Hellboy Star Ron Perlman to His Alma Mater: Stop Drilling Screws Into Monkeys’ Brains

He played a demon on screen, but now, Ron Perlman is confronting a real-life horror at the school that handed him his diploma.

In a letter fired off today on PETA’s behalf to the President of the University of Minnesota—where Perlman earned his master’s degree in 1973—the Hellboy star and longtime animal advocate urges the school to immediately end painful brain experiments on monkeys and retire the surviving monkeys to sanctuaries.

What set Perlman off reads like a horror script: For years, three experimenters—none of them surgeons—have sliced open monkeys’ scalps, sawed away parts of their skulls, bolted on metal headposts, and implanted electrodes in their brains.

According to records obtained by PETA, one experimenter drilled roughly 20 metal screws so deeply into a monkey named Everett’s skull that they pierced his brain, causing him to vomit, weaken, and suffer for months before he was killed; another experimenter left a monkey named Bilbo with his brain exposed for three days instead of providing him with immediate surgery; and in another laboratory, a monkey named Ponyo reportedly suffered an infection for weeks—with blood leaking from a screw hole—until her headpost tore loose from her skull.

“Retiring the surviving monkeys to reputable sanctuaries would allow them to live out the rest of their lives in peace after enduring years of invasive procedures,” writes Perlman. “After everything these monkeys have endured, they deserve retirement—not another experiment.”

A 2023 study by PETA scientists ranked the University of Minnesota the nation’s fifth-worst violator of federal animal welfare standards among schools with taxpayer-funded laboratories. In nature, macaques live in large, tight-knit groups, travel up to two miles each day exploring diverse habitats, and cuddle together in their favorite “sleeping trees” at night—a world away from what they endure in the University of Minnesota’s laboratories.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Perlman’s letter to Cunningham follows.

Dear President Cunningham,

I am writing to urge the University of Minnesota to retire the surviving monkeys used in experiments by Jan Zimmermann and Matt Johnson to reputable sanctuaries, where they can finally begin to recover from years of invasive experimentation. I was encouraged to learn that, following a formal letter of reprimand and the cancellation of his protocols, Geoff Ghose no longer experiments on monkeys. I respectfully ask the university to take similarly decisive action against Zimmermann and Johnson, end their experiments on monkeys, and ensure that no other monkeys are subjected to such suffering.

I have learned that, for years, these laboratories have subjected monkeys to invasive brain surgeries in which portions of their skulls are removed, metal devices are implanted into their heads, and electrodes are inserted into their brains. According to records obtained by PETA, these laboratories have experienced repeated surgical complications, infections, device failures, and other serious animal-welfare concerns, raising profound questions about oversight and accountability.

At a time when leading universities are increasingly embracing sophisticated human-based technologies—including organs-on-chips, organoids, advanced imaging, and artificial intelligence—that are more directly relevant to human biology, and when funding priorities at the National Institutes of Health and among private philanthropies increasingly reflect that shift, continuing to rely on invasive monkey experiments leaves the University of Minnesota increasingly out of step with the direction of modern biomedical research.

Retiring the surviving monkeys to reputable sanctuaries would allow them to live out the rest of their lives in peace after enduring years of invasive procedures. After everything these monkeys have endured, they deserve retirement—not another experiment. Taking this step would also demonstrate compassionate leadership and help ensure that no other monkeys are subjected to similar suffering.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I respectfully urge you to act.

Sincerely,

Ron Perlman