Brian: You grew up in the middle of 13
children not the usual growing up experience. Do
you have any favorite (or just simply fun)
memories about your youth and many siblings?
Michael: My family has been my greatest blessing. I truly
have an unlimited supply of wonderful memories.
Some as blissful as sitting in the backyard of
our Virginia house churning home-made vanilla ice
cream with my mother, or as regrettable as
drinking the tator tot grease straight from the
pan in an awful and foolish attempt to impress
the girls my older brother Brandon had over (no
success). Some funny, like the time I was warned
of the spanking punishment I was to receive after
the bath, so I came downstairs with eight pairs
of underwear on. Some not so funny, like kneeing
my little brother Sam in the mouth on the
trampoline forcing his permanent front tooth
loose; or when our family dog bit my face as a
child leaving me scarred and fearful of dogs. I
got over that and the scars are hardly noticeable
anymore. Thank goodness I got over my dog fear or
my time with my on screen dog Breezie would have
been very difficult. I could spend all day on
this question, but to try and single one out that
is a favorite isn't easy. One of my little
brothers, Levi, has Downs Syndrome and has never
really developed much speaking ability but he
does know some sign language. I remember the
first time he signed "I love you" to me
like it was yesterday. It's neat how good
memories can leave more effective scars then even
a dog attack can.
Brian:
What twisted beast sent you on this path of
reaching for the spotlight? Kermit, the frog?
Darth Vader? Gizmo? A cute girl in acting class?
Michael:
All of these have had influences in my life at
different times. It's safe to say that all of
these figures lead me, in some way or another, to
have the dreams I have today. My passion for film
really began in my elementary years. I would
spend all my free time in class and at recess
writing the Jurassic Park screenplay straight
from memory after I completed that one I moved
onto memorizing and writing the screenplay to
Tombstone. The most inspiring film to me is
Braveheart, and essentially that's what leads me
to reach for the spotlight, my love for good
movies.
Brian: You played "Buck" the head jock-bad boy
in 'Urban Legends: Bloody Mary'.
Buck, while a great role is also a stock one in
movies like this. You, unlike other actors who
often make this type of character too
"big," give him a nice naturalness and
real sensibility. Do you think having been on
camera, previously, on some episodes of
'Everwood' helped you achieve this?
Michael:
Without a doubt my bit of previous experience was
a huge help in preparing my role for 'Urban
Legends'. Acting is a real challenge. It
requires you to be entirely natural and in the
moment, but yet you need to remember your lines,
hit your marks, find the hot spots in lighting,
deal with props and pets and kids and continuity.
Any moment I have ever had the privilege of being
in front of the camera has most definitely helped
in my growth as an actor. I wrote several pages
of fictitious background for Buck Jacoby and
picked his favorite color, band, food and
detailed his previous relationships to any
relevant character; and I loved every second of
it! Acting is phenomenal and even therapeutic;
it's a nice challenge with good rewards. I will
act the rest of my life even if I never get paid
for it ever again. The money is good and
essential to survive but the self expression and
accomplishment of self control is the real
reward.
Brian:
You are totally my hero - or at least for the
next 10 minutes - because you worked with Mary
Lambert. (As a college sophomore I went to see
her first movie 'Siesta', at
least five times, at the local arts theater!)
She's got such style. Any thoughts on Lambert's
personality or technique of working that you'd
like to share?
Michael:
Like you, I am also a huge fan of Mary Lambert. I
got hooked with 'Pet Semetary'.
I have easily seen that movie over 10 times and
watched attentively each time. I've seen the
sequel even more. When I got the word that I was
going to be working with Mary Lambert I was
shocked and speechless. After I hung up with my
agent I just sat in my car dumbfounded. Then I
screamed really loud and flailed, thanked God and
swore four letter words of excitement. Mary was a
delight to work with. She was very patient and
very down to earth, but at same time she was
ambitious with the shooting schedule and was
centered in her own mind enough to bring that
Lambert touch to this film. She would encourage
the actors to improv in character with each other
to develop spontaneity in our performance, it
worked. My first person experience with Mary has
only increased my respect for her and the way she
wields her craft, with subtly, respect, and a lot
of thought.
Brian:
Speaking of the ladies involved with Bloody
Mary - what was it like to work with Kate
Mara? Like you, she gives her character a great
realness. You really buy her as an awkward high
school kid - not some supermodel who's smacked
glasses on her face and considers that the
character.
