Lance Henriksen Tribute (with Chelsea Watkins & Jon Mark)

[00:00:00] This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios. If you would like to know more about joining Unfiltered Studios, please visit our website at unfpod.com for more information. I've always been a fan of Lance Henriksen, whether it's his role in his bishop in Aliens or his villain roles in Hard Target, The Very Underrated Stone Cold, Near Dark. He even manages to bring his presence to smaller roles like in Excessive Force, No Escape.

[00:00:29] Well, he manages to bring those characters to life, which not a lot of actors can do at the time. And that's why we've always appreciated him as an actor and why he's been in a lot of cult films like Pumpkinhead, where he plays a totally different character than what he usually played that time.

[00:00:50] And that's why I've always said he's one of those few actors that showcase that he can broaden his horizons. He's not just a typical generic actor that is just one note. That's what makes him so special.

[00:01:08] Welcome to the show. It's Chelsea Watkins. How are you?

[00:01:58] Oh, good. I'm doing great. Thank you for having me. All right. We have all kinds of... How are you? I cannot complain. I honestly cannot. This is a great start to the year so far. And that says a lot since the world seems to be doing even worse. So... Yeah, it's been... We're going to war. We've still got the virus. We've got culture wars. It's pretty schlocky. So... It's definitely been a time where watching movies has that comfort to it.

[00:02:27] Oh, totally. And... You know... Although there are some really crappy filmmakers I keep encountering who want to do movies about viruses, it's like, please stop reminding me about what's going on right now. I don't want to hear about any viruses, la la la la la. It's like there was like some page that claimed like Outbreak was the highest streamed movie on Netflix. I'm like, who the fuck wants to watch that during this time? Come on. It's like, no, the Outbreak, you mean the real life movie that we're living in? Yeah. That one maybe. Not...

[00:02:56] Even Contagion. I mean, again, good movies, but I don't want to watch them right now. This reminds me of how incompetent the world is. Yeah. Exactly. No thank you. So, just a little backstory. Just how you got into just various kind of genre movies and following your favorite actors. Oh man, I... And became part of the convention scene. Well, ever since I was a little girl, like I was literally...

[00:03:26] Like, don't get me wrong, I love my mom and... But I was pretty much babysat by 80s horror movies. No, very cool. I was babysat. And so like, I grew up watching a lot of... And I tend to extend a lot of... I mean, some of my favorite movies growing up. Gosh. Besides Near Dark, because that's one of my favorite. Like all time. But I mean, Pumpkinhead. And... Aliens.

[00:03:56] Aliens. And... I watched Aliens and it terrified me. Right. It terrified me. So I grew up watching all these stuff. I grew up watching like that around Elm Street and... You know, all the horror classics. And then I started going backwards and watching like classic, classic, classics. Like all the way to like, you know... Like Frankenstein and Swamp Thing. And... And I've always had a love for like sci-fi and horror. And... Anything that challenges the mind. Or like...

[00:04:26] That makes you go, huh. Whoa. Wait. I loved those things. So I... You know, I grew up... Kind of poor. So you kind of get the movies that you get. We went to drive in. I had bootleg cable. Yeah. So... Yeah. I mean like... I was at a friend's house. I was like, oh, can we watch the newest movie? I haven't seen it. Like... There you go. And it's wonderful because I just... That love of film.

[00:04:52] This film in general has like carried me on my whole life. And then... I had a friend who was working at Horror Hound. Hmm. And they were like, why don't you come and volunteer? And I was like, well, I'd like to... I'd like to volunteer first and just experience the convention before I volunteer. That way I know what I'm signing up for. And so I went in 2012, 2013 to the Cincinnati one.

[00:05:21] And I loved it so much that I was like, sign me up. Tell me what I can do to help. The film fest blew my mind. Like... I was just like, oh my goodness. I saw like... I just saw so many people together in a building with me that also loved film just as much, if not more, than me. And I was like, oh my goodness, look at all these people that I have so much in common with that I don't know. And it was so wonderful.

[00:05:48] And so I started volunteering in 2013 and I have not looked back. So... There you go. I did that in security. I've done all kinds of promotions, all kinds of things. Yes, we're both security guards, yep. Mm-hmm. Are you gonna be there this... In March? You gonna be there in March? Oh, I'm... I'm not brave enough right now to travel, but I will be traveling for a family member's wedding probably in September, so we'll see.

[00:06:17] Oh, man. How does one keep still on an airplane with just the mask on for five hours? Yeah, that's terrifying. I haven't flown since all this happened. And just the thought of it... I'm sorry to be Debbie Downer, but yeah. Oh, no. You're not... I feel like you're being more of a realist, because you're like, listen, like... It's recycled air. You're on a plane for five hours. Oh, everyone does the whole what if game is like, well, no. I'm making damn sure this doesn't happen, so... Yeah.

