The original Leatherface as played by the late Gunnar Hansen.
Leatherface is the pseudonym of the main antagonist in Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.
The original, and all subsequent versions of Leatherface, are based on Ed Gein, who was a real-life serial killer from Wisconsin who shared Leatherface's traits of cannibalism and wearing human flesh as clothing.
The main identifying feature of Leatherface is the mask that they all wear made from the face or faces of past victims. In the original film, Leatherface wore three different masks: the "Killing Mask", "Old Lady Mask" and "Pretty Woman Mask".
Gunnar Hansen commented:
"In a way, there is nothing behind the mask. That, I think, is why he is such a frightening character, at least in the first film. The reason he wore a mask, according to Tobe and Kim, was that the mask really determined his personality. Who he wanted to be that day determined what mask he put on. So, when the Cook comes home, with Sally, Leatherface is wearing the "Old Lady" mask and his wearing an apron and carrying a wooden spoon � he wants to be domestic, helpful in the kitchen. At dinner he wears a different face -- the "Pretty Woman," which has make up. Behind the mask, really, Leatherface was very simple -- he killed anything that came along, he obeyed his brothers, he loved his Grandpa. He was frightening, because whatever was behind the mask was not discoverable by the audience. He was always a mystery."[1]
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