Born in New York, Henriksen studied at the Actors Studio and began his career off-Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's Three Plays of the Sea. One of his first film appearances was as an FBI agent in Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon (1975), followed by parts in Lumet's Network (1976) and Prince of the City (1981). James Cameron cast Henriksen in his first directorial effort, Piranha I (1981), then used him again in The Terminator (1984) and as the android Bishop in the sci-fi classic Aliens (1986). Henriksen has also appeared in what has developed into a cult classic: Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark (1987), in which he plays the head of a clan of murderous redneck vampires. He was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in the TNT original film The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998).
Tribeca Film