[00:06:48] But yeah, I just... I've loved to film, you know, my whole life, and I just... Something that I've always wanted to be a part of, and never thought I would be, and you know, here we are. So... It's been a wonderful, wonderful adventure. And... Can't wait to see what, you know, the future holds. I'd like to act in some films. That'd be great. Oh, same. I was part of the low budget movie making scene, and then I just had to give up a big chunk of it because...

[00:07:18] I was just like, I can't dedicate this much time to it. I... I'm already sick of not getting paid for this. I'm... Or... Promoting something, and then it doesn't come out. Or just finding out the hard way. Man, this guy's a real Nazi. Or this guy sucks. You know, just... There's no faith in the work. Or, oh, look, look-dee-doo. It's never coming out. You know, it's like, I was just done with that. And so I just said, okay, you know, gotta take my career to the next angle.

[00:07:46] And long story short, just went for so many cycles and then said, hey, well, I've encountered office politics. I've now finally settled down. How about I make a podcast? And here we are. So, you know, it's like... And I said, I'm gonna pretty much talk about every kind of person I want to talk about. And it's like, but let's make sure that, again, you know, it's just very captivating.

[00:08:11] Let's not just dick around and just, excuse my French, but, and just edit this and then, oh, whoop-dee-doo. You know, what you see is what you get, but it doesn't have any professional editing to it or anything. So, yeah, it just came down to, hey, give it your best shot and do something fun in between. But don't, you know, just, don't, you know, just listen to yourself talk.

[00:08:41] You know, if you can't stand it, then chances are other people can't. And respect yourself and then at the same time, just do something fun. Don't let this current, you know, radicalized political time and just crappy setting just deter you. Exactly. And you get to do something that you love.

[00:09:04] And I think that's like, it's so admirable because, you know, you, you love film and you're like, well, I'm going to take my love of film and do what I want to do and something that's going to make me happy. And it's gonna, you know, you can gain knowledge on it too. You know, you talk to, you to meet new people and gain knowledge. And it's just, it's exciting. That's why I was so pumped for me when, you know, I was asked to be on this.

[00:09:32] I was like, I was like a podcast about movies. I was looking at some of the same forums and like these guys, some of these participants in some of these Facebook groups seem to have exactly the same kind of fun mentality. I'll just, I need new blood on the podcast. So I was like, yeah. Yeah. New blood all day. So much like you, I, you know, I had cable TV, so I, you know, and parents went to the video store.

[00:10:00] So I encountered a good chunk of Lance early before I had actually seen a good chunk of his movies. So for those who don't know, he's best known for, you know, his James Cameron work, like the original Terminator and aliens. Oh yeah. He was a former U S Navy guy, petty officer. And I had read years ago how, you know, he was like a runaway change his name on nothing to do with like his crappy parents had some Norwegian blood in them.

[00:10:27] And then in just, just multiple stages, just appearing in so many other movies, again, near dark, hard target. Alien. Well, right. And I mean, he'd already was off to a good start and, you know, good parts like close encounters of the third kind and. Oh yeah. The Omen too. He was in Prana too. There you go. And he's in the Omen too.

[00:10:54] Like, despite being in the Sydney LeMay movies, you know, network and dog day afternoon and being part of the New York's actor studio. It's just, it just seemed like. It wasn't taken off the way you wanted and yet just constantly working and still in the show and everything. And I mean, the right stuff I saw when I was young, jagged edge and. Oh yeah. And like I said, pumpkin head, you know, I just got constantly played on TV and the horror show was interesting in that.

[00:11:22] It was just one of those where it's like, okay, it's meant to be a sequel to another movie, but it's kind of just a fun standalone. Just a natural slasher. And it was even more interesting how he, again, he just kept staying busy, you know, just building on the aliens fandom being in other blockbusters, like no escape. Oh my God. And powder. And then just. Don't forget those two episodes. He was in a tales of the crypt.

[00:11:52] Right. As we know. Multiple episodes of Cagney and Lacey and tales from the crypt and. Yeah. It was so good. He plays a really good like detective, like that, that kind of character, like detective, like sergeant, like, he plays a lot of those, like, those investigative, like, parts. And I like that because I feel like he's really good.

[00:12:14] Oh, I loved it even more how he would also just play a cowboy or like you say, sometimes you can go further to like, he'd be a crooked guy. So I see him in other wacky martial arts movies and spy films is like, okay, that's interesting. He ups the quality by a big chunk, even though it's still kind of a B C grade movie.

[00:12:32] And then, you know, then when he would appear on just occasional, you know, sci fi channel stuff is like, well, I can forgive that because I mean, he's still a very capable guy who just ups it. And then he's done another guest spots on NCIS Hannibal and X files. Yeah. And that and see that that was my reaction to the Frank black character.

