Owen: Hey Bill,
why don't you tell me how you were chosen for the
role of Leatherface "bubba" in 'The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'?
Bill: Tobe held a
nationwide search for Bubba, I just happened to
be living in the town where the movie was to do
its filming. I auditioned, made callbacks
with Caroline in front of Tobe and he cast us.
They were in town doing set-up for principal
photography and not having found their actor yet
to play Bubba, so there might have been a little
anxiety, but thats speculation.
Owen:
What did you hope to bring to the character?
Bill: The
culmination of all the fervor and focus I could
muster to play movie-ball with some outrageous
talent gathered to make this movie.
Owen:
What was the most difficult part of the 10-week
principle-filming schedule for 'The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre 2'?
Bill: The broiling
Texas Heat. Waiting. The broiling Texas Heat. The
general pressure from the studios to finish by
their contractual deadline. Then there was the
broiling Texas Heat. Even more escalating studio
pressure to finish by a quite rapidly approaching
deadline. Did I mention the broiling Texas Heat?
Owen: How
did you motivate yourself to get into character?
Bill: Just a simple motivating phrase: What life
threatening bastard am I gonna kill today?
Alternating and sometimes in conflict with:
Bubba needs his lovin, NOW! But
seriously, I was surrounded by a super cast and a
great director, motivation and inspiration was
all around me. A major problem, and this is true
for actors making any movie, was to be on hold
and wait until the cameras were ready to roll.
Owen:
What tips did director Tobe Hooper give to you?
Bill: Tobe communicates a lot of info using very few
words so we didnt really have much
discussion after the initial cast read through of
the script. Hed give just a brief set-up as
we were getting ready to shoot each scene. If he
needed to, he would tweak for something specific
during each scene, for technical things, specific
instructions how to move so the camera could
capture what he wanted
Owen: Did
you portrayal of a homicidal maniac lead you to
understand killers more, fear them more, have
nightmares...what emotional repercussions did you
have from your immersion in the role?
Bill: After 20 years of performing in live theatre
Id already played some fairly bloodthirsty
killers so had some familiarity of them. Mac the
Knife from 3-Penny Opera, MacBeth from
Shakespeares MacBeth, Industrial magnates
who kill large numbers of people from a distance
through buffers and henchmen. So Id had
practice in learning to leave the character in
the dressing room after the days work was
over to avoid the nightmares, etc. Bubba was
definitely less sophisticated than previous
characters Id played. Bubba had more
simplicity, savagery and guile. And more innocent
in that he grew up believing he was doing a good
thing and anyone outside the family was wrong.
And a source of protein.
Owen: Thus far each actor has only portrayed
Leatherface once in each of the 5 movies ---
though you were asked to reprise your role in 'The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4' and yet you
declined. How come?
Bill: Simple
really, even the most minimal standard working
conditions for fairness and safety just were not
in place. And after asking for them, it was made
clear they were not going to be offered. A basic
take it or leave it offer. I left it.
Owen: Bill, you're also a frequent guest at horror
conventions...The Spooky, Texas Frightmare
Weekend, MonsterMania, Screamfest, Chiller
Theater, The Return to Haddonfield Convention
etc. What is that fans usually want to
know?
Bill:
Many, many fans ask: Was it fun? And the answer
is YES it was, big time!
Owen:
Director Jeff Burr ('The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre #3', 'The Stepfather 2',
'Pumpkinhead 2)
has cast you in 'The
Demons 5, which in my opinion
features THE CAST OF CASTS - Robert
Englund, Kane Hodder, Debbie Rochon, Gunnar
Hansen, Bill Moseley, Tom Savini, Cassandra
Peterson, Leatherface #3 - R.A. Mihailoff.
How exciting! What can you tell me about
the film?
Bill: Yes
this is a very exciting film project underway.
Its still in nailing the money
down phase, but recently got word that it
could be fairly soon. Im just waiting to
hear the news on the next phase. If the money is
in place then its a possible Feb/March 2006
start date for shooting.
Owen:
With a cast like that were there any on-set tales
you'd care to share?
Bill: Im sure there will be, and I will be glad
to share them.
Owen: You
also the voice of The Guardian,
a supremely evil being, on the interactive
software game series ULTIMA.
How exactly do you voice an "almost
all-powerful demon"?
Bill: Well,
I don exactly know. I just open up and
speak from my experience doing Shakespeare in
live theatre and of course the script and the
animation have a lot to do with it too.
Owen: So
what else are you working on currently?
Bill: Tentative filming early next year on an Indy here
in Austin a Film Noir called The
End That Eats. Filmmaker Steve
Mims wrote and will direct. Im really
looking forward to this project.
Owen:
Mummies, vampires, psychos, aliens, creatures,
werewolves, zombies -- which one does it for you
Bill, and why?
Bill: Im
pretty interested in the psychological aspects so
its the Psycho characters
that I find most fascinating. What twists and
turns of logic and behavior will they take? Can
they, how will they be defeated? How will they
outsmart their pursuers? What secrets will be
revealed? What surprises will be unleashed?
Owen:
What scares you in real life?
Bill: Any
4 Hurricane headed for my vicinity. Not much is
scarier than Mother Nature when shes got a
full head of steam up. But maybe even scarier
might be not being able to get out and meet my
fans!
Owen:
Anything more you would care to add.
Bill: 2006
is the 20th Anniversary of TCM2 so
were looking for a banner year coming up.
Go to my website www.leatherface2.com and get the details on my
upcoming appearances in: Dallas, TX, http://www.scifiexpo.com/dcc6.asp England, Netherlands and
more. By the way, Caroline Williams is going to
be a Guest at Texas Frightmare weekend! http://www.texasfrightmareweekend.com I believe this is her
first Convention appearance ever and I think
there is a lot of excitement about Caroline being
there. Thank you for this opportunity to connect
with you all. You fans are the greatest!!! |