Hellraiser's lead villain, the Cenobite called Pinhead, isn't quite the immortal lord of Hell one might think, and sports a surprisingly human origin. Debuting in 1987's original Hellraiser film, Pinhead (Doug Bradley) managed to utterly captivate horror fans, despite playing a relatively small role. Pinhead is definitely a supporting player in the first Hellraiser, and to a certain extent the franchise as a whole, but there's a reason he's on all the posters and used for all the marketing. Pinhead, especially as played by Bradley, is one mesmerizing monster.
As presented in the first two Hellraiser movies - the character found in Clive Barker's written works is quite different - Pinhead is an eloquent demon who does what he does less out of enjoyment and more because he feels bound to follow the rules of Hell. This sort of punch-clock villain status seems to be one reason he grows so quickly enamored with Kirsty (Ashley Laurence), who claims to have opened the box by accident, and when confronted with a grisly fate, attempts to bargain with Pinhead.
To truly understand why Pinhead is the way he is though, one must understand how he came to be such a towering figure in Hell's pecking order. For that, an examination of his origin is needed, one that reveals a history not nearly as long as some might expect.
Hellraiser's Pinhead Was Once a Human Named Elliot Spencer
Little is revealed about Pinhead in the original Hellraiser, with the only real information being that he and his Cenobite group arrive to torture the body and tear apart the soul of anyone who solves a complex puzzle box. In 1988's Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 though, Kirsty comes to find out that Pinhead used to be a human being. Pinhead's memories of his former life are triggered when Kirsty shows him a photograph, although that revelation leads to him quickly being defeated by the evil Dr. Channard, who had himself recently been turned into a Cenobite.
Hellraiser 3: Elliot Spencer Wasn't Evil Before Becoming Pinhead
In 1992's Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth, Pinhead's origins are expanded on further. It turns out that Elliot Spencer was a captain in the British army, but his horrifying experiences serving in World War I led him to lose his faith in humanity and belief in God. That combined with the guilt of outliving so many of his friends and comrades led him to indulge in more base pleasures of the flesh, which eventually brought him to the Hellraiser box, officially known as the Lament Configuration.
Upon solving the box in the early 1920s, Spencer was given both the pain and pleasure he was looking for, and subsequently transformed into Pinhead, as depicted briefly in the opening of Hellraiser 2. Pinhead's recovered memories in that film actually resulted in him splitting into two entities for Hellraiser 3, Spencer and a super-evil Pinhead completely unconstrained by what remained of his former humanity. Thankfully, Spencer and Pinhead were eventually re-merged before being sent back to Hell. In many ways, Pinhead is a tragic figure, although it's a bit hard to feel sympathy for his origins when he's ripping victims apart with hooks.