This is a list of characters that appear in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror film franchise.
Cast overview Continuity A (1974–1995) Characters Continuity A The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Leatherface Gunnar Hansen Bill Johnson R. A. Mihailoff Robert Jacks Sally Hardesty-Enright Marilyn Burns colspan="2" Drayton Sawyer Jim Siedow colspan="2" Nubbins Sawyer Edwin Neal rowspan="3" colspan="2" Grandpapa Sawyer John Dugan Grayson Victor Schirmacher Franklin Hardesty Paul A. Partain Kurtis "Kirk" Watsanen William Vail rowspan="3" colspan="2" Jeremiah "Jerry" Huberman Allen Danziger colspan="2" Pamela "Pam" Willard Teri McMinn colspan="2" Lt. Boude "Lefty" Enright Dennis Hopper colspan="2" Vanita "Stretch" Brock Caroline Williams Robert "Chop Top" Sawyer Bill Moseley colspan="2" L. G. Peters Lou Perry colspan="2" Michelle colspan="2" Kate Hodge Benny colspan="2" Ken Foree Ryan colspan="2" William Butler Sara colspan="2" Toni Hudson Edward "Tex" Sawyer colspan="2" Viggo Mortensen Tinker "Tink" Sawyer colspan="2" Joe Unger Alfredo Sawyer colspan="2" Tom Everett Anne "Mama" Sawyer colspan="2" Miriam Byrd-Nethery Jennifer "Jenny" colspan="3" Renée Zellweger Vilmer Sawyer colspan="3" Matthew McConaughey Darla colspan="3" Tonie Perensky Heather colspan="3" Lisa Marie Newmyer Walter Edward "W. E." Sawyer colspan="3" Joe Stevens Sean colspan="3" John Harrison Barry colspan="3" Tyler Cone Rothman colspan="3" James Gale
Platinum Dunes continuity (2003–2006) Characters The Platinum Dunes continuity The Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning Leatherface Andrew Bryniarski Sheriff Winston Hoyt R. Lee Ermey Luda Mae Hewitt Marietta Marich Marietta Marich Monty Hewitt Terrence Evans Erin Hardesty Jessica Biel Morgan Hardesty Jonathan Tucker Pepper Harrington Erica Leerhsen Andy Gordone Mike Vogel Kemper Sterling Eric Balfour Hitchhiker Lauren German Jedidiah Hewitt David Dorfman Henrietta Hewitt Heather Kafka Tea Lady Kathy Lamkin The Narrator John Larroquette Chrissie Jordana Brewster Eric Hill Matt Bomer Dean Hill Taylor Handley Bailey Diora Baird Alex Cyia Batten Holden Lee Tergesen Sheriff Winston Hoyt Lew Temple
Continuity B (1974, 2013–2017) Characters Continuity B The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Texas Chainsaw 3D Leatherface Leatherface Dan Yeager Sam Strike Sally Hardesty Drayton Sawyer Bill Moseley Dimo Alexiev Grandfather Sawyer John Dugan Eduard Parsehyan Nubbins Sawyer Dejan Angelov Franklin Hardesty Kurtis "Kirk" Watsanen Jeremiah "Jerry" Huberman Pamela "Pam" Willard Heather Miller Alexandra Daddario Mayor Burt Hartman Paul Rae Deputy Carl Hartman Scott Eastwood Sheriff Hooper Thom Barry Verna Carson (née Sawyer) Marilyn Burns Lili Taylor Farnsworth Richard Riehle Nathan Cooper Ryan Trey Songz Nikki Tania Raymonde Kenny Keram Malicki-Sánchez Gavin Miller David Born Arlene Miller Sue Rock Boss Sawyer Gunnar Hansen Loretta Sawyer Dodie L. Brown Elizabeth "Lizzy" White colspan="2" Vanessa Grasse Texas Ranger Hal Hartman colspan="2" Stephen Dorff Ike colspan="2" James Bloor Bud colspan="2" Sam Coleman Clarice colspan="2" Jessica Madsen Betty Hartman colspan="2" Lorina Kamburova Ted Hardesty colspan="2" Julian Kostov
Continuity C (1974, 2022) Characters Continuity C The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Texas Chainsaw Massacre Leatherface Mark Burnham Sally Hardesty Olwen Fouéré Franklin Hardesty Kurtis "Kirk" Watsanen Jeremiah "Jerry" Huberman Pamela "Pam" Willard Drayton Sawyer rowspan="3" Grandfather Sawyer Nubbins Sawyer Lila Elsie Fisher Melody Sarah Yarkin Ritcher Moe Dunford Dante Spivey Jacob Latimore Ruth Nell Hudson Catherine Jessica Allain Virginia "Ginny" McCumber Alice Krige
Killer families The Sawyers (renamed the Hewitts in the 2003 reboot and its 2006 prequel) are a large, Southern American family of cannibalistic butchers and serial killers in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, who live in the Texas backwoods, where they abduct, torture, murder, and eat stranded motorists. The family uses booby traps and man-traps, such as bear traps and spike traps, to capture or kill victims. The family also owns a gas station, where they sell the meat from the victims as barbecue and chili. In the crossover comic book series, Jason vs. Leatherface, it is explained that the Sawyer family engaged in inbreeding, something that was heavily implied in the third film. As seen in 1986's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, 1990's Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, the 2003 remake, and the 2006 prequel, the family (both Sawyer and Hewitt) are fond of leaving bodies in mass body pits or mass graves in various parts of Texas. The inspiration for the family was real killer Ed Gein, whom the filmmakers also based Leatherface on.
The Sawyer family
Leatherface
Leatherface is an intellectually disabled and disfigured serial killer who uses a chainsaw to kill his victims. He was portrayed by Gunnar Hansen in the original 1974 film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Bill Johnson in 1986's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, R. A. Mihailoff in 1990's Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Robert Jacks in 1995's Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, Andrew Bryniarski in the Platinum Dunes films: 2003's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and 2006's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Dan Yeager in 2013's Texas Chainsaw 3D, and Sam Strike in 2017's Leatherface. Leatherface is portrayed as being "severely intellectually disabled and mentally disturbed", and often uses butchering tools, like meat hooks, to slaughter his victims. He lives with a family of fellow cannibals, who are often abusive and violent towards him. Despite this, Leatherface does whatever his family orders him to do. The character was loosely inspired by serial killer Ed Gein, who also wore the skin of his victims, cross dressed, and was possibly a cannibal.
His name has been given differently in different films. Chop Top calls him "Bubba" in the second movie while in Texas Chainsaw 3D, his name is Jedidiah. In the third film, he is only referred to as Junior by his family. In the fourth film, Leatherface is called "Leather" by his relatives. Whereas many horror movie villains are sadistic or evil; Leatherface is in fact intellectually disabled and most of the time is merely following the orders of his family. Hansen has stated that Leatherface is "completely under the control of his family. He'll do whatever they tell him to do. He's a little bit afraid of them". Tobe Hooper has argued on the documentary, The Shocking Truth, that Leatherface is a 'big baby' and kills in self-defense because he feels threatened, pointing out that, in the first film, Leatherface is actually frightened of all the new people entering his house. Leatherface is also mute, aside from making bizarre, baby-like gibberish and screams, which his family somehow understands.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a sequel to the 1974 film. Tobe Hooper said on The Shocking Truth that he wanted to expand on the dark comedy in the original film, an element that he felt no one truly picked up on. In this film, Leatherface develops a "crush" on one of his victims and, in one scene, skins off the face of her friend (while alive) and places it on her to hide her from the rest of his family. At the end of the film, he apparently dies in an explosion. Leatherface is later seen in Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III which is a follow-up to previous two films.
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, is the second sequel in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series. Leatherface is affectionately called "Junior" by the members of his family. The filmmakers attempted to make the series darker and grittier like the original, but interventions from the MPAA quashed their vision and had them tone it down and change the ending. An uncut version was released in 2003. In this film, Leatherface is given a new family, including a daughter. A four issue comic series based on the film, entitled Leatherface, was also created. In this film, Leatherface appears much more aggressive and violent than in previous installments, a trait intentionally added, as it is explained on the audio commentary that Leatherface was in a childlike mode in the first two films and now he has reached the rebellious teen mode.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation features Leatherface as a transvestite involved in an Illuminati conspiracy to provide society a source of horror.
Texas Chainsaw 3D is a direct sequel to the 1974 original film and starts immediately after Sally Hardesty's escape. Sheriff Hooper arrives right after the extended Sawyer family gather to the house with shotguns, in which the sheriff demands Drayton, now revealed to be Leatherface's father, hand over Leatherface. Drayton attempts to justify his and "Jed's" actions by arguing that the characters from the first film were trespassing, but ultimately the family agrees to give him "Jed", with Drayton scolding him for letting Sally escape. Just as they prepare to send Leatherface out to Sheriff Hooper, a group of townspeople led by Burt Hartman shoot up the house, killing nearly all of the Sawyer clan before burning the house down with a Molotov cocktail, killing all but "Leatherface", his cousin, Loretta Sawyer, and her baby. Loretta, wounded via a gunshot, attempts to receive help from one of the townspeople, only to be killed and have her baby taken. Leatherface, who was believed to have died in the fire, was hidden and cared for by his aunt/mother, Verna Sawyer Carson.
In the 2017 prequel, Leatherface, his background is explored further. He initially recoiled at his family's crimes, but later agreed to participate. After helping his family kill Sheriff Hartman's daughter, he was taken to a mental institution where he was renamed Jackson. When Verna comes to visit him, a riot breaks out. Jackson and other patients Isaac, Clarice, and Bud escape, along with their nurse Elizabeth as a hostage. During the flight, everyone but Jackson and Elizabeth are killed. After Elizabeth sought help from a police officer, Jackson was shot through his cheeks by Hartman, caught, and hung by a chain. The Sawyers rescue him, sewing his injured cheeks together, bounding them with a muzzle. He is then pressured to kill Hartman and Elizabeth. He uses the top half of Hartman's face and the bottom half of Elizabeth's to make his first mask.
Drayton Sawyer (The Cook)
Drayton Sawyer, is portrayed by Jim Siedow in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 where he served as the main antagonist, by Bill Moseley in Texas Chainsaw 3D, and by Dimo Alexiev in Leatherface.
In all of his appearances, Drayton is an antagonist and appears to be the head of the Sawyer Family. Depending on the continuity, he is either the older brother or the father of Leatherface and the rest of the family. A mentally unstable and murderous cannibal, Drayton, along with his family of fellow cannibals and serial killers, lives in the backwoods of Texas, preying upon travelers, whom he and his relatives capture and devour, selling some of their meat to unwary people as barbecue at his restaurant/gas station. He also gets mad at Leatherface for ruining the house. Drayton's name was not mentioned until the second film; the first simply referred to him as "the Cook" and "the Old Man". Like the Hitchhiker, Drayton seems to have a mental disorder. His personality disorder has been discussed by Tobe Hooper several times, like on the audio commentary for 1986's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Drayton often bickers with the rest of his brothers and is abusive towards them. Although Drayton appears to be the head of the household, his brothers often mock and antagonize him and his authority.