Michael:
Kate is as genuine and intriguing in real life as
you would imagine she is. She had no element of
snootiness or self indulgence. She makes solid
and intelligent acting choices, but also stays
flexible to react naturally to the choices of the
other actors. She's great and has an incredibly
bright future. Acting along side of her was
inspiring and quite frankly it made my job
easier. It was entirely my privilege and I'm just
thankful to have had the chance to act with
tomorrow's Julia Roberts.
Brian:
They say not to work with children, dogs or - the
ghosts of drugged up female prom dates! You do
the latter two in Bloody Mary. - Any
thoughts on working with the Breezie, the pooch,
and with Lillith Fields who played Mary?
Michael:
No pun intended but Breezie was a breeze. Just
give her a heart felt scratching behind the ears
and you've got a new best friend. Lillith Fields
was great. If only people knew how quiet and
humble she is in real life it would make her Bloody
Mary rendition all that more impressive. It
was really a fun experience to have such a petite
and sweet girl stabbing into my chest over and
over so... violently. We shot that sequence
several times and it was comfortable each time.
Mary would say "cut" and Lillith would
smile and make small chat with me, keeping things
light. All her ghastly make up just made the
experience very amusing. I really hope to work
with her again one day.
Brian:
Buck's death involves reenactments of two urban
legends, a vengeful ghost with a wicked sharp
broken bottle and lots and lots of blood! Keen!
(I'm telling Elvis to move on over because you
are now, officially, the King!) - Any distinct
memories about working with the special effects
on this scene?
Michael: Oh
yeah! Shooting my death scene was a 16 hour
shooting day, very long and very intensive. We
had multiple locations to shoot at including a
set and an outdoor location. Lots of special
effects and stunt work too, great day! Despite
the knee pads I had on, I still got bruised up a
bit from doing multiple takes of falling to the
ground. The stunt coordinator, and my on screen
dad, Don Shanks, was awesome. He's very
experienced but he's a big guy and has a muscle
man grip. So just from grabbing my arm to help
show the correct way to throw my punch at Bloody
Mary he left me with some pretty unsightly
bruises, but hey, I'm not complaining by any
means. Thanks for the aggressive and effective
coaching Don! It worked, unlike the blood
squirting from my arm, which was just a cold and
semi-staining experience for me. When Bloody Mary
snaps my arm there was suppose to be some blood
squirting out; but the tube that was in my sleeve
didn't get enough pressure to project the blood
enough. Therefore the blood just grizzled out
within my clothes enough to run down my arm and
all down my chest and back and was entirely
ineffective for the camera. Despite the cold
blood or the missing arms hairs from taping the
bone mechanism to my body, I loved my experience
and I loved any discomfort right along with it. I
experienced worse arm hair loss just recently in
a short film for Spielberg's 'On the Lot'
contest. The fake blood stuck my arm to
the plastic chair that soon claimed a good few
inches of my hair. You can see the short film 'A
New Medium' at this web address http://films.thelot.com/films/17898/\cf1 .
Brian:
Another quirky question just for the sake of
quirky questions - What were you actually
drinking in that beer bottle?
Michael: No, it wasn't real beer. It was real gross
though. It was called "near beer." It
was in a glass bottle when I was drinking but
they had clones of the bottle made in candy
glass. We shot the head smash twice. Taking a hit
to the head is always alarming but the bottle
broke pretty easy and I was having so much fun I
didn't notice if it hurt or not.
Brian:
You recently worked on one of the longest running
syndicated shows ever - 'America's Most
Wanted'. What was that like? Did you
continue your reign of evil dudes - or were you
the good guy, this time?
Michael: Well, I'm evil again... It's the episode about
Warren Jeffs and I play one of his
"missionaries." Jeffs likes to spy on
his followers with hidden cameras and I'm the
method of delivery. We speak in private and he
informs me to "check up" on this
certain family and of course I know what he
really means. So, I get a few of my cronies and
we go pay that family a visit. I bring a plant as
a gift from Warren Jeffs and inside it is a
candid camera. Jeffs then uses that privileged
footage to call the family on their specific
sins, as if he's omniscient. Twisted, I know.
Brian:
Lastly - any future plans, hopes, dreams, life
insurance policies... that you'd like to share
with us?
Michael:
Well, I'm soon to finish my A.A.S. in Motion
Picture Production at Scottsdale Community
College in Arizona. I've been making short films
and learning what it takes behind the camera.
Everything I've learned in front of the camera
has helped me learn and respect what happens
behind the camera all the more. After my
education at SCC I may very well move to
California. That really is the area of
opportunity for this industry. Once in LA I'll be
seeking both acting work and crew work. I love
movies, they are truly magical and to be a part
of that magic is my life long passion. Please
visit my personal website at www.michael-coe.com to learn more about me. |