five with frights:- Michael Berryman
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Mr. Frights recently interviewed horror icon MICHAEL BERRYMAN, who can be seen in films & TV like "The Hills Have Eyes"; "The X-Files"; "Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield"; and "Smash Cut" and much more...
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MR. FRIGHTS: So far, what accomplishment are you most proud of with regards to your body of work?-
MICHAEL BERRYMAN: I am most proud of my role as Owen Jarvis in the "Revelations" episode on
The X-Files. While meeting with
Chris Carter and his production team, I let him know that I was the actor they needed. The story had a personal significance for me. Director,
David Nutter was very happy with the results. My fans have expressed their approval too. It was an honor to be on board. -
MR. FRIGHTS: If you had your choice to work with any horror icons alive today that you haven't worked with yet, who would it be and why?
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MICHAEL BERRYMAN: I would love to work along side of my friend,
Doug Bradley. He has a keen wit and can really bring a performance home.
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MR. FRIGHTS: You've had a great career with lots of work between Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror... is there one that you prefer and why?
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MICHAEL BERRYMAN: All three are wonderful venues for storytelling. I believe the most profound themes are found in these realms. The reason is that we can take the audience out of their daily grind and
immerse them in a different experience and give them new choices.
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MR. FRIGHTS: What are your thoughts on how the newest 3D trend might help or hurt the horror movie genre?
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MICHAEL BERRYMAN: 3D is fine. It can be a lot of fun! Just do it right. If it hurts or helps the horror genre, depends on the quality of the story.
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MR. FRIGHTS: We understand you do important work with charities, can you tell us a bit about it?
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MICHAEL BERRYMAN: Thank you for asking.
Well, as most fans know already; I have lived with the effects of birth anomalies. I believe that health care is critical for a vibrant society. We are our 'Brother's keeper'. If you are 'above ground today', be grateful and go out and cause no harm.
My father was a world-renowned brain-surgeon. He took me on his rounds at Children's Hospital to see kids worse off than me. He was a "Hippocratic-Philanthropist'. I saw first-hand how compassion and professional care saves lives.
The same is true for our home: 'Earth'. There is nothing political about these themes. It is all about humanity. If you are not healing then get out of the way. My early charitable works involved reading for blind college students, raising awareness of endangered species and habitat preservation.
These I learned on my own study and most exquisitely while living for years at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary. Founded by Tonya Carloni, this refugee protects wolves, teaches conservation and we even had President Ford visit us.
I have mentored to schools as a guest speaker for Drug/Alcohol awareness, life choices and self-respect. I have been involved with 'The President's Council for the Disabled', the pre-studies for the 'American's With Disabilities Act'. Karen Christy introduced me to the 'American Cleft-Palate Association'.
While filming 'The Crow', I met Paul Newman, who invited me to join with ' The Bogey Creek Gang' (founded by Paul, Arnold Palmer and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf) and mentor families at his Florida camp. The 'Facial-Cranial Foundation of Florida' and Dr. Paul Warton make this happen. It is a wonderful experience.
Recently, we have joined with 'Sunshine Sanctuary' in California to mentor troubled youth who work with rescued wild horses.
In all, I'll just say this: Go out and serve, make a positive choice, it will feed your soul and make a difference.
Hit the Grab Bag Questions below to go on with the interview...
GRAB BAG QUESTIONS
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MR. FRIGHTS: With regard to the character "Pluto" from "The Hills Have Eyes", what did you draw inspiration from for that role?
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MICHAEL BERRYMAN:
Pluto was fiery and calculating. As a child, I was the same.
Fiery from dealing with bullying and calculating in the sense of staying on task. I have been an avid nature lover and in the role of Pluto, I combined (his) skills to be realistic.
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MR. FRIGHTS: Any scary stories you can share with us from any of the older sets, perhaps some behind the scenes shenanigans?
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MICHAEL BERRYMAN: Well, during the filming of "Hills', the rattlesnake got loose during a lunch break and wandered through the cast/crew! Also, during the trailer attack, I ran a huge wood sliver through my hand when I chopped up the kitchen. We only had one shot at it, so after slow rehearsals of all focus points; once we rolled, we could not stop! I winced when
Wes yelled, "Cut!'.
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MR. FRIGHTS: Can you tell us about the first horror movie you ever saw and what the effect was that it had on you?
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MICHAEL BERRYMAN: Universal Studios gave us the 'Monster Movie'. I saw 'Frankenstein' and loved it! But 'The Wolfman' drew me in very deeply. I found the fear factor to be balanced with the humanity of the sub-story. You see, in real life, I was called a 'Freak, Monster, etc.' I knew the truth and the fear of 'regular' people to be like me. I was a test of their own 'humanity'. Some have it, some don't.
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MR. FRIGHTS: What internal organ do you think is the most disgusting to see sliced open on-screen?
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MICHAEL BERRYMAN: Probably the soul.
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MR. FRIGHTS: What can fans expect next from you?
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MICHAEL BERRYMAN: The future holds many scripts. I hope they get funded so we can make them great films. Just know that I always try to grow with each new role. Get the
DVD for 'Brutal', 'Necrosis', 'Outrage', 'Ed Gein', 'Smash Cut'.
There will be more. So, thank you for the great questions, get some popcorn and go sit down and watch a movie!!
Love to the Fans!!
Michael