|
by Choppy
R.A. Mihailoff is most well known for his portrayal of Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw III. Since then he has graced the screen in films like: Trancers III, Pumpkinhead II, The Kid with X-Ray Eyes, and was even in an episode of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose. Last year, R.A. became one of the seven deadly sins in Fallen Angels which featured such horror and sci-fi icons as Bill Moseley, Michael Berryman, Michael Dorn, Reggie Bannister, and Kane Hodder. I’ve known R.A. from his various appearances at Spooky World and he is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. This year, I asked him if he’d be willing to do an interview for us and he was more than pleased to take the time to answer some questions for us.
CHOPPY: Each of the TCM’s have very different portrayals of Leatherface, what was your take on the character?
R.A.: I’m not one that’s into introspection that much, but my opinion of Leatherface is that he didn’t see himself as abhorrent in any way. He did see killing people as being wrong, it was a normal lifestyle like going down to Dunkin Donuts and grabbing a coffee and the paper. What I liked about it was the family dynamic. That was our normal life, we’d set the table and have dinner together, I’d polish that huge chainsaw they made for me and my little sister would sit on my lap. There’s a slogan we had in the film, the family that slays together, stays together.
CHOPPY: I love the idea of that family. The little girl was so creepy.
R.A.: Actually, we got in a lot of trouble with the MPAA because the little girl was involved in some of the killing. It was a way of life for them and we were raising our children in our lifestyle. It’s actually in the unrated version, but we still got in a lot of trouble for it.
CHOPPY: What kind of research did you do to develop your Leatherface?
R.A.: I read about Ed Gein because he was the basis for the character and I was a fan of the previous films. I read the screenplay and what was written on the page was translated to the screen. There are certain parameters that were set forth by my predecessors and I just developed my Leatherface from there. I made him my own, but I didn’t try to make Leatherface do anything that was against his character.
CHOPPY: Would you reprise the role if you had the chance?
R.A.: Absolutely, in a second I would.
CHOPPY: Do you have a favorite story to relate about shooting?
R.A.: Now you’re putting me on the spot, these are good questions….The time that I most remember was one night we were on set and my 2 best friend were with me. We had always wanted to be in the movies and here we were on set. Here we were working on an actual movie together and in one brief shining moment, we had achieved our dream. There was this other time that I thought was cool when David Schow and I were on set and they were about to blow up the terror truck. They asked us to get way back because of the explosion. I turned to David and I said, “I’m the star of this picture, right?” David agreed and then I said, “I want to stay right here.” It was fun pulling a little rank on the set and be a little closer to the action.
CHOPPY: Was the explosion as bad as they thought it would be?
R.A.: No, I mean there wasn’t any shrapnel or anything. It was pretty cool.
 CHOPPY: Speaking of pretty cool, what was it like working with Viggo Mortensen?
R.A.: Viggo was a consummate professional. He took acting very seriously and he was very faithful to his character.
CHOPPY: Chainsaw 3 definitely had its characters, I loved the Alfredo character.
R.A.: Here’s a bit of trivia for you. Next time you watch it, notice the difference in the way Tom [Alfredo] looks from the beginning of the picture and the end scene at the lake. Tom got in a pretty bad car accident during shooting and he was wearing a neck brace. That’s why he was wearing the poncho and stuff around his neck. Just a little bit of something you didn’t know about the movie.
CHOPPY: Do you feel that playing Leatherface has overshadowed or enhanced your other work?
R.A.: I think it was the best thing that ever happened to me. It put me in a different category as an actor. I mean how many people get the chance to play a horror icon. It was a turning point in my career.
CHOPPY: TCM3 has been called the Heavy Metal Leatherface, do you yourself listen to Heavy Metal?
R.A.: On occasion.
CHOPPY: What bands do you listen to?
R.A.: I listen to a wide range of music. For instance, I was just hanging out with members of L.A. Guns the other night.
CHOPPY: Do you have a favorite style of music?
R.A.: Blues, I love the blues.
CHOPPY: Then you must like Black Sabbath then? They’re steeped in the blues, just much heavier.
R.A.: Really, I never knew that. I’ll have to check them out more.
CHOPPY: Since the TCM remake came out, I know that there has been a lot of tension between you and Bryniarski because of the things he had to say about the other TCM’s. Last time we spoke you said you had patched things up with Andrew and you even worked on a project together, tell us about the project?
R.A.: Yeah, Stilleto! What a blast! It’s not a horror movie, it’s a crime thriller. The director wanted Andrew and I both to be in the picture and he had me call him. We had fun working together. We’re motorcycle riding neo-nazi thugs. I had a real blast working with him. He and I are fine now, we’re tight.
CHOPPY: What’s next on the horizon for you?
R.A.: I’m producing a show called Hog Wild. It’s a lifestyle show for motorcycle enthusiasts. I don’t want to say too much, but I’m really excited about it.
CHOPPY: My last question is how does Leatherface spell clown?
R.A.: F O O D.
That’s an interesting story. They handed me a speak n’ spell and told me to just play with it. I looked through all the pictures it had that you could spell, looking for some time of humanoid character that Leatherface would eat. All I could find was the clown so that became what I spelt. If it had some kids or something else that looked like a human then it wouldn’t have been a clown. I like clowns but of course Leatherface would just see them as food.
CHOPPY: That is a cool story. Thanks for giving us some of your time.
R.A.: No problem that was fun. Thanks for calling and hopefully I’ll see you next year at Spooky World if not sooner.
|
