The Man Behind the Beast: I Was a Teenage Werebear’s Anton Troy
/jul11/newchills.jpg
With the highly anticipated horror comedy anthology Chillerama finally hitting Blu-ray and DVD this week and his top-secret mockumentary about to exclusively premiere on Dread Central very soon, hot up-and-coming actor Anton Troy surely has a lot of things to talk about. As a result we’re excited to present our exclusive interview with the star of Tim Sullivan’s segment of Chillerama, “I Was A Teenage Werebear”.
What do we need to know about Anton Troy?
Anton Troy: Well, I’m an actor in the horror anthology film ‘Chillerama’. Which is a great deal of fun. I’m very passionate about my art. I try to bring a level of humanity to all of my portrayals.
How did you get involved with Tim’s segment of the movie?
AT: I got involved through Gabby West, who’s also in the movie; she’s the winner of ‘Scream Queens 2’. They were having troubles finding the right bad boy for the part and I sorta fit the bill. I originally auditioned for Ricky, the other part, and then we found out that Talon was the right role for me. I got the part at the last minute.
Are you glad you did?
AT: Absolutely, I really believe in the project. I like the message of acceptance in the film even though it’s a horror comedy musical. It definitely was quite a ride, working with Sean and Tim. It’s one of those things I’m gonna look back on very fondly.
Did you sing before that?
AT: I did. But it’s a funny story how I got involved with ‘Chillerama’. The day of the audition my friend calls me in the morning and goes, ‘Hey, can you audition for this thing Gabby’s in? They want you to play a gay character, to sing, to see you shirtless and for you to read for two parts. And it’s in like 4 hours!’ So I freaked out, but it was an opportunity that I couldn’t let pass. It was a challenge, and I like challenges, so I went and did it. I got to do my nerdish take on every Elvis thing I’ve ever seen growing up ‘cause I’m an Elvis buff.
What was the hardest thing about the movie?
AT: The heat! It was so hot. I was wearing like 2 cans of hairspray a day and a leather jacket that was like 20 pounds; it was really heavy. I felt like Arnold Schwarzenegger. It definitely created the persona, but it was hot as balls. Also working on a tight schedule made us pack a lot in five days.
How did you get this chemistry with Sean Paul Lockhart, your on-screen love interest? Did you click right away?
AT: Sean and I had very good chemistry to begin with. Sean also had a little bit of a say on who he wanted to pick. They had already cast another actor for Talon, but his mother pulled him out when she learned Sean was in the movie. That’s how I got the opportunity to play the part. I didn’t get the Ricky part ‘cause I didn’t have this innocent charm he has.
Which is weird. Sean Paul Lockhart is also known as ex-porn star Brent Corrigan.
AT: Totally weird [laughs]. It was great working with Sean. I would challenge him, he would try to challenge me back a little. We had this friendly competition going on. We complemented each other well.
What was your first feeling when you finished reading the script?
AT: Scared to death [laughs]. I thought it was really funny and very clever. A lot of people didn’t quite understand it when they first read it. And when you see it – you would tend to find it’s really playful. Like there’s a shower rape scene. I was terrified to do it, but on screen it’s much funnier than I expected. When I got to the set, about the second day into filming, I finally understood the tone of the piece and Tim’s humor.
Are you happy with the movie?
AT: I’m very happy. I’m especially happy with its induction into ‘Chillerama’. It’s so much bigger when you put all 4 movies together. It becomes a really epic love letter to generations of B cinema and all these things that inspired pop culture and the world we’re living in today. I’m very proud of it and what I did in it.
Would you like to do more horror movies in the future?
AT: I’m definitely interested, but it has to be the right venue, it has to be the right piece. I’m not a huge fan of torture horror movies. And I’ve been educating myself on horror recently. Not only have I been doing a lot of research on the great movies the ‘Chillerama’ directors have done but on the genre in general. I wanted to know what inspired these films in ‘Chillerama’, and it got me looking at the original ‘Wolf Man’ movie, ‘American Werewolf in London’, ‘I Was a Teenage Werewolf’, etc. I have a lot more respect for the genre now.
