Has played the same character (Matt Hagen / Clayface) on three dissimilar series: Batman: The Animated Series (1992), The New Batman Adventures (1997) and Justice League (2001).

His hobbies include golf, jazz and pool.

His favorite movie is the comedy drama Nobody's Fool (1994).

Was ranked in Star magazine's Reader's Poll - Best Dramatic Actor as Vincent in Beauty and the Beast (1987).

Worked on the Academy Award winning short film Two Soldiers (2003) for free as a favor to screenwriter and director Aaron Schneider.

Has acted on stage for seven years before making his film debut in Quest for Fire (1981). This could not have included a stage version of "A Few Good Men" (in the role later made famous by Jack Nicholson) before 1989, when that play was written.

Currently resides in Los Angeles, California but also keeps a home in New York City.

Has a dog (terrier) named Nigel.

Is a huge fan of the New York Yankees.

Attended and graduated from George Washington High School in New York City.

Was ranked in US magazine's "20 Who Turned Us On" list on December 26, 1988.

Has played a role in the live-action film Prince Valiant (1997) as well as making several guest appearances in the animated version The Legend of Prince Valiant (1991).

Was presented with the Acting Award of Excellence at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival on September 18, 2004.

Was a Guest of Honor at the multi-genre DreamCon in Jacksonville, Florida. (June 2004)

Wrote a screenplay some years ago entitled "Wooden Lake" which he was also going to direct but, as of 2011, that has not gone into production.

Attended the A Diamond is Forever - Cinema Against Aids 2001 gala at the Moulin de Mougins restaurant, to benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research. (May 2001)

Is the godfather to Nicholas Kadi's daughter.

Upon meeting to discuss Hellboy (2004), creator Mike Mignola and director Guillermo del Toro decided to reveal to each other their choice for the lead role. They both said at the same time Ron Perlman. Revolution Studios wanted a bigger name like Vin Diesel to play the title role, but del Toro fought for Perlman to get the role and he did in the end.

To prepare for his role in Hellboy (2004), he read all the Hellboy comics and worked out three hours a day, five seven days a week. He also worked out while shooting, every day he had off from filming, he would work out. He jumped onto a train that was coming towards him, and broke a rib while filming the subway scenes.

He was to replace Bruce Campbell in the role of Elvis Presley in Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires, the sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), when Campbell declined to reprise the role. However, the sequel never began production.

Has worked with James Cromwell in the crime drama Romeo Is Bleeding (1993). Both stars appeared in the very popular Star Trek series. Cromwell appeared in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Perlman appeared in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

Has worked with Alice Krige in Stephen King's Sleepwalkers (1992). Both stars appeared in the very popular Star Trek series. Krige appeared in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Perlman appeared in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

Has worked with F. Murray Abraham in The Name of the Rose (1986). Both stars appeared in the very popular Star Trek series. Abraham appeared in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Perlman appeared in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

As of 2022, has appeared in two films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Don't Look Up (2021) and Nightmare Alley (2021). Has also appeared in two dissimilar sci-fi films that took place in 2379: Alien Resurrection (1997) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

Perlman has also provided narration for a number of audiobooks, including "City of Thieves" by David Benioff. Perlman also does narration in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) cold open promos for pay-per-view events.

On November 9, 2016, described himself as a lifelong Democrat, Perlman announced via Facebook his candidacy for the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. On January 23, 2019, he endorsed the candidacy of U.S. senator Kamala Harris for her presidential campaign.

On June 25, 2018, Perlman claimed that he intentionally urinated his hands before giving former movie producer Harvey Weinstein a handshake followed by the message "I think about that every time little Donnie [Donald Trump] opens up his KFC.".

Perlman spoke in support of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes and criticized an executive from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) who said that the association should delay negotiations with striking workers until they began to lose their homes.

Has been a vocal critic of former U.S. president Donald Trump, whose son Donald Trump Jr. called Perlman a coward for supposedly being aware of Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse on several women in the entertainment industry and for being silent about this.