Obscure Actor of the Month (July 2009)

Sasha Jenson (Dazed & Confused, 1993)

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

If you watched good movies in the '90s then you'd probably recognize Sasha Jenson's face, but his name alone wouldn't ring a bell. Jenson was--and most likely always will be--best-remembered as Don Dawson, the denim overalls-clad girl-crazy jock in Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused (1993), one of the best ensemble movies of the decade.

Jenson attended the North Hollywood High School in his home state of California, where he would eventually get into stunt work (Short Circuit, Ruthless People) and then acting. His Calgary-born father, Roy Jenson (1927-2007), was a professional football player for the Canadian Football League (Calgary Stampeders, Montreal Alouttes, B.C. Lions) before he tried his hand at acting, appearing on TV (Kung Fu) and in films like How the West Was Won (1962), The Way We Were (1973) and Chinatown (1974).

Sasha got his start in bit parts in movies like Free Ride (1986), Ghoulies II (1987), Deadly Stranger (1988) and Moving Target (1988). Also during '88 Jenson played Brady in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. He continued with small TV roles (Teen Angel, Monsters) and more brief scenes in movies Deadly Weapon (1989), Dream Trap (1990), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and Distant Justice (1992), amongst others.

In 1993 Jenson was cast in the coming of age cult classic Dazed & Confused, playing a high school football player, despite being in his late 20s. This could've been his breakout role, but the young actor was not able to build on the part, as his name fell between the cracks.

Since Dazed, Jenson has appeared in nine other films, including Dillinger and Capone (1995), Twisted Love (1995), Dead Girl (1996), Venice Beach (2001) and his final film to date, 2003's Grind. He also appeared in an episode of NYPD Blue, in 1996.

Obscure Actor of the Month (June 2009)

Sean Patrick Flanery (Powder, 1995)

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Lake Charles, Louisiana native Sean Patrick Flanery, 43, has never been a big-name in Hollywood, despite his leading man looks and crafted acting chops, and there's likely no chance that he ever will be.

Raised in Houston, Flanery studied there at the University of St. Thomas, where he first took up acting in order to meet a girl he liked. The acting bug bit him and Flanery decided to pursue the art, so relocated to Los Angeles, where he eventually landed movie and television roles.

In 1987 Flanery made his debut in a small role in A Tiger's Tale, which starred Ann-Margret and C. Thomas Howell. After that the karate black belt appeared in a number of made-for-TV movies, before starring as the namesake in the short-lived TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-93).

During 1995 Flanery (b. October 11, 1965) appeared in four feature films, including a lead role in Powder (pictured below), in which he played an albino boy with telepathy and paranormal abilities. He continued making films throughout the '90s, including various Young Indiana Jones movies and a starring role in the acclaimed crime thriller The Boondock Saints (1999), but Flanery went by generally unnoticed.

Flanery, who also doubles as a "professional" auto racer, has since appeared in Body Shots (1999), D-Tox (2002), Borderline (2002), Demon Hunter (2005), Kaw (2007), Crystal River (2008), The Whole Truth (2009), and other forgettable films, as well as spots on TV series like The Outer Limits (2000), Touched by an Angel (2001), Charmed (2002), The Twilight Zone (2003) and CSI (2006).

In 2002 Flanery landed his second reoccuring TV role, playing Greg Stillson in The Dead Zone (2002-07), based on a Stephen King story. Later this year Flanery will rehatch his Boondock Saints role for a direct-to-DVD sequel, while he's got at least five other projects on the go as well.

Obscure Actor of the Month (May 2009)

Carrie Henn (Aliens, 1986)

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Most people who would know Carrie Henn (b. May 7, 1976 in Panama City, Florida) would know her as Rebecca "Newt" Jorden, the little blonde girl who lived amongst aliens on an abandoned spaceship in one of the decade's most terrifying feature films, James Cameron's Aliens (1986), which starred Sigourney Weaver and Paul Reiser.

Shortly before she landed the role, Henn (now goes by Caroline Marie Henn) lived in Florida, but moved to England when her father relocated there as an officer in the U.S. Air Forces. It was in England that Henn auditioned for the famous part, which won her a 1987 Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor/Actress.

When the film came out on DVD as part of the Alien Quadrilogy box set, Henn was asked to supply commentary, which earned her and her co-cast a nomination from the DVD Executive Awards.

Henn graduated from Atwater High School (California) in 1994, and then earned a BA in liberal studies in 2000, from the California State University, Stanislaus (CSUS) in Turlock, California. Five years later, in 2005, she married fellow CSUS student and future police officer Nathan Kutcher.

Residing in Atwater, Henn now works as an elementary teacher. She has never made another film since or before Aliens, and has no plans to.