[00:12:55] And yes, Millennium was pretty well known show where he's playing again, an FBI guy who can see into the minds of these killers. And it was a fun X file spinoff. But I don't know who re aired it, but I never saw any reruns of it growing up. So it was just very frustrating. The show that I've heard about everyone praises. And, you know, the DVDs are expensive or out of stock. And I was like, well, where can I find this awesome sounding show that people have praised for years?

[00:13:24] And I love how he's still staying busy. He's just started on into the Badlands, Criminal Minds and I know my goodness universe stuff. But he always just I mean, he's still killing it movie wise. Like, I mean, he has worked with Viggo Mortensen a few times and he was just brilliant. And he loved him and Viggo are really good friends. And that's what I love that is. I love Viggo, too.

[00:13:50] And just like two wonderful actors being best friends working on stuff together. I'm like, oh, you can't you can't go wrong. Oh, totally. And even his more latest stuff where that ranges just from comedies to low rent or alien films to even just hostage thrillers and zombie movies is like that. You're going to see all of them anyway, regardless of their quality, because he's just really good at playing a character who can really in and not.

[00:14:20] I mean, even Garm Wars and Good Day for it and the last time and what was the other one I saw that was just so good of Bone Dry. And he's like, those were all very psychological to some aspect. And I love those kind of movies. I love those kind of movies. Oh, a thousand. I mean, and anytime I saw him in a crowdfunded project like that one was Witches of Oz project.

[00:14:45] I was like, yeah, I can understand because he and I love how he's just picked all other kinds of angles to it. Like Stone Cold is kind of a biker movie that keeps being rediscovered. And he did some voiceovers for Transformers animated. He was really good as lockdown. And I was like, so when he got into video games, I was really not all that surprised. I was like, okay, so he's in Star Wars games, still reprising some of those alien roles. But when he got to Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Yeah, he was General Shepard.

[00:15:14] It was so, as soon as I heard his voice, I was like. I know that voice. You mentioned Detroit becoming human. And then I love how he's gained a new kind of fandom from Red Faction, Mass Effect, and even one of the Riddick games. So it was like he, whoever his agent was, he picked enough brains to where everyone wants to work with him regardless of whatever quality he picks.

[00:15:40] And he's really good at just really, again, just becoming more than the sum of the movie. I remember hearing this guy, I think his name was Matt Howe. He did all these awful movies that he wasn't proud of. And he's like, Lance was on one of them playing a gangster. And Lance just upped everyone's energy. He loved, again, he loved to act and he. That does not surprise me. Like it's just, he's. He really does. Like you say.

[00:16:10] He goes all the way. It goes all the way. There's even some other ones that keep getting rediscovered like Survival Quest, Johnny Handsome, Jennifer A. Yes. And the pendulum for Full Moon is like he. So good. So good. A thousand percent. And I've never. Much like Todd, I've rarely have just seen a movie and I'm like, man, that was a waste of time. I was like, yeah, but they, they amped up the movie significantly, you know, it's just. Before we went to hell.

[00:16:40] I remember when I first watched Alien. Like, and there is a part in it. Where Bishop's doing the knife thing. Oh, yes. And I saw an interview that he actually did that. Like he worked really hard and trained and practiced with an assortment of knives. And it was actually doing that scene.

[00:17:06] He said that they did speed it up during the long shot, but the rest of it was all him. Like it's all him. Like they sped it up and it was him the whole time. There was no stunt. There was no, you know, switching over. There's nothing. It was all him. He'd practiced for so long. And I just love that. I love that about him that he's like, okay, so there's this, you know, there's this, oh, there's a scene. I got to do these knives. And like, he was already a really good friend with Bill Paxton.

[00:17:34] They would pull pranks and stuff all over with people and stuff. So like they were already, they already trusted each other enough that when that happened, it wasn't, you know, it wasn't weird. And although I think he did clip, he did clip Paxton's pinky in one, but it was, I think it was, they both hung over from the night before. Oh dear. The director called him back. So there was that needed to redo the scene or something.

[00:18:04] And they were both hung over and had to redo it. And I think that's when he like gave him like a blood blister. He said on his pinky. That happens. I just find it so funny that he played Charles Bronson in a TV movie years ago. And I'm like, they don't look anything alike, but from a similar walk of life, mysterious mixed heritage, both served in military and then, you know, come to set very professional, no misbehaving. Um, yeah.

[00:18:34] But yeah, I mean, he's even just done some other movies. He's in this, he's done a bunch of movies where people kind of fight to the death, kind of like deadly intent. And then he's in the horror anthology nightmares and another Sidney LeMay film Prince of the City. So, I mean, even regardless of his screen time, he, I mean, unlike many other actors who, regardless of whether I love him or not, you know, I just never feel phoned in, even

[00:18:57] when he pops up in a kind of Gothic kind of terror mystery, or again, just a Western. I just, and I mean, it seemed like I heard a rumor somewhere that he was getting sick of doing a lot of movies where he hunts a Sasquatch. It's like, well, who else are we going to call who you believe? Did you ever watch the, um, I'm trying to remember. It was the movie, it was like 90, like a 90s, early 90s.

