Rory Culkin Talks Intruders and More!
The youngest of a notable acting family, Rory Culkin is starting to come into his own. With turns in Scream 4 as the forewarned movie geek, Charlie Walker, and now as an unassuming, dangerously likable teen named Dan Cooper in Adam Schindler’s Intruders, Rory is beginning to make a name for himself in the genre world.
What looks to be his next role to watch for, the death metal biopic Lords of Chaos should be going into production soon with renowned music video director Jonas Äkerlund at the helm. In the following interview, Culkin talks about the progress of that film, the passing of David Bowie and Wes Craven, and how physical his role in Intruders turned out to be.
DC: It’s hard to have a regular conversation after the passing of David Bowie. Were you a fan of his?
RC: I hadn’t listened to a lot of his music, but I love Labyrinth.
DC: “Magic Dance” is hard to forget.
RC: So great.
DC: I thought about Wes Craven passing away, too. That must have been quite sad when you heard of his passing as well.
RC: Yeah, he was just such a nice man. Very quiet, and he will be missed.
DC: Would you say you’re a horror fan?
RC: Yeah, I’m a horror fan. Not as much as I played in Scream, but yeah, I’m pretty into it. I guess Intruders is sort of a horror movie; I didn’t really see it like that when reading it, but that makes sense.
DC: It’s definitely home invasion with a twist, and I think those movies in the horror genre have been coming out over the last few years. So, is Intruders the longest shoot that you’ve had to wear a tie all the way through?
RC: (laughs) Yeah, I was actually watching it last night, and for some reason we went with an over-sized suit. We thought that would be a good idea, and now I don’t really understand our logic.
DC: It makes you look a little more trusting I think.
RC: Yeah, maybe that’s it. It’s to downsize me.
DC: Where was the house you shot in?
RC: We shot it close to Shreveport, Louisiana.
DC: It’s a beautiful property.
RC: I went up in the attic and there were family photo albums and I just went through the whole lineage of this random family. It was kind of crazy.
DC: So, do you think Dan and Anna might still have a chance at a relationship after this movie?
RC: That’s good… Yeah, I think he’ll have like a ten-year break from the ladies.
DC: You definitely take the most abuse in this. Were you pretty drained by the day-to-day on set?
RC: Dude! There was a scene where Martin Starr – you don’t even notice when you watch it – grabs my shirt, and he yells in my face. He kept digging his nails into my chest, and I was just bruised all over. I had to let him know, ‘God, you’re killin’ my tits, man; you gotta chill!’ He was just too into it. I got abused for sure.
DC: Had you seen Martin in comedies or something like Dead Snow 2 where he doesn’t have to be quite as menacing?
RC: Yeah, he was one of the big reasons why I wanted to do this. I’ve always been a big fan of his and sort of followed his career. I’d never seen him do anything like this, but I could always see madness behind his eyes. I wanted to get a front row seat and watch him do his thing, and it was awesome.
DC: Were you interested in the part mostly due to how quickly your characters change because of the unexpected circumstances they find themselves in? Or was it mostly the actors you wanted to work with?
RC: Martin and Beth [Reisgraf] were definitely a bonus and they drew me to it but it was mostly the story. Reading the script, it was just like ‘Oh shit!’ moment after ‘Oh shit!’ moment. I read it in like thirty minutes. It reminded me of the origin story of a fairy tale when you hear that a nice fairy tale is actually based on something really fucked up. That’s what this reminded me of. I’ve always tried to put my finger on which one… I think it’s “Rapunzel.” That shit is metal.
DC: One project I’ve been looking forward to is Lords of Chaos. Is that finally going, and are you planning on doing that?
RC: Yeah, it should be going soon; we’re so ready to get going on that. I’ve been attached for some time now.
DC: I’m surprised something on Mayhem hasn’t been done already.
RC: It’s one of those things where not everybody knows about it, but the people that do just light up when they hear we’re making a movie on it. It’s got a nice following, and I just want do it justice.
DC: I can imagine if Intruders was difficult to be on set for from just wearing you out, I can only imagine that some of the things that you’re gonna have to do in Lords of Chaos are going to be pretty exhausting and challenging.
RC: Yeah, it’s weird. Those people are very cold, and I plan on taking an ice bath every morning… just to put me in shock and make me feel alien. We’ll see how it goes; I’ll let you know.
Intruders is now available in select theaters and also On Demand.
The film stars Beth Riesgraf (“Criminal Minds”), Rory Culkin (Scream 4), Martin Starr (Dead Snow 2, HBO’s “Silicon Valley”), and Jack Kesy (FX’s “The Strain”).
Synopsis:
Panic Room meets You’re Next in this gripping home invasion horror-thriller, full of shocks and surprises. After three criminals, including fan favorite Starr, break into a supposedly empty house, they find themselves in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the occupant (Riesgraf), a shy young woman with a few nasty tricks of her own to play on the invaders.
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