Lance Henriksen, born with the name James Henriksen, stands at a height of 5 feet 10 inches or approximately 1.78 meters. He was raised by his mother after his parents divorced when he was only two years old. Growing up, Henriksen faced challenges in school and even spent time in a children's home. Despite dropping out of school at the age of twelve and being illiterate until the age of 30, he taught himself to read by studying film scripts. During his adolescence, Henriksen lived as a street urchin in New York and traveled across the country on freight trains. He also did time in jail for petty crimes such as vagrancy. It was during this period that he met lifelong friends James Cameron and Bruce Kenselaar.