[00:19:27] It was an American like martial arts, like science fiction-y action film thing. It's called a Knight. Yes. Yeah. He did some of those Albert Pion. Yeah. He played Job the Cyborg. Like even that, I was like, okay. He's playing a vampire cyborg and it's just, it's not easy to do. It's not. Even when he's, even when he's in sequels that aren't known for being great, like Scream Free or Alien vs. Predator or Mimic Free.

[00:19:57] You know, he's still going to end them. He's still going to end them. Right. I mean, and okay, so we can say that he's been killed by a Predator, a Terminator, and even Pinhead in one of the Hellraiser direct video sequels. So there you go. He's, he's fought all kinds of supernatural beings, but even when he's in regular stuff is like, that's good too. And I loved how he only briefly was with some, again, he just found a way to just kind of

[00:20:24] go coast through it and just everyone just knew his mentality and his range. And just, again, like even when he goes to some not so intriguing films, then he comes into some that is like, you know, I don't know if I'd have never guessed that. You're just, that disowned that was just really intriguing.

[00:20:49] And it gets even more interesting when, again, when he does a guest spot, like you, sometimes they won't even show his face, but you instantly recognize. Yeah, you recognize that voice. The voice is like, I know that deep voice. That's Lance Henriksen. I love his voice though. It's so like, it's calming yet. It could be very, it's like very intimidating too. It's cliche to call it poetic, but like, he's totally who I would picture reading kind

[00:21:18] of a verse of a fantasy novel or an eloquy, a soliloquy on. And I could totally see it. I could totally see him do that. I mean, I would not be surprised if someone hired him on to do some kind of Shakespeare kind of thing. It's like, well, yeah, sure. Of course. And I wonder if he'd do it. Even more obscure stuff. I mean, I bet he would do it. He did theater for a while.

[00:21:48] That's where the best training is. And, you know, we've talked about the similar actor, Tony Todd and how he actually prefers to do theater. And like, I don't know, Tony, you're just too good. He is. To only be seen on theater because theater is great and all, but, you know, unfortunately, you know, some people I feel can grow a bigger head there and, you know, they think they can kill on a stage, but not be great on, again, you know, a movie where you have limited

[00:22:16] time to get your lines down or only a certain amount of takes. And sometimes you don't get any takes at all. It's like, what would you see is what you get. And like you say, it's, you know, it's a good training ground, but it also gets a little annoying on how sometimes you essentially get to a point where it's like, well, I now I want

[00:22:42] to see you actually just, I want to film this record recording of this stage play. And at the same time, I also don't, you know, if we can't see it, we can't see it. So. Yeah. And that's like, like, I work in theater. I do a lot of theater. I do a lot of community, like community theater stuff. And I've been acting for, I've been acting since, you know, since I was in school, since I've ever been in school.

[00:23:11] So, I mean, I've been acting my whole life, but like. You definitely got the voice. In theater though. Thank you. And, and it's definitely different than being on film. I feel like it, it does help you, it helps you with lines. I feel like it does help you with knowing where you are in a scene. Character backstory, justifying everything. Even. Character development is so important.

[00:23:36] And I think you have to approach it differently when you do a role in film than you would in like acting. But I still feel like it's the same kind of like beginning of approach. Like you want to know more about the characters that when you're on stage, like, you know, that character inside and out, like you are that character. Yeah. You know your backstory. Even if there's nothing initially given to you, like she is a woman in her, in her thirties. Who's tired of life. Then go make this big, huge story with, you know, big, huge background story.

[00:24:05] And sometimes it's like that, but I feel like, I mean, it's totally, it is totally different. You know, for theater, for one, a lot of, a lot of your like reactions and stuff have to be a little bigger. Because you want the people in the back of the theater to see, to see your face and to see like your, you know, reactions. If I'm mad, I could, I could frown and be grumpy, or I can make, you know, like, you know, I could stomp and, and be mad.

[00:24:33] And that's kind of the different, that, that kind of like those different things. Mm-hmm. And so it's cool that a lot of, a lot of actors have their like start in theater and learn, you know, method acting and learn the importance of theater. Because I do feel like it's important, even though like people do get, like you said, people do get big heads in it and then they think they can. Yeah. Which is hard. You can't really transfer that. It's hard to just transfer it over right away.

[00:24:58] Like you got, just because you're really good at on stage acting or, you know, even like being a musician or performing, because I'm a musician too and I perform. Just because you're good at that doesn't mean you can be good in front of a camera. And it's just, you know. Just because no one said anything doesn't mean they necessarily approve. And so yeah, it is, it can be some office politics. I prefer when they say something because that's how you know they're paying attention. Oh, totally.

