Hank Jennings

Hank Jennings was a character on the ABC series "Twin Peaks". He is the criminal (and during the first few episodes imprisoned) husband of Norma Jennings. Hank was played by Chris Mulkey.

He is a career criminal, albeit a more professional one than Leo Johnson. Bad to the bone, he is able to put on a nice-guy appearance and manages to convince some people. According to Sheriff Harry S. Truman, Hank once was a member of the Bookhouse Boys, and in fact, "one of the best", and was probably expelled for his criminal activities. In many ways, Hank is a counterpart of Sheriff Truman.

Prior to the start of the series, Hank has been hired by Josie Packard to arrange the death of her husband Andrew Packard, owner of the Packard Saw Mill, in a boating accident. (However, later it is revealed that Andrew anticipated and secretly avoided this attempt on his life.) Hank used his apparent involvement in a drunken driving accident as an alibi for the night of Andrew's death and for this was convicted of manslaughter. At the beginning of the series, he is still imprisoned but due for parole.

Hank has a difficult relationship with his wife Norma. Norma actually has an affair with Big Ed Hurley since high school and only due to misunderstandings, the two were married to other people. Hank's imprisonment provides the couple safety from Hank and hence the two are feeling uneasy about his imminent parole. Nonetheless, Norma gives a restrained but positive testimony in the parole hearing, ensuring his release, and provides him with a job at her "Double R" diner.

After his release, Hank violates parole by committing a number of crimes and by crossing the Canadian border.

Immediately after his release he threatens Josie, who had agreed to pay him $90,000 upon his release, and tries to extort more from her.

Hank is hired for a number of shady dealings by Benjamin Horne. In particular, he is responsible for shooting Leo, after Leo set fire to the Packard Mill on Hank's orders. The shot does not kill Leo, but sends him into a coma. Unbeknownst to him, this was witnessed by Bobby Briggs, whom Leo had been attacking with an axe at the time.

After crossing the Canadian border on orders of Benjamin Horne, he is captured by Franco-Canadian criminal Jean Renault and is henceforth involved in his doings, especially the takeover of One Eyed Jacks and the Dead Dog Farm stake out.

Hank decides to punish Ed for the affair with Norma but runs into Ed's superhumanly strong wife Nadine, who beats him to a pulp. Hank spends the remainder of the series on crutches and is eventually taken back to jail for parole violations. Hank tries to get an alibi regarding the night of Leo's shooting from his wife, Norma, while she is visiting his cell to tell him that she wants a divorce. Hank replies "you give me my alibi, and I'll give you a divorce". He also calls her Big Ed's "whore", to which she replies that she'd "rather be his whore than your wife."