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Tony Todd has one of the most recognizable faces (and voices) in horror. He’s starred in classic horror favorites like Candyman and Tom Savini’s remake of Night of the Living Dead, as well as roles in films like Hatchet, Final Destination, and the upcoming horror anthology Immortal.
Horror Geek Life gets the opportunity to talk with Todd about his acting career, his role in Immortal, and his future endeavors.
Horror Geek Life: Let’s first talk about one of the most criminally underrated horror remakes ever, Tom Savini’s Night of the Living Dead. You played the role of Ben, one of the most iconic roles in horror, originally portrayed by Duane Jones. How important was that role to you?
Tony Todd: Well, I grew up watching the original and I remember seeing it at the drive-in theater back at its original release. I remember being so impressed, because up to then I had Sidney Poitier as a role model and he always seemed a little…all due respect, a little goodie-goodie. Duane’s performance was just raw, it was rock-n-roll. What George and the crew did on that was groundbreaking in horror history.
So, I was in Pittsburgh working on a film with Forest Whitaker, and he told me, “Hey man, you know they’re doing a reboot, and you bare a resemblance to Duane.” I remember that next Saturday was my day off and I ran over there, saw Tom, and we ducked and dodged, like two fighters in a heavyweight ring, and I said, “Man, I came downtown, you gotta give me a shot!” and he did, and that’s why he remains one of my best friends to this day. Not only did I get to be creative, but it was my first lead role. It was probably my solo introduction into the horror experience and the passion of the horror fans, and it’s been lifting me my whole career.
HGL: Are there any other iconic horror roles you would have loved to have portrayed sometime in your career, or would still love to portray?
TT: When I was in high school, which is when I discovered acting, the first play I auditioned for, I didn’t get, but the second play was Dracula and I was like, “Oh God!” and I was fucking devastated because of course I didn’t get that role, I got the role of Van Helsing. I remember them saying, “Hey, but he’s the one that talks all the time!” I said, “That don’t mean shit! Dracula gets the girls! What the fuck?”
HGL: I think we’d all kill to see you in a Dracula film.
TT: You know, there’s a theater in Louisville, Kentucky called The Actors Theatre. They actually do an annual production of Dracula. They’ve asked me to do it twice and both times I was busy doing films. But one day, we’ll get it together.
HGL: Let’s talk about some of the lesser-known horror films you pop up in. It’s always a treat to audience to see you. We saw you in films like Hatchet, Hell Fest, and Candy Corn. Even with smaller roles, it adds this new layer of enjoyment and credibility to these films. So, how does it feel knowing that your presence, or even the presence of your voice helps young and upcoming horror directors, and is helping young horror directors raise the bar on their films something you look for when accepting roles?
TT: Well, you know, theater, film, TV, it’s all a community. I’m at the point where if I can help somebody, I’m going to. This isn’t a brain science that we’re doing, this is an enjoyable craft. Unfortunately, it’s only limited to a very small subsect of our civilization, so I don’t want anybody to fail. I want everybody to feel the joy that I’ve experienced over three decades.
Just last night, during one of the first times we were all able to shoot under the current pandemic, I told them, “I hope you guys realize how special this is. This is the first time we’ve all been able to get together, do what we love and hopefully tell a story that people will enjoy.” It is with that spirit, I look at the script first, I look at the role second, I try not to repeat myself, and its got a what I feel, a commercial enough appeal and the price is right, I’ll do it.
HGL: It’s great to see films like Hatchet spawn so many sequels and gain so much cult classic attention out there.
TT: Adam Green is a great young filmmaker and he was a fan first. He was telling me three years before he made it that he was going to make a horror movie. I said, “If you need me to help you, let me know.”
HGL: Moving on to obviously your most famous role, Candyman. It has arguably one of the best-written stories of any of the major slasher films. It almost feels a little too good to be a slasher film. When playing the part, originally written by Clive Barker, did you derive your acting style and inspiration from the source material, like the screenplay or story, or were there other characters that you pulled from, or was it a mixture of both?
TT: It was a little bit of a mashup. What struck me when I read the screenplay was the gothic-ness of it, and the elegance of it. I loosely based it off The Phantom of the Opera in parts, rather than Dracula or Frankenstein. It’s a tragic, behind-the-scenes Phantom of the Opera. Bernard Rose, who adapted the story from Clive Barker, had the genius to transpose it to Chicago in America; he’s another person who’s one of my dear friends. This is a thing for all working filmmakers and young filmmakers, it isn’t a battle. Sometimes people are over-prepared, they come to set and think it’s all about them. Enjoy the experience because the more relationships you have with directors, the more jobs that are going to come your way. It’s easy to be friends because we’re all doing what we love. We’re doing what we love because of the fanbase that you and others represent.
HGL: While we’re on the subject of Candyman, we’ve got Nia DaCosta’s Candyman being pushed back to this October. Is there anything you can talk about regarding your involvement with the film, and how excited are you for the horror community to see it?
TT: I think people are going to be extremely surprised. First-of-all, we have a feminine perspective now. A young, black filmmaker who’s on the rise. She just got plucked to do Captain Marvel 2 based on what she did with this film. It has many, many layers. Jordan Peele wrote and produced it. I was in South Africa working on something when he reached out to me and explained this massive concept. I don’t want to give anything away, because that’s spoiling, but I think people are going to be knocked the fuck out. I got deals and side deals from toy companies, and t-shirt companies; I don’t think that would happen if you only saw me for a second, right?
HGL: You’re teasing us a little here!
TT: Haha! Well, you know I’ve been carrying that character, man. I’m active in the con community. I try not to do the same ones because I like to see the world, and I’ve been carrying Candyman for fuckin’ 30 years! I feel personally responsible for renewing the interest, for the story, and for the legend, and for what the fuck is going to come! I’m like a kid in a candy store. The official date is October 16th, as of this moment.
HGL: Let’s move on to Immortal. It’s a new anthology horror film where each segment involves a character that can’t die. Your segment was a particularly sad one, as you know. We don’t typically get to see this emotionally distraught character too often from you. It was powerful and one of highlights of the film. How were you able to tap into that raw emotion, and do you see yourself taking on more roles likes this?
TT: The lucky thing in the year before this pandemic is, I worked my ass off. There are seven films we have in the can, and I think four of them are going to be dropping between September and October, including Immortal. As soon as I read it, you know, I’m a former cancer survivor so it resonated with the deepness that they wanted for a story like that. Also, I come from the theatre. I’m a trained actor. I have a master’s in theatre, so some people know me as a certain type of character, but my first love is theatre and it was just easy. Robin Bartlett was wonderful to work with and it was just magic. When people finally get to see it, I hope they understand. There’s a lot of anthology fans out there.
HGL: I was about to ask what working with Robin Bartlett was like. She’s a fantastic actor.
TT: She’s great. Sometimes you show up on set and the person you’re working with makes your job easy. Everybody needs to come prepared. Know your lines, when you come to set, young people! Do your homework, okay? Just look at the other person and feed off what they give you. I think that beautiful interplay is what’s evident with Immortal.
HGL: Great advice. You two had amazing chemistry together.
TT: Yeah, and so did Alex, the young Vanessa Lengies, she’s wonderful as well. It was just that we hit gold. The guy that directed that segment actually shot all four segments. So for him, it was his first directorial thing, and we met for lunch at a great restaurant called Langer’s and I just wanted to tell him I was on his side and we were going to make this work. We were able to schedule a couple rehearsals on our own before we shot. This is the difference between what makes something ordinary and something special. You have to invest, alright? If your house is on a shaky foundation, you better get to work on it otherwise your whole building is going to collapse. If you do, you’re going to have a beautiful house. Everything lined up for us…and here’s to all cancer survivors, fuck that damn disease!
HGL: When it comes to your film acting, do you prefer acting in anthology films like Immortal, where your lead acting can be highlighted for a shorter period of time, or do you prefer feature-length films where you can portray a supporting role throughout most of the film?
TT: I just love to act and more importantly, I cherish being asked to act. I’ve been working nonstop for a couple of years now and don’t ever have to worry about it. I know that there’s always going to be a gift. As an only child, who didn’t realize, that my Aunt raised me and we were poor until I was 12, that this is a blessing. Anything I get, and any different ways I get to tell a story, I’m happy to tackle it. We’re doing the new Tales from the Hood 3, from Rusty Cundieff, that’s coming out at the end of October, it’s very, very good! Trust me, they think it’s their best.
HGL: You’ve appeared in several Star Trek series, Babylon 5, Stargate, Andromeda; do you find yourself gravitating more toward sci-fi roles than horror? Do see yourself acting in any new science fiction series?
TT: I can’t predict the future, but I don’t limit myself to any genre. It’s the luck of the draw, you know? Before I finish the script I look at all scripts as being equal, and do I anticipate this is going to be one to knock me on my ass? I’d say I’ve been successful with over 60% of my choices and in Vegas, that’s winning odds.
HGL: Is there a genre that you enjoy acting in more than others?
TT: I just love film! I love telling the story! I wish I had more comedy on my resume. That’s the one thing that I can’t say is loaded, but I’m a funny guy.
HGL: You still have plenty of time!
TT: That’s the whole thing about optimism. This is America. The whole point of our country is that we have the opportunities to do the things we really love. I’m still here right? We’ll see!
HGL: Lastly, you have a lot of upcoming credits for films and show episodes in the next year. Are there any specific ones that you want us to keep an eye out for, or that you’re particularly excited about?
TT: Yeah! Bernard Rose and I worked on a very secret untitled project during this pandemic. I know he doesn’t want me to talk about it much, but the distributors are clamoring for it. We attended a director’s cut that was about three and a half hours. The four leads, myself, Danny Huston, Stephen Dorff, Matthew…nobody left the room. It’s real time, it’s about 12-15 locations, and I don’t want to give away too much, but he told me it’s my best work.
HGL: We know you’re quite active on social media, would you like to tell people where to find you?
TT: Okay, thank you! Just follow me @TonyTodd54 – Tony Todd Official and we’ll see you there!
Immortal is available via On Demand on Sept. 1, courtesy of Stonecutter Distribution. You can check out the official trailer below.
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