[00:25:26] My sister was big in the theater, but I think she got into it at the wrong time. She went, got into it on junior high and was like, okay, well, they're just going to give you, you know, whoever's not the cool kid, you know, they get the cool parts and everyone else gets shit, you know, they get. Yeah. Unfortunately there are a lot of that in theater. I have people who are this close to cutting their wrists just because they're like, I'm so tired of doing set design and lighting. Yeah. And rehearsals. And I think this is it. It's very easy to get depressed.

[00:25:56] And for any of these entertainment avenues, when no one can see your work right away and you got to be strategic. Sometimes you got to do the movie you don't want to do, but it ends up being a hit and that allows you to do the one you do want to do. And I think we have to do remind ourselves is like, Hey, just cause they're in it doesn't necessarily mean they want to be here or, you know, it's just where the dominoes have fallen. And I think he's been pretty cool enough to pick enough brains to where other people who

[00:26:23] worked with them did want to try and be loyal and reward him with another cool juicy role. And so far, I've only seen that there was like maybe two movies that never got completed or were in the can for years on end, or even the, he was like part of a video game that Stan Winston, you know, this makeup guy on his James Cameron films and pumpkin head developed. And it just, for whatever reason, the game got defunded.

[00:26:50] So it was just like, he, he's been good enough to at least be in very few. It seems like the only one currently that's in development hell is the mockumentaries, like bringing the head of Lance Hendrickson, making fun of his. Yeah. Being a genre actor. And I guess it's just, I don't know if it was on ethical investors or what, but. I don't know. I'm not sure on that one, but. But like you say, I think he is kind of critic proof just cause he's embraced all kinds of.

[00:27:19] He has. And I feel like he's a very positive about it too. And what I like about it, like he was, he said in the interview, you know, when they asked him like. You know, then he rolls that you go back to, he's like, ah, you know, but he, he talked about like how he approached every movie. He, he kind of compared it to like a cat using a cat box. Like when the cat is done using the cat box, the cat gets out and doesn't look back and

[00:27:49] just goes and does, does something else. And that's kind of what he said, you know, he, he does. And I, and I think that's, that's been evident in his, um, in his film history. Definitely. I never thought of that, but the cat box definitely makes sense. That's what he said. He said in an interview. It was like a cat box. Oh my gosh. Uh, but I, I don't know. I, I, he's just, he's phenomenal. Even his other guest spots.

[00:28:17] It's just been great to see him doing a mixture of cartoons with even just typical mystery or horror anthology shows. And I, I mean, I can't think of any role where he's just absolutely bad in. Like I would totally trust him if he said he was a scientist, a doctor or serial killer or a, uh, just regular nine to five, you know, boss of a company. He's just, he fits in with everything. And I think it's just cause that rough upbringing, just that being on your own, you know, not even

[00:28:49] a complete school education. Um, it's true. When we initially, I think he was 12 when he left home. Oh, totally. And he apparently like lives, I think in, he lived in Hawaii for some time. So I think he's definitely had his mixture of just adventure and, uh, he has a decent sized family. And, uh, when we initially recorded this and again, newsflash to those who, again, we weren't

[00:29:18] able to complete that recording. Um, uh, Phantom Galaxy, I think summed it up best that after once he was on aliens, like that echoed the rest of his life. Agreed. Let alone career because he basically is like, I get to be part of an ensemble. So stop worrying about who you are in a scene where you belong. I mean, he has just great performances and like it or hate it movies like Boulevard and Color of Night and even Nature of the Beast. He, he just never feels like he doesn't belong in a scene.

[00:29:48] And, uh, like you said, and, uh, every seventies movie, I think summed up also how, uh, he can kind of just, he, he apparently did a lot of ad-libbing and rewriting a certain dialogue, including Stone Cold. So, I mean, I think a lot of filmmakers have let him at his range. They have just said, you know, it's just, we're, we're not just going to ask an actor and then say, Oh, duly noted.

[00:30:15] And, uh, you know, even when he's in an independent movie or a film you never heard of that showed up at a festival or red box is like, you know, I'm, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. You know, at least it was probably well-run. If it has his name attached to it, I will always give him the benefit of the doubt. So he could literally, it could just be him juggling for five minutes on YouTube and him, like, he could be failing at juggling and I'd be like, good acting. That was great. Great performance. Like, totally.

[00:30:45] Cause there's plenty of other actors kind of struggle with that for a while. Like I liked a lot of when Wesley Snipes was directed video, I liked a lot of his stuff, but there were some where it's like, Oh, he doesn't want to be here. And I've heard rumors lately that Bruce Willis has dementia. So, I mean, there are, and obviously, you know, Nick Cage and John Cavalino, they got work. So it, it does get down to that point where it's like, Hey, like them or hate them or has been is like, who they are. Yeah. She's going to do.

