actor
Ashley Lawrence. Bradley is best known for portraying the villainous
Cenobite leader
Pinhead in the first eight installments of the
Hellraiser film series, which were adapted from books written by his long-time friend and former classmate
Clive Barker; he also portrayed Captain Elliot Spencer, the man who later became Pinhead, in
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) and
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992). He is one of only seven actors to play the same horror character at least six consecutive times, the others being
Christopher Lee (
Count Dracula),
Robert Englund (
Freddy Krueger),
Warwick Davis (
the Leprechaun),
Brad Dourif (
Chucky),
Tobin Bell (
Jigsaw), and
Roger L. Jackson (
Ghostface). Due to his eventual skill at application and removal of the Pinhead appliances and costume, he has been credited in some of the
Hellraiser films as an assistant make-up artist named Bill Bradley, using his middle name. Bradley appeared as a gym teacher in an advert for insurance company
Direct Line. He has performed narrations on several songs by
Cradle of Filth, the first being 2000's "Her Ghost in the Fog", as well as "Death Magick for Adepts" and "Tortured Soul Asylum" from the album
Midian. However, he could not appear in the music video and was replaced by David McEwen. He also appeared on "Swansong for a Raven" and "Satyriasis" from the band's 2004 album,
Nymphetamine. In 2006, he lent his narrations to "Rise of the Pentagram" and "Tonight in Flames" from the album
Thornography. Continuing in this vein, Bradley contributed guest vocals to Cradle of Filth's 2008 album ''
Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder, on all songs except "Tragic Kingdom". He returned for their 2021 album, Existence Is Futile'', on the songs "Sisters of the Mist" and "Suffer Our Dominian". Bradley has appeared in many short horror films, such as
Red Lines and
On Edge. He is a member of the UK animation company
Renga Media, makers of the independent
Dominator films and shorts, dividing job roles between producer and voice actor. He voiced the Loc-Nar in the short animated crossover
Heavy Metal vs. Dominator, in which characters from the
Dominator universe meet and fight with characters from the film
Heavy Metal 2000. After his roles in the
Hellraiser films and the 1990 horror film
Nightbreed, 2006 saw Bradley star in
Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes and 2008 saw him once again returning to Clive Barker's cinematic universe by way of a featured appearance in
Book of Blood. He had a small guest star appearance in the 2008 black comic horror
The Cottage. In 2010, he starred in the Anglo-Spanish horror film
Exorcismus, and he joined the
Nazi zombie horror
The 4th Reich in March 2010. In 2011, he played a man called the Doctor in the British film noir
Jack Falls. In June 2011, it was announced that Bradley would be providing a
voice-over for an independent film called ''Lucifer's Unholy Desire
, as well as performing in the film The Reverend. In 2012, he played "Maynard" in the fifth film of the Wrong Turn series, Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines. In 2013, he performed in the indie film Scream Park''. Bradley voiced the
Sith Emperor for the
massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic, based in the
Star Wars universe. In 2022, Bradley voiced the character Goayre Heddagh alongside actor Tim Curry in the animated horror film
Dagon Troll World Chronicles. In 2023 Bradley played Batman villain
Joe Chill in the CW television show
Gotham Knights. The portrayal was different than other live action versions. The episode he was introduced in was titled "A Chill over Gotham". Bradley is the author of
Sacred Monsters: Behind the Mask of the Horror Actor, which explores the history of masks in society and their applications in horror films. ==Personal life==