This gifted and sometimes eerily intense child performer of films and TV of the 1980s and early 90s endured the rigors of adolescence largely off-camera. Haas returned to the screen in the mid- 90s with both his career and talent apparently intact. With his big brown eyes--"Bambi eyes" according to one journalist--and prominent ears, the young Haas brought an unusual (for one so young) emotional gravity to his work generally roles in dramas rather than the cutesy kiddie comedies to which most moppets were consigned. Though a veteran of a dozen features--often as a lead--by age 18, he remained best known for the strangely haunting performance he gave as an eight-year-old in Peter Weir's "Witness" (1985). As an Amish boy who sees a murder during a trip to the city, young Haas managed to hold his own in scenes with an ascendant Harrison Ford. Haas made his feature debut playing the youngest child of Jane Alexander in "Testament" (1983), a harrowing and realistic drama about the aftermath of nuclear war. "Lady in White" (1988), a minor genre classic, provided Haas with his first starring role: an inquisitive and imaginative boy confronted by both the supernatural and a serial child killer. Brit culture magazine TIME OUT deemed his performance "luminous". Haas was also impressive in "The Wizard of Loneliness" (also 1988), a WWII-era drama about a city boy sent to the country to live with his eccentric grandfather. He moved confidently into older teenage roles, particularly as an adolescent who receives an incidental introduction to the female anatomy from the title character (Laura Dern) in "Rambling Rose" (1991).
Haas also did substantial TV work from the mid-80s through the early 90s. He brought a palpable sense of wonder and enthusiasm to the Steven Spielberg-directed "Ghost Train" (1985), the lavish debut of the fantasy anthology series "Amazing Stories". Haas was effectively unsettling as a boy's "imaginary" friend in a 1986 episode of the CBS revival of "The Twilight Zone". He appeared in some half dozen TV-movies, receiving the most attention for his poignant starring performance as the brave 13-year-old hemophiliac battling AIDS and prejudice in "The Ryan White Story" (ABC, 1989). In 1998, he played the troubled David in Oprah Winfrey's TV movie remake of the touching "David and Lisa" (ABC).
The early 90s proved an awkward period for the growing actor. Having moved with his family from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas several years before, Haas spent most of his high school years out of the spotlight. He returned to the screen in 1996 with roles in three features: "Boys", as a prep school senior who rescues and becomes smitten by an "older woman" (Winona Ryder); Woody Allen's period musical comedy "Everyone Says I Love You" and Tim Burton's high profile sci-fi epic "Mars Attacks!". Haas followed these performances with a small role in Terence Malick's star-studded 1998 adaptation of the war drama "The Thin Red Line".
Profession(s):
Actor, singer, musician, drummer, pianist
Sometimes Credited As:
Lucas D Haas
2007 Co-starred in the Nick Cassavetes' directed "Alpha Dog" an independent feature about a real-life drug dealer
2007 Co-starred in David Arquette's directorial debut, "The Tripper" a satirical horror film co-produced by Arquette and his wife
2006 Starred in the teenage film noir, "Brick" with Joseph Gordon-Levitt
2005 Starred opposite Michael Pitt in Gus Van Sant's "Last Days," loosely based on the life and career of musican Kurt Cobain
1999 Acted in "Breakfast of Champions" playing an aspiring musician; also sang on soundtrack
1998 Starred in ABC's television remake "David and Lisa"
1998 Had a small role in Terence Malick's adaptation of "The Thin Red Line"
1996 Returned to the big screen with roles in "Everyone Says I Love You" and "Boys"
1996 - 1998 With Vincent Gallo, was a member of the two-person band 'Bunny'; recording project reportedly was abandoned, although some tracks were done
1991 Appeared alongside Laura Dern in "Rambling Rose"
1988 First starring role in a film, "Lady in White"
1988 Stage debut, opposite Steve Martin and Robin Williams in Mike Nichols' production of "Waiting for Godot"
1988 Starred in "The Ryan White Story," a fact-based telefilm about the 13-year-old hemophiliac striken with AIDS
1985 Starred in "Ghost Train", the premiere episode of the fantasy anthology series "Amazing Stories", directed by Steven Spielberg
1985 Breakout role as an amish boy who is the sole witness to a murder in "Witness"
1984 TV-movie debut, "Love Thy Neighbor"
1983 Film debut, "Testament"
1982 Came home from school and announced his intention to become an actor (date approximate)
1980 At age four, while his class marched, crawled the entire mile of the annual Los Angeles Festival of Masks Parade to remain "in character" as a spider (date approximate)
Played a jilted ex-husband in "Who Loves the Sun" (lensed 2006)