[00:31:14] Do you think that a lot of that, a lot of us still being okay with, like, I still like accepting them is based on a lot of our nostalgia. On the movies that we, like what we used to see them in. So we're like, yeah. I mean, especially when you get to certain actors, like, you know, Keith David or Eric Roberts is like, okay, love you. That movie was garbage.

[00:31:36] But yeah, it does get to also, I think a little bit of lack of better word, kind of just a matter of, you know, know where you are, what stage of your career you are. And he's basically like at the fifth stage of his career. And yeah, he's always gonna be able to do a convention. I know my head, some, my aunt and uncle were at one funny zombie run, you know, where everyone's, you know, dressed up with gore on their face. He was like a participant there.

[00:32:05] I forget where, I think it was like Waxahachie somewhere. And he was just, you know, didn't seem, you know, wasn't acting like he was a bigger star than anyone else there, even though he technically was. And it was like, that's why I love him so much. Because when I met him at Horror Hound, he was just outside smoking a cigarette. He was just talking, he was in the middle of a crowd. Like he wasn't like distancing self. He wasn't like over by the back door.

[00:32:30] He was outside the hotel, outside the convention, just talking to people, hanging out, saying, hey, and like smoking a cigarette and laughing and taking pictures of people. Like he wasn't, he was just a, you know, you have to like, you're your best friend. And it was nice. I've met, I've met some celebrities that are not so down to earth and I. Tom Savini, you're looking at you. Although Tom is brilliant. He's just. Oh yeah, this is it.

[00:33:00] I like the work, but man. I feel like maybe his people person skills need some work, but he's brilliant. He's had 40 years, come on. I mean, yeah. I feel like after that long, maybe it's just a moot point. But no, he was, he was wonderful. And like, and Tommy Todd is another guy that's just like super nice and sweet and just wonderful. Totally. And he is, he is absolutely sweet. He's so tall.

[00:33:30] Wow. Yes, he is. I'm five, I'm five, six, but he is like, whoo, like. If I saw him in a full Candyman, like outfit, like in front of me, I, oh my goodness, I would get chills. Okay. So cool though. This is so cool.

[00:33:51] It's, it's wonderful to, to, you know, like I said, it's wonderful to see actors still remember where they came from and still remember that like, they're still just people like us, you know? And it's nice because I never, I never once thought that Lance was anything more than just this down to earth, like just one of us. Right. It was, it's nice.

[00:34:18] And it's why I appreciate him so much because he, he like, he treats everyone as if, as equal and he, and he kind of makes it so like, yeah, you could do that. Yeah, we could, you could act, you could do that. You could do this. And, and I just, I love that about him. He's just like, yeah, I did it. You could do it. And some people, it just seems to take them a while. They, they have to realize, oh, you know, I'm disposable and everything.

[00:34:42] Um, and I, I've even seen many Canadian actors and actors who now become directors even realize like, hey, you got to give the same effort every time, regardless of what, you know, angle the camera's on, you know? It's true. You know, and, but obviously I'm not a celebrity. I'm not a celebrity. Me trying to figure out what goes through their minds is, you know, I know there's a lot more stress and stuff and pressure.

[00:35:13] And they have to be some like image, you know, sometimes they don't get the necessarily get the chance to be as normal as they'd like, because they have all these things they have to do and, and have to go. And so, I mean, it's just nice that, you know, Lance has kept his humanity and his sweetness throughout, you know, his whole life. I mean, he's 80. I heard one guy attempting to talk smack about him.

[00:35:40] I won't say who they are, because they're nobody, but, um, exactly. He's an assistant, but they were on the set of Daylight's End, you know, which was shot here where I am. And they were talking about, oh, I saw him being prickly one day. But then again, in all fairness, uh, you know, the catering was late. I'm like, that's hungry. That's not being a prima donna. That's just being hungry, being hangry.

[00:36:05] If I don't get, if I don't get food and I'm hungry and I don't eat when I'm supposed to, my blood sugar drops and I get angry. And, you know, he's, you know, I think that's still just a normal thing. Like, especially because a lot of people don't give them enough credit at like conventions and stuff. They're like, listen, like, listen, they're talking to people all day. They're out there all day. They got Q and A's. They're going for back from Q and A's.

[00:36:31] They're trying to eat, trying to find time to eat, you know, trying to make sure that they get all this stuff done. Sitting through Q and A's. They're probably hungry and tired. And they probably answered the same question like a million zillion times. Give them a little bit of a break because they're here. You know, yeah, they're here. They're making money, but also they're here for their fans, too. So I feel like sometimes it's, you know, unless you really know like what they've had to go through,

[00:36:59] because people think they just show up and they're like well rested and everything's just, you know, you don't know what they've done. You don't know how long it took them to get here or how long they've been. Oh, totally. I would see people who had never been on a professional set and acted like once they were on an independent or even just micro budget movie, they knew everything's like, oh, no, honey, trust me. You're making the director your bed share on this one. It's not going to happen. You'll be done. You'll be blacklisted instantly.

