Lars Ulrich, an Actor and Composer, Turns 60 on December 26, 2023

Posted by Brenda Moya on Monday, May 6, 2024

On December 26, Lars Ulrich, the drummer for Metallica, will turn 60.

We hope you have a wonderful birthday, Beth Behrs, Lars Ulrich, and everyone else who is a celebrity today. 

In Gentofte, Denmark, on December 26, 1963, Lars Ulrich was born. Known for his roles in Mission: Impossible II (2000), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and Get Him to the Greek (2010), he is an actor and composer.

Since 2015, he and Jessica Miller have been married. Lars was previously married to Debbie Jones and Skylar Satenstein.

2009 saw the induction of Lars Ulrich as the first Dane into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with a Danish knighthood.

Ulrich gave the induction speech when Deep Purple was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, having spearheaded a campaign for the band’s induction for several years.

A decade ago, just as Ulrich was turning 50, he said the milestone was “meaningless” and made “no real difference” in his life. “I don’t look at age,” he explained. “With the experiences and everything else that comes with getting older, I am quite content with my current age. 

Danish native Ulrich had the opportunity to pursue a career as a tennis star as a teenager, but he decided to pursue music instead.

Over his career, Ulrich’s drumming style has evolved. He gained notoriety in the 1980s for his quick, violent thrash beats. However, Ulrich simplified his style in the 1990s to support the hard rock-oriented songwriting of Metallica’s albums during that period

Nevertheless, Metallica is undoubtedly the biggest metal band in all of history. They’ve been headlining stadiums for decades. 

It was formed when Ulrich, who had moved to Los Angeles, placed an ad in a local paper called the Recycler looking for other musicians to play with. James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner, the guitarists for Leather Charm, responded to the advertisement.

The band initially recorded “Hit the Lights” for the compilation album “Metal Massacre” after formally forming in October 1981.

The name of the group originated with Bay Area DJ Ron Quintana, who was undecided between using “Metallica” or “Metal Mania” for his radio show. Ulrich encouraged him to use “Metal Mania” instead of “Metallica” for his new band.

The first full lineup of Metallica, which included bassist Ron McGovney, guitarist Dave Mustaine, Hetfield, and Ulrich, performed at Radio City in Anaheim, California, on March 14, 1982. 

In one section of the interview, O’Brien questioned Ulrich about Metallica’s experience breaking through to the general public in the late 1980s, when their thrash-metal sound was still confined to the underground. 

Ulrich stated, “The music business was very formulaic at that time,” according to Blabbermouth’s transcription. “And so it was, ‘This is how you’re supposed to do it.’ You get signed to a record company. You get a chunk of money. Then you make a record of their terms, formula, and directive, and then they promote you how they want to promote you.

Lars remembered stating to Kerrang! magazine a few years ago that “I went to see Yesterday and Today [later known simply as Y&T], playing a show on, like, a Wednesday evening, at the Starwood in L.A. in December 1980.” 

“I remember the band having a great time. Between them and the audience, there was a certain energy and vibe. It was pretty chill, and I remember thinking, ‘This looks like so much fun.’ At the same time, I was starting to realize that if I wanted to get anywhere playing tennis, I would have to spend eight hours a day on the court, and there was this grind in front of me that didn’t have quite the same allure anymore. The next few months saw the tennis thing fade away and music take over, though it was not like the roof suddenly opened and a lightning bolt dropped.”

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