Before shooting 'Malevolence', were you a fan of the horror genre? And
if so, what are you're earliest recollections?
Yes, although in the last decade or so I've been rather disappointed.
I guess it started by watching a lot of Alfred Hitchcock and 'The Twilight
Zone' when I was a kid. 'The Birds' and 'The Shining' were the first
films to scare the crap out of me.
Tell us a bit
about how you initially got involved in acting?
I took Actor Training 1 near the end of my college days at SUNY
@ Binghamton. I really liked it, but I was too late to even minor
in Theater, so I took as many Theater classes as I could and still
graduated with a BA in Economics. After graduation, I worked as
a Carpenter to save for my move to either L.A. or NYC. NYC won
out. |
|
|
|
How did you land
your role for 'Malevolence'?
I got a casting notice from a website I belonged to, sent my headshot,
got a call, and went to the audition. The callback was a couple
days later, and I got the phone call a few weeks after that, that
I had landed the part of Max.
What were your initial responses to the script? Were you always
set to play Max?
I loved it. It was so refreshing to see a return to the glory
days of Horror in a screenplay. And actually no. My first audition
was for Kurt, but for the callback I read for Max, with Richard
reading for Kurt. I felt we read very well together. |
Max comes off
as a bad ass in the film, and has a very intimidating presence.
Do you consider yourself a bad-ass, man?
Let me put it to you this way, I was voted class clown in High
School. (laughs) Although being a Carpenter gave me a lot
to draw from for Max. |
|
Considering 'Malevolence' is the middle part of an intended trilogy,
how much backstory did Stevan give you to prepare for your role?
Not that much. Only what was necessary for the film.
How did you approach working on this film? Considering it homages
a lot of the horror classics, did you look at any of these films before
beginning work on 'Malevolence'?
|
|
I had to look at
Malevolence as a 30-minute dramatic film. I die before the killer
is introduced (opening scene excluded), so the horror aspect didn't
really add anything to my character. As far as watching films
before, I try to stay away from that. I like to put my own fingerprint
on characters. |
Tell us about filming the bank robbery. For a low budget film, it seemed
like such a difficult scene to shoot.
| It was COLD! I remember
I had a very low energy day one day and right before shooting
I had to take five minutes to work up to my level. I was being
a typical pain in the ass actor and felt terrible for it. We had
to be on set at 6AM and we didn't start shooting until right before
lunch. The shoot itself wasn't as bad as I thought, because we
shot it on a weekend. The extras were also very good (sorry to
the woman and 8-year old I told to "GET THE F**K OUT OF MY
WAY!?" during filming). The only real problem was when the
car didn't start. We had to figure out how to show us getting
away with a dead car. That shows you the brilliance of Stevan. |
|
Was the bank robbery scene in fact, the hardest part of the shoot for
you personally? What was the hardest part of this project in general?
No. The toughest scene for me was getting dragged through the fields
by Brandon. On the first take, he grabbed my arm pits and locked onto
my pit hairs. Needless to say, playing dead while being dragged by your
armpit hair is NOT fun. My pits hurt the rest of the day. But I forgave
him. The hardest part for me was trying to get everything on one take.
I didn't want to waste precious time or money on "actor moments".
Is it true you guys were chased off the cemetery for your early scene
with Richard Glover?
Yes! I see you did
your homework. We got booted while we were doing my close-ups.
That's my luck. I think it was then that I felt the movie might
be cursed. (laughs) However, the scene came out great.
What would you consider one of your favorite moments in the
film? Both to film and to watch on screen?
My death scene was fun to film. I never had a death scene on film
before that. As far as watching it on screen, the scene where
I burst in on Marilyn and Julian kissing in the Hotel room. |
|
|
|
This was Stevan's
first gig as a director. What can you tell us about your working
experience with him?
Stevan is just fantastic. He's really a wonderful actor's director.
Very low-key and very business-minded. He keeps the set as stress
free for the performers to do their thing (that's probably why
he had a mild heart attack, for internalizing his stress). For
him to come out with such a high quality film on such a low budget
wearing many jackets with unrecognizable talent is just truly
amazing. |
You got up in Brandon Johnson's face a lot. You think you can take him?
Are you serious? Didn't you see him struggling as he was dragging me
through the field? C'mon now! (laughs)
In all seriousness, what memories do you have with the cast of 'Malevolence'?
They are truly wonderful. I had such a great time with them, both on
and off set. I can only hope that we will work together again.
What was it like to finally see the film with an audience in theaters?
Excruciating. I find it very difficult to watch myself on screen. I'm
very hard on myself, so I spent a lot of the time picking my moments
apart. What I do love though is the audience reaction. That's the honey.
You've worked
in numerous stage, film and TV projects. What have been the differences
in all those mediums from your experiences?
Stage work is instant audience feedback with a full character
journey every performance. Your true talent shines through on
stage. Very tough and very fulfilling. Film is very slow and meticulous.
You take bits and pieces and assemble them into something coherent
and plausible over many weeks. You really need to do your homework
so you can "turn it on" when you need to. Also, audience
feedback comes months to years later. TV is like film and stage
mixed together, not as instant as stage, but audience reaction
is far quicker than film. I prefer film over the others, because
you are always on to something new after the day is done. |
|
|
|
Would you be excited to take part in the prequel & sequel?
Of course. Although, I'd be interested to see how I fit into the
sequel, as Max is already dead. Reincarnation? 'Malevolence' meets
'Night Of The Living Dead'? Who knows? |
Flashback sequences, buddy! (laughs) Thanks so much for talking
to us, Keith.
'MALEVOLENCE' DVD Clips:
|