[00:37:25] And so it's again, you know, it's cool to see a guy who's been in different walks of life actually, you know, give the same respect and attitude. And I mean, I got even more annoyed when I heard out of all the unprofessional things that were happening on that Lethal Weapon TV show. He was a guest star and he got like bitch slapped by the main star is like, man, Lance does not deserve any of that. He should instantly be fired for that. I entirely agree. I think that's so like,

[00:37:56] a hardworking person who's been on time, it's done their job. And you should have to put your hands on anyone on a set, especially someone who's like a guest star. Like I cannot, the level of unprofessionalism just boggles my mind. It boggles it. If that's all they have,

[00:38:24] if that's all they have on Lance is that he got grumpy one time because he didn't get to eat at the time that he needed to eat. That's nothing. Like, okay, cool. I'd be mad too. End of story. Oh, my goodness. I mean, and again, when you bring the same dedication each time and you've got pretty respectable, fair,

[00:38:53] regardless of whether it's for a home video market or a theatrical crowd, that's still something to be said. So. Oh, yeah, I agree. And, and the thing is like, when he, I can tell that when he like, when he goes on a set and he acts and he, he puts the same, he puts a hundred percent in everything he does, even if he doesn't necessarily want to do it. I want to be there. I want to act in it. He will put a hundred percent.

[00:39:21] And I've never heard that he was horrible. I'm sad. I've never heard that. He was just rude. No, I always heard he was positive. He refused to come out of his trailer, like Fane Dunaway. He refused to, you know, go about a scene or discuss it with people. Yeah. None of that. None of that. So I'm like, you know what? Like, so I feel like he deserves that respect that he's, that he gives, you know? And so that's why I was so mad when,

[00:39:51] when like he got slapped. I was like, Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I mean, I think studios are getting more and more impatient now to where it's like, Hey, we hear just one bad thing. All of this is going to shut down. And, you know, the guy in charge is getting fired. Yeah. Exactly. But it's kind of, it also makes me kind of like, I kind of terrified. In a way. Cause I'm like, man, you know,

[00:40:19] what if I want to act one day and then like someone heard something bad about me and then like, how is that going to affect my career? And that hasn't even started yet. You know what I mean? It's very hard to, I totally. And unfortunately you're going to have to work with people who just haven't been screened or you can't find any information about it. And you just got to bite the bullet and say, Hey, here we are again. And I mean, everyone's different standards.

[00:40:48] So like if you're doing an independent thing, you better already have days slated for reshoots on, in just a rare case. You better have people reviewing your footage. You better have an actual budget as opposed to, well, let's do this out of fun. It's like, no, no. You got to make everyone sign a contract. No more of this. Oh, they're my boyfriend. They refuse to be in the movie or they're going to sue. It's like, yeah, it's just, you got to have legal stuff and you got to have,

[00:41:18] make sure you got enough time and money to talk about what you're going to talk about. So yeah, it's tricky. Yeah. I, well, I'll give big props to, to directors and like film companies, especially the, the smaller ones, the indie ones, the ones that are either just starting out or the ones that do like, you know, not necessarily box office hits, but really good movies. Like I always give them extra respect and extra props. Cause I'm like,

[00:41:47] the amount of things you have to do to get a movie or to create a movie is just, it's just so wild. This is so wild. And I remember like when Lance first did like theater, he actually like worked on sets too. He did like set design and stuff like that. And so I, so bait, like when they started off, I was like, Oh, he's like a jack of all trades. He could do anything. And so then,

[00:42:17] and then throughout his like life, like it was so, that's one thing I was like, why is he doing all these random, you know, they're always, they're kind of random to me. And then I started to like, look at the grand scheme of everything. I was like, wow, he's done a lot of like, he has his like types. He gets typecasted sometimes, but he has these like, you know, he's either like a district attorney or he's a cop.

[00:42:47] Demon hunter. Yeah. Sergeant Neff, you know, and Damien and Omen too, you know, he's all these different, then he'll do the, he'll do things like he's a network lawyer or he'll like, He clearly picked a lot of producers, you know, loved him, wanted to work with them. Even, you know, the theater scene, wanted to work with them. And yeah, doing a set design definitely gives you appreciation for, Hey, you know, you are disposable as the rest of the people, you know,

[00:43:17] it's not just the boom mic or assistant cameraman who's goofing off, who, uh, you know, get fired, but it was like, yeah, if you're an actor and you are, you know, refusing to get along with everyone, then, oh man, it's, yeah, you, you, you can be disposed of. For real. Like, his, his film, his whole film. Like he played, like,

[00:43:45] I think it was before, so before near dark. Yeah. It was in the same year. He did like one episode of like beauty and the beast, that drama that was, that had like Ron Perlman in it. It was a, in a CBS or something. It was a CBS like drama. It had like a Ron Perlman and like Linda Hamilton and stuff like that in it. Oh, uh, yeah. He was in that and then went on to do near dark. And I'm like, Oh yeah, that's right.

