Bernard, Carlos (Alien Raiders)
Now here’s a thrill for me! As a huge “24” fan I never thought I’d ever get a chance to interview Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida). Then he made a horror movie, and well, carpe diem, right? The best part? The movie kicks ass!
Of course I am referring to Ben Rock’s Alien Raiders, and if you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest you make it a priority!
Listen to the interview below or just scroll down and give it a read!
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Uncle Creepy: Hey everybody. Uncle Creepy here for Dread Central, and joining us today is one of the stars of Alien Raiders, Carlos Bernard. Carlos, how are you, my brother?
Carlos Bernard: I’m good, I’m doing good. How are you doing?
UC: Pretty good, man. A little scared right now, though, since you brought up that dude, you know, in Chicago who has the name Steve Barton that screwed up the game for you guys in 2005. I’m sorry I share his name, but I’m telling you, dude, I’m not him.
CB: (Laughter) You know I’m going to need proof of that. But it seemed you were in a hat with headphones over the baseball hat before you stumbled.
UC: It’s very funny, man. I had no idea that that’s that dude’s name, but I guess I’m changing my name in Chicago for sure. I don’t need to get lynched the second I get there. (Laughter).
CB: Oh no, you don’t, you don’t.
UC: But anyway … Alien Raiders, what a cool little movie, man.
CB: Yeah, it was a cool — it definitely is a cool little movie, you know, I — when I signed on, the name was Supermarket, which I loved that title. I really like that title, and I’m really — I was extremely bummed when they changed that name to Alien Raiders because really, if you watched the movie, it sort of gives it away. It sort of ruins a bit of the movie with the name but…
UC: Yeah, totally because if you’re watching it — like the first time I saw it — for the first like 15 or 20 minutes I had no idea what was going on.
CB: Yeah, it looks like a heist movie, you know, and — but anyhow … but it is a cool little movie. There were a great bunch of people working on it, and it felt very much like a sort of guerilla film. We were all getting together to kick it out as quickly as we could and as well as we could. And, you know, obviously it was a lower budget movie, probably around five million or so. And with those cases, because it’s often hard to find the right sort of scenario, there’s still the most fun because you’ve really got to sort of put your heads together and get creative as far as doing things to really pull it off well, you know, and that makes it much more fun.
UC: Yeah, and that’s one thing about the movie. I mean when the shit hits the fan, dude, the shit really hits the fan, you know. And it turns into just one hell of a ride. Now, is this the first time you did a horror movie?
CB: Yeah. Yeah, first time, you know, I — its not that I’m opposed to doing them, it’s the first time that I found a script that I thought was interesting to me as far as the different characters and the scenarios and the setup. And I had been approached many times before, and I just really liked this one. And then it happened to be being produced by Tony Krantz, who was one of the original producers of “24”, and I had a lot of faith in Tony. I was also a big fan of Blair Witch Project, and you know, Daniel Myrick was involved and Ben Rock as well, and so it just worked out, you know. And it was really a lot of fun to shoot — a very collaborative environment, you know.
UC: Now, speaking of Ben Rock … what an absolute saint of a man, but what an absolute lunatic as well.
CB: (Laughter) Yeah, well, he knows the genre pretty damn well, you know. He’s a big, big fan of the genre and so that really — he brought all that to the set, you know, and that was a huge help.
UC: You know, I don’t think it’s physically possible for us to get on the phone, Ben and I, and have something less than an hour-long conversation.
CB: When you start talking about movies that you love and things that you love…
UC: And before we know it — I don’t even remember what we really called each other for. It’s like “Oh yeah…”
CB: And you know he’s such a great guy, and it is that way. You’ll talk, and next thing you know it’ll be an hour later.
UC: Now, for a lot of TV fans this is a huge movie to geek over because you’ve got yourself from “24” … It is so good to have you back! I mean last season sucked without you, but I’m not going to get into that because it’s not your fault. (Laughter).
CB: (Laughter) No, it’s not.
UC: But you’ve got — you from “24”, Mathew St. Patrick from “Six Feet Under” and, you know, of course there’s Rockmond from “Prison Break”. What a cast, man!
CB: Yeah, Rock was something else, dude. Rock is — he is really a talented dude and so funny and really just — I think he’s just a fantastic character.
UC: Now, speaking of doing things a little bit different, being that this was your first genre movie. What did you think about all the effects and dealing with creatures and shit like that? Because that’s a little bit of a departure for you, too, I guess.
CB: Yeah, it was. Obviously all the action stuff I felt very at home with all that, but the effects — you know the great thing about — one of the things that drew me to doing the film was, you know, these guys know that less is more, that they — you know, the less you show, the scarier it is because it leaves it up to the audience’s imagination, and that’s always — those are the films that I really dig within that genre. The ones where, you know, the filmmakers really leave it up to the audience to fill in the blanks.
UC: Yeah, and you really just — you gave such the perfect tortured-guy-trying-to-do-the-right-thing performance. And the good thing about sci-fi and horror movies is even though you might die, there’s always room to kind of come back. (Laughter)
CB: Well, it’s not just horror movies, “24” can prove that obviously. (Laughter)
UC: Oh, dude, when you showed up, my mouth dropped. I was like, “Really?”
CB: (Laughter) Well, you know, big fans of “24” know that that was possible because, you know, the hall — the hallway was done back in the 50’s and they definitely left the door open for, you know, there’s no style like clogs, they really — they really left it open for the character to come back. Now, as far as Alien Raiders goes — yeah, I mean I suppose within that genre it’s definitely possible.
UC: Would you come back for a round two because the story doesn’t end man, there’s more to tell?
CB: It always depends on the script, you know, it always depends on the script. Obviously I love the people that did the first movie and it would be a joy to work with them again, but it always depends on the script and whether it makes sense and whether, you know, I think it would be fun to do.
UC: Well, I got to tell you, dude, it was an absolute thrill watching you kick some horror movie ass for a change. That was really cool. And I hope you come back to the genre, man; we’re definitely hungry to see you do a little bit more.
CB: Oh, well thank you. And I really hope — I hope people enjoy it. I think it’s a good little film, and you know, hopefully people will enjoy it.
UC: I think they’ll eat it up. But hey, man, I know you’re insanely busy so wrapping up, thanks so much for your time.
CB: Oh, my pleasure. You take care now.
UC: All right, brother. This is Steve Barton, Uncle Creepy, signing off for Dread Central.
Categorized:Interviews News
