Sean Young

Sean Young
Born	November 20, 1959
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1980-present

Mary Sean Young (born November 20, 1959) is an American actress who portrayed Rachael in the 1982 film Blade Runner and the 1997 Blade Runner video game.

She also appeared in the film's 2017 sequel, Blade Runner 2049, through archive footage. Additionally, her likeness was de-aged and superimposed over that of stand-in actress Loren Peta for a scene featuring a clone of Rachael.

Biography

Early Life

Young was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and is the daughter of television producer Donald Young Jr., and screenwriter Lee Guthrie (Mary Lee Kane). Before becoming an actress, Young worked as a model and ballet dancer. She also attended the School of American Ballet in New York City.

Early Career

Sean Young's first film appearance in Jane Austen in Manhattan

Young began her film career by appearing in the 19080 film Jane Austen in Manhattan followed by a role in Stripes released the following year. In 1987, she played Michael Douglas' character's wife in the film Wall Street. Her role was originally intended to be larger but was shortened due to on-set clashes with director Oliver Stone.

Blade Runner

Sean Young on the set of Blade Runner

Her most notable role was playing opposite Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott's science-fiction film Blade Runner as Rachael. While the film grew to be a cult-classic, production was stressful and intimidating for Young. According to an interview with Variety, Young claimed that filming conditions were filled with stress as she did not cooperate very well with director Ridley Scott and lead actor Harrison Ford.

According to Young, the love scene in the film was aggressive because violent because Scott demanded the scene to be as it was due to Young refusing romantic (and possibly sexual) advances from Scott. Young claimed “Well, honestly, Ridley wanted me to date him. He tried very hard in the beginning of the show to date him, and I never would. I was like, ‘nah’. And then we do this scene, and I think it was Ridley. I think Ridley was like, ‘fuck you.’ I was thinking, ‘Why did this have to be like that? What was the point of that?’ and I think it was Ridley’s none-too-subtle message that he was getting even with me.”.

Years after the release of Blade Runner, the film was a considered a masterpiece but the production was less than that. Scott never hired Young after the production of Blade Runner.

Later Works

Sean Young playing as Chani in the 1984 adaptation of Dune

Following Blade Runner, Young starred in 1984's adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune as Chani. Young also played the lover of Gene Hackman's character in the 1987 film No Way Out.

Batman

During a promotional video for Batman, Sean Young explains her involvement

Young's next breakout role was being cast opposite Michael Keaton in the role of Vicki Vale for the then upcoming summer blockbuster film Batman. During rehearsals, Young was instructed to go horseback riding as preparation for a scene to be filmed during principal photography. However, during rehearsals, Young fell off her horse and broke her arm. Due to the film being well into production, Young was forced to be recast and her part was then filled by Kim Basinger.

Sean Young interviewing with Joan Rivers

During pre-production of Batman Returns, the sequel to Tim Burton's Batman, Young realized that the character of Catwoman was set to appear in the film and heavily advocated that the role should go to her due to her being recast in the previous film. In an attempt to win the role, Young constructed a homemade Catwoman costume and attempted to contact Burton and actor Michael Keaton during production.

To the point where Young flew to Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood and entered the office of Mark Canton, the producer of Batman Returns, while he was having a meeting with Michael Keaton concerning his role, and jumped on the office table while acting at Catwoman to promote herself for the role. Unfortunately, Tim Burton denied Young's request for the role and Michelle Pfeiffer was cast as Catwoman.

Later Roles

Following the events of Batman, Young has been busy with a variety of independent films and guest appearances on television. Most recently, she spent four months in Russia filming a miniseries in which she plays dancer Isadora Duncan. Young also starred in Poor White Trash playing morally bankrupt Linda Bronco. Poor White Trash was written by Michael Addis and Tony Urban and it was named one of the top 10 overlooked films of 2001 by Reel.com.

Making Amends

Sean Young tells her life story in Celebrity Life Coach

In January 2008, Young checked herself into rehabilitation for alcohol abuse. Young recounts her life story and alcohol abuse in an episode of the reality show Celebrity Life Coach. Also in this episode, she attempts to make amends to those she believed she negatively affected in her past.

Young would enter a later stay in rehab in 2011, which was depicted on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

Independent Stardom

Sean Young appearing in the 2015 horror film Darling

Following Young sobriety, she regained stardom in appearing in several independent productions, particularly horror films. Young starred in films such a as Jug Face, Bone Tomahawk (a picture with Kurt Russell), and Darling.

Blade Runner 2049

With the production of Blade Runner 2049, Sean Young reprised her 1982 role of Rachael for 2017 film, portraying both the original (using archival footage from the first film) and a brand new cloned version of the character. This was achieved through the use of another actress as a body double. Sean Young was also credited in the new film as acting coach to Loren Peta, the actress portraying her character.

Sean Young with actor Jared Leto on the set of Blade Runner 2049

However, in an interview in 2021, Young expressed disappointment with how her character was utilized in the final film. According to Young, she desired to physically appear in the film but the studios denied her request but had her sign a non-disclosure agreement and paid her a large sum of money for her likeness and cameo in the film to satisfy fans looking forward to seeing her character. The production team of Blade Runner 2049, to respond to her mistreatment during production, offered Young's son a position as a visual artist for the film.

Present Life

Sean Young does an interview explaining differences between Hollywood then & now

Young continues to appear in both Hollywood and Independent Films when given the opportunity. She also actively speak at public events concerning the arts and Hollywood to tell her life story as well as advise those seeking a career in acting.

Personal life

Young first created controversy in 1989 after James Woods, who co-starred with Young in the movie The Boost, filed a harassment suit against her claiming she repeatedly threatened and stalked him after a terminated affair. Although Woods dropped his suit and later recanted all of his allegations against Young, the negative publicity hurt her career.

Young is divorced from Robert Lujan and is the mother of two sons, Rio (born in 1994) and Quinn (born in 1998).

Selected filmography

• Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
• Stripes (1981)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Dune (1984)
• Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985)
• Blood & Orchids (1986) (TV)
• No Way Out (1987)
• Wall Street (1987)
• The Boost (1988)
• Cousins (1989)
• Fire Birds (1990)
• Fatal Instinct (1993)
• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
• The Proprietor (1996)
• Poor White Trash (2000)
• Mockingbird Don't Sing (2001)
• Threat of Exposure (2002)
• A Killer Within (2004)
• Esenin (2005) (TV)
• Send No Flowers (2013)

External links

• Sean Young at the Internet Movie Database
• Sean Young at Wikipedia
• Sean Young at Batman Anthology Wiki

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Sean Young. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with the Off-world: The Blade Runner Wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.