What would the perfect role for you be? Elvis?
AT: Ha! I don’t think I can play Elvis, he’s been played so many times. He’s one of those holy grails, it’s impossible to play him in his full glory. I’d love to do some thrillers, some action, some drama. I think I play well into this anti-hero type — when I play those characters with a little more edge. Perfect example: I read for Ricky, was cast as Talon. It’s like, ‘You’re great but a little too dark’. So if people want to see me as this bad boy, cool, I’ll bear that cross.
Are you a bad boy in real life?
AT: The thing is that I’m kinda like a big teddy bear. Not a werebear [laughs]. I think I’m really nice, most people who work with me would say I’m easy to work with. I’m all about excellence, I really wanna do a great job, not just for ego purposes, but I wanna contribute something worthwhile. I know I have that darkness within me. I grew up without a dad, I had a lot of anger and I had to find a way to release that and transmute it into something else. That’s originally what acting became to me: It was a sort of cathartic way to exorcise my demons and deal with my feelings. I understand the mentality of the characters I play, even if it’s not who I am in my daily life.
Once Talon is in his werebear-mode, it’s another actor playing him. Are you sad about it?
AT: I was a little jealous I didn’t get to wear make-up, but I don’t know about the assless chaps [laughs]. But I got to wear the fangs although they were such a pain in the ass to keep in on set because they didn’t have time to custom fit them to me so they had to put them in my mouth with clay. I had to wear them like that for 20 minutes at a time, my mouth would get dry and if I’d move them, I’d lose them and would be a toothless werebear. Like a hillbilly werebear.
What was the craziest scene to shoot?
AT: The beach scene where we spoof Bo Derek’s epic scene from ‘10’, Sean runs towards Gabby into me and we fall to the ocean.
How was it like sharing the stage with Robby Vinton, Bobby Vinton’s son?
AT: That was really cool, I’m not gonna lie. The fact that I got to be backed by Robby Vinton’s band gives me street credit now.
Do you consider doing some real singing in the future?
AT: I definitely would, I always wanted to sing. I love Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Elvis, Kiss, heavy rock. I would like to do another musical. And I’d like to thank ‘Chillerama’ for scaring the shit out of me and making me sing in the movie. It’s always good to push you out of your comfort zone.
How do you think the general public will receive Chillerama?
AT: I personally think it’s gonna be a classic. I think we’re gonna piss a lot of people off and a lot of people are gonna enjoy the fact that we piss a lot of people off. I do think it’s gonna be well received. Especially among the people who love cinema and love to get together to watch these B movies. Like in my life I missed out on a lot of the drive-in movie experience, so movies like this can tell me how it felt to be there. I have only been to a drive-in once and it was awesome, you turn on the radio in your car, there are multiply screens – you can get the ‘Pokemon’ movie on one screen and tits on the other one [laughs].
What are your memories about your debut movie Filth to Ashes, Flesh to Dust, which also came out this fall?
AT: It was my first ever feature and it’s a good old campy low budget teenage-out-to-woods slasher in the style of ‘Friday the 13th’.
Can you release any more details on your short mockumentary that Dread Central will premiere soon? And what’s next for you?
AT: Okay, okay. Due to the nature of ‘Chillerama’ being a horror/comedy/spoof, I thought it be very fitting to do a spoof documentary based on my semi-fictional experience after the film. I have been dragging my producing partner Roy Tighe with his camera around with me to all the events I have attended to bring fans who want even more Chillerama laughs exactly that! Done in the vein of a Waiting for Guffman, expect hilarious cameos from Tim Sullivan, Adam Rifkin, Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Sean Paul Lockhart and other key cast members and celebrities. It is a short that we are producing entirely for the Internet, and I am very excited to be debuting it right here on Dread Central very soon. As far as what’s next you will just have to stay tuned…
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Chill out in the comments section below!
Categorized:
