Laurence T. Fessenden (born March 23, 1963) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the founder of the New York-based independent film production company Glass Eye Pix. His writer/director credits include No Telling (written with Beck Underwood, 1991), Habit (1997), Wendigo (2001), and The Last Winter (written with Robert Leaver, 2006), which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He has also directed the television feature Beneath (2013), an episode of the NBC TV series Fear Itself (2008) entitled "Skin and Bones", and a segment of the anthology horror-comedy film The ABCs of Death 2 (2014). He is the writer, with Graham Reznick, of the BAFTA Award-winning Sony PlayStation video game Until Dawn. Films he has acted in include Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Broken Flowers (2005), I Sell the Dead (2009), Jug Face (2012), We Are Still Here (2015), In a Valley of Violence (2016), Like Me (2017), and The Dead Don't Die (2019), Brooklyn 45 (2023), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).
Early life Fessenden was born in New York City. He attended St. Bernard's School, then Phillips Academy, from which he was expelled.
Career Fessenden regards the old Universal Monsters as a substantial influence for him. As an actor, screenwriter, director and film editor, he has worked, in addition to feature films, on such television projects as the NBC horror anthology Fear Itself (2008), directing the episode "Skin and Bones". He wrote the screenplay of Orphanage (2007) with Guillermo del Toro, an English-language remake of El Orfanato.
Fessenden has worked as a mentor to young directors, such as Jim Mickle and Ti West. He has been a producer on projects including Ilya Chaiken's Liberty Kid (2007), Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy (2008), James McKenney's Satan Hates You (2010), West's The House of the Devil (2009) and The Innkeepers (2011), Joe Maggio's The Last Rites of Joe May (2011), and Rick Alverson's The Comedy (2012). Under his low-budget horror banner ScareFlix, Fessenden has produced films including West's The Roost (2005) and Trigger Man (2007), Glenn McQuaid's I Sell the Dead (2008), Maggio's Bitter Feast (2010), and Mickle's Stake Land (2010). More recently he has produced for prolific horror auteur Mickey Keating with Darling (2015) and Psychopaths (2017).
As a character actor, Fessenden has appeared in numerous films, including Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), and Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Ti West's X (uncredited) and MaXXXine (2024), Steve Buscemi's Animal Factory (2000), Brad Anderson's Session 9 (2001) and Vanishing on 7th Street (2010), Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die (2019) and Broken Flowers (2005), Neil Jordan's The Brave One (2007), McQuaid's I Sell the Dead (2008) for which he won best actor at the Slamdance Film Festival; Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy (2008), Mickle's Mulberry Street (2006) and Stake Land (2010), Joe Swanberg's All the Light in the Sky (2011), and Ted Geoghegan's We Are Still Here and Brooklyn 45 (2023). Fessenden also starred in the Sundance Film Festival picture River of Grass (1994), which was Reichardt's debut feature, and Margarita Happy Hour (2001) directed by Chaiken. He has appeared on television in Louie, The Strain, and as himself in National Geographic's Brain Games.
In 2010, Fessenden partnered with Glenn McQuaid to launch Tales from Beyond the Pale, a series of macabre audio dramas now available as a 47 episode podcast. In 2011, he released his third rock album with the band Just Desserts, an on-going partnership with songwriter Tom Laverack. In 2012, he executive produced and was interviewed in the documentary Birth of the Living Dead, which examines the legacy of Night of the Living Dead. In 2016, he produced, acted, and served as cinematographer in his son Jack's feature debut, Stray Bullets. The same year also saw Fessenden release a book titled Sudden Storm, A Wendigo Reader.
Fessenden has also established a strong presence in the video game world. In 2015, he and Graham Reznick collaborated on writing the video game Until Dawn. Fessenden also played the role of a mysterious stranger armed with a flamethrower in the game itself. The game earned positive reviews and would go on to receive the "Original Property" award in the 2016 BAFTA Games Awards. Fessenden and Reznick also set a Guinness World Record for "Longest script for a graphic adventure videogame," with their script reaching 1,000 pages. The two writers would team up again in 2016 to develop a spin-off game known as Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, and later in 2018 for the Until Dawn prequel, The Inpatient.
Fessenden has run the company Glass Eye Pix since 1985 with the mission of "supporting individual voices in the arts." Glass Eye Pix continues to nurture young talent, most recently producing the debut features of Robert Mocker (Like Me, starring Addison Timlin and Fessenden), Ana Asensio (Most Beautiful Island), and Jenn Wexler (The Ranger).
Fessenden's Frankenstein-themed feature, Depraved, which he wrote, directed, edited and produced, was released on Friday the 13th of September, 2019 through IFC Midnight.
His werewolf film Blackout premiered at the 27th International Fantasia Film Festival in July 2023.
Fessenden's next feature, Trauma or, Monsters All, brings together characters from three of his earlier films: Habit, Depraved, and Blackout. The film had its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival in April 2026 and subsequently screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival and FrightFest.
Filmography Short film Year Title Director Writer Notes 1978 Jaws 1979 The Eliminator 1980 White Trash 1980 The Field 1981 Lifeline 1989 Stunt: A Musical Motion Picture 2008 Santa Claws 2014 Frankenstein Cannot Be Stopped Video short 2014 N is for Nexus Segment of ABCs of Death 2
Documentary short Chinatown (1986) Mismatch (1987) Searching for the Wendigo (2002)
Acting roles Year Title Role Notes 1980 White Trash Man Who Looks Through Trash 1981 Lifeline Man 2002 Bad Day for a Tow Tow Guy 2005 The Resurrection Apprentice Willy Grimes 2006 The Pod Telly 2007 The Hunter Kenny 2009 Blood Red Earth Cowboy 2012 Wolf Dog Tales Wolf Dog Video short; Voice only
Feature film Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1981 A Face in the Crowd 1982 Habit Video 1985 Experienced Movers 1989 Hollow Venus: Diary of a Go-Go Dancer 1991 No Telling 1997 Habit 2001 Wendigo 2006 The Last Winter 2013 Beneath 2019 Depraved 2023 Blackout 2023 Crumb Catcher 2026 Trauma or, Monsters All
Producer River of Grass (1994) (Associate Producer) Wendy and Lucy (2008) I Sell the Dead (2008) The House of the Devil (2009) Bitter Feast (2010) Satan Hates You (2010) Stake Land (2010) Hypothermia (2010) The Innkeepers (2011) Late Phases (2014) Callback (2016) (Co-Producer) Stray Bullets (2016) The Stakelander (2016) Foxhole (2019)
Executive producer The Off Season (2004) The Roost (2005) Automatons (2006) Trigger Man (2007) I Can See You (2008) Darling (2015) Certain Women (2016)
Acting roles Year Title Credit Notes 1981 A Face in the Crowd Narrator Voice only 1982 Habit Sam Video 1991 No Telling Eden Ridge Employee 1994 River of Grass Lee Ray Harold 1997 Habit Sam 1999 Bringing Out the Dead Cokehead 2000 Hamlet Kissing Man 2000 Animal Factory Benny 2001 Session 9 Craig McManus 2002 Happy Here and Now Clifton 2003 Family Portraits: A Trilogy of America Jimmy Doyle 2004 Imaginary Heroes Store Clerk 2004 The Off Season Phil 2005 The Roost Tow Truck Driver 2005 Broken Flowers Will 2005 Headspace Father 2006 Automatons Enemy Guard 2006 The Last Winter Charles Foster 2006 Mulberry St Man Behind Gate 2007 Trigger Man Henchman 2007 The Brave One Sandy Combs 2008 I Can See You Mickey Hauser 2008 Wendy and Lucy Man in Park 2008 I Sell The Dead Willy Grimes 2009 Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever Bill 2010 Hypothermia Fishing Host 2010 Bitter Feast William Coley 2010 Satan Hates You Glumac 2010 Vanishing on 7th Street Bike Messenger 2010 Stake Land Roadhouse Bartender 2011 You're Next Erik Harson 2011 Silver Bullets Sam 2012 Hellbenders Detective Elrod 2012 Wolf Dog Wolf Dog2012All the Light in the SkyRusty 2012 Jug Face Sustin 2013 Ritual Motel Clerk 2013 We Are What We Are Bearded Tenant 2014 Late Phases O'Brien 2014 Worst Friends Jerry 2015 Pod Smith 2015 Body Arthur 2015 We Are Still Here Jacob Lewis 2015 The Mind's Eye Mike Connors 2015 Southbound The D.J. Voice Only 2015 Darling Officer Maneretti 2016 Carnage Park Travis 2016 In a Valley of Violence Roy 2016 Callback Joe 2016 The Transfiguration Drunk Man 2016 Good Funk Kevin 2016 No Way to Live Jerry 2016 Stray Bullets Charlie 2016 The Stakelander Biggs 2017 Girlfriend's Day Taft 2017 Like Me Marshall 2017 Small Crimes Earl 2017 Most Beautiful Island Rudy 2017 Psychopaths Henry Earl Starkweather 2018 Clara's Ghost Fan Man/Man In Bar 2018 The Ranger Uncle Pete 2018 Sadistic Intentions Father 2019 Depraved Ratso 2019 The Dead Don't Die Danny Perkins 2019 Dementer Larry 2020 Cold Wind Blowing The Wolf 2021 Jakob's Wife Pastor Jakob Fedder 2021 Dashcam Lieberman 2021 The Spine of Night Prophet of Doom 2022 Offseason H. Grierson 2022 X Howard Voice only; Uncredited 2023 Brooklyn 45 Clive "Hock" Hockstatter 2023 Killers of the Flower Moon Radio Actor (William Hale) 2024 MaXXXine Security Guard 2025 Good Boy Todd's grandfather2026Trauma or, Monsters AllSam
Television Director Year Title Episode 2008 Fear Itself "Skin and Bones"
Acting roles Year Title Role Episode 2001 Third Watch Ruby Granger "A Hero's Rest" 2006 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Boaz "Diamond Dogs" 2014 Louie Upset Man "Elevator: Part 6" 2014 The Strain Jack Noon "Runaways"
Video game Writer Until Dawn (2015) Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (2016) Hidden Agenda (2017) The Inpatient (2018) The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan (2018)
Acting roles Year Title Roles Notes 2015 Until Dawn Stranger Voice and likeness 2016 Until Dawn: Rush of Blood Dan T 2017 Hidden Agenda Vernon LeMay
Awards and honors Awards Won – 1997 Independent Spirit Award Someone to Watch Award (Habit) Nominated – 1997 Independent Spirit Award for Best Director (Habit) Nominated – 1997 Austin Film Festival Award for Best Feature Film (Habit) Won – 1999 Williamsburg Brooklyn Film Festival Audience Award for Feature Film (Habit) Won – 1999 Williamsburg Brooklyn Film Festival Award for Best Editing (Habit) Won – 1999 Williamsburg Brooklyn Film Festival Award for Best Actor (Habit) Won – 2001 Woodstock Film Festival Jury Prize for Best Feature Film (Wendigo) Nominated – 2003 Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Screenplay (Wendigo) Won – 2007 Sitges Film Festival Maria Honorary Award (Himself) Nominated – 2009 Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Film (Wendy and Lucy) Won – 2009 AFI Award for Movie of the Year (Wendy and Lucy) Nominated – 2010 Piaget Spirit Award for Producing (Himself) Won – 2010 Slamdance Special Jury Mention for Best Performance (I Sell the Dead) Nominated – 2010 Independent Spirit Award Producers Award (I Sell the Dead and The House of the Devil) Won – 2011 Chlotrudis Award for Career So Far (Himself) Nominated – 2014 Chicago International Film Festival Audience Choice Award (The ABCs of Death 2) Nominated – 2015 Fright Meter Award for Best Supporting Actor (We Are Still Here) Nominated – 2016 Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor (We Are Still Here) Won – 2016 BAFTA Games Award for Original Property (Until Dawn) Won – 2017 Develop Award for Best Performance (Until Dawn: Rush of Blood)
Honors 2011 – Inducted into the Fangoria Hall of Fame 2011 – Total Film Icon of Horror at the London FrightFest Film Festival 2024 – Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Leviathan Award
See also Antidote Films Jeff Levy-Hinte
References
External links
Glass Eye Pix