Gunnar Hansen, the Icelandic-born American actor who portrayed horror icon Leatherface in the cult 1974 hit 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,' died on Saturday, multiple outlets are reporting. He was 68 years old.

Leatherface, a chainsaw-wielding cannibal who wears the skin of his victims on his head, was Hansen's first role in any film, and he appeared in over 30 projects during his lifetime, according to IMDb. Hansen also published a book in 2013 titled "Chain Saw Confidential," which took readers behind the scenes of the making of Tobe Hooper's film.

Hansen also published a travel memoir called Islands at the Edge of Time, A Journey to America’s Barrier Islands in 1993. He had lived in Maine for 40 years, where he died. He was most recently working on a new film called "Death House" as writer and producer, which the AP said involved a "horrific" prison break.

"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" became a successful franchise, spawning sequels into the 1980s and '90s and was revived in 2003 for a new remake series. The next installment, "Leatherface," is due out in 2016.