[00:44:15] Beauty and the beast. I forgot about that. He had crazy white hair. What have you? Yeah. It was, I loved it, but I was like, what, what, what? You went from beauty and the beast to near dark, you know, but I love that. It's like that. He's like that jack of all trades, even in his acting. Yep. Anything he wants. He's like, you know, this drama sounds good. I'll do, I'll do this. I'll be in beauty and the beast.

[00:44:45] I was like, Oh, near dark. Cool. I'll be in that. It's just, it's something that I strive, that I like strive to do in life in general, let alone it can, and my like acting career. And I want to be versatile like that too. I want to be able to be like, yeah, I'll do that. And I'll do that. And that it's easy to get typecasted. It's easy to get typecasted into a specific role and just stay in that role forever.

[00:45:14] Totally. Yeah. I feel like I, like in theater, especially I'm always typecasted as some like mean bitchy, like authority, authority figure. Like it's fun to be the bad guy at times, but there are other times where it's like, did I say something to offend you? Yeah. Do you really think I'm intimidating? You just have to put me as like, Oh, you're going to be the crop, right? I was at a crappy casting call one time.

[00:45:44] And these guys were amateurs all get out. Like, and they had nothing constructive to say. They're like that performs with shit. I'm like, well, it is a dry table read. You could have, there's literally nothing on the page. I have to. Yes. I could have maybe given a little more forceful, but you already don't. It doesn't help that. Yes. There are some people, they're just not good at describing what they want. They're just stuck up for X. So then you just got to, again, be creative with it. It's a guessing game.

[00:46:13] It's a guessing game. It keeps unraveling and you keep realizing, okay, you know, it's beyond us or. It's just not meant to be, you know, if you're already, if you did your best and you didn't get it, and you didn't get it. You know, I wonder how many of those roles that Lance auditioned for. He didn't get. Yeah. What casting calls were, were it, that it just, you know, it happened. Which one did he search for?

[00:46:43] Which was his agent, agent get, you know, get him. I'd be really curious. I heard a rumor that he was, he was supposed to. Rumor. I know. Oh gosh. I don't know if it's true or not because I haven't got to like, look it up. So I don't know if it's had her. Like I heard that he was supposed to be the term. That he was like, he was kind of eyed for the Terminator before Schwarzenegger. Yeah. That was the payoff. He basically, you know,

[00:47:11] Jim was already friends with them with the field. Piranha two filming and then trying to get out of B movie territory and make a hip rockbuster. And that was his paybacks. Like, I need you, you to help sell the movie for me. And my payback is I still give you a key part, even though it's not the same part. So yeah. Okay. I thought that rumor was true. Cause I was like, I heard this and I was like, I don't know if it's true or not. So I can't technically call it fact, but I, it's not a rumor, but like,

[00:47:40] they've been fortunate to talk about it quite a lot. So yeah, that's helped. Yeah. Oh man. But he's wonderful. And I, I would love to see him again. I haven't seen him in, it's been years since I've seen him, but. But isn't it a cool, you know, experience that just makes you remember, you know? Honestly, he's hands down one of my favorite actors. He was already was, but it just got so much more meaningful.

[00:48:09] And I don't, I'm not really one that like, uh, like fan girls. Very often. I have a tendency to sometimes, but I, I hide it very well. Um, like meeting Elvira for the first time I did fan girl. Nice. A little bit. Um, and I have no regrets. Um, when I met Pamela Greer, I definitely fan girl. And I teared up and cried a little bit. So that was also something I did, which I don't like. But like, I,

[00:48:39] I didn't like, I was, I was like, so in shock meeting him. But he, it was like, he, he made me feel like it was just meeting an old friend that I hadn't seen. In so long. Like he gave me a big hug. I was like, he has no business doing that to anyone, but yeah, he's just, he has, he gave me a big hug afterwards. We talked like, I was like, you don't even know me. And like, you're treating me like I'm like coming to dinner next week at your house. Like, I was like, I love that.

[00:49:09] And that just kind of, that always, that always like stayed with me for the rest of my life. I will, you know, remember that feeling. And he's wonderful. I have nothing bad to say. And I will fight anyone who says anything bad about him. Totally. Thunderdome style. Oh man. It's, it's pretty wild. Oh yeah. Well, thank you so much for being on here. You know, thank you.

[00:49:38] Solid summary of just why this person is so beloved. Thank you. I mean, thank you so much for letting me get to talk about him. Like he really, he's really like meant a lot to me as like growing up. And then, you know, especially now in my adult life, like just getting to meet him that time. And it meant a lot to me. So I thank you for letting me do this. Sure. We'll return after these messages.

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