Kane Hodder Talks BTK, Hatchet, and Frozen
Melissa Bostaph
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Kane Hodder has enjoyed a long career delivering some memorable kills and playing fierce monsters and villains. But now it’s his time to step out from behind the mask and enjoy his moment as Kane Hodder, the actor.
Hodder stars in the newly released film BTK, which is based on real-life maniac Dennis Rader who terrorized the Wichita area with a series of killings that haunted Middle America because of the brutal nature behind the crimes (BTK, for those who don’t know, stands for Bind, Torture, Kill).
Hodder, who himself is a true crime aficionado, found the idea of stepping into the shoes of Rader morbidly fascinating.
“A lot of people really liked Dennis Rader so portraying him for BTK had a lot of challenges for me as an actor,” explained Hodder. “I definitely love the scary and fictional stuff – like being a ‘boogeyman’ type of villain, but it’s also kind of cool to do something realistic because here I had to not only be dark and sinister but also had to portray the regular nice guy that Rader was to those who thought they knew him.”
Hodder added, “It fascinates me that people can be as fucked up as Dennis Rader. When he talks about the crimes he committed, it almost sounds like he’s talking about things he saw in a movie or something. That kind of detachment is scary and almost scarier than something like ‘Jason Voorhees.’ This evil really exists and could be right near any of us.”
Just because Hodder has been working in the industry for so long, it doesn’t mean that things have ever just been handed to him. In fact, Hodder spent the first eight years busting his ass and trying to develop a reputation as a reliable stuntman in Hollywood.
It wasn’t until Adam Green’s Hatchet that horror fans had an opportunity to see Hodder step out in front of the camera without any make-up. Green had cast Hodder as Victor Crowley but decided to use him as the elder Crowley as well. This was a first that Hodder relished even after all he had done up to that point in his career.
“I am so lucky that Adam was willing to take a chance on me as an actor,” said Hodder. “Honestly, because of Hatchet, people were finally taking me seriously, especially since I have no acting training whatsoever.”
Hodder added that, “There has always been this stigma that stunt guys can’t act, and I am really lucky that people are finally willing to give me a chance to play the lead in movies. I almost think it’s pretty great that I am coming from the stunt guy side of things because I appreciate everything that much more.”
His hard work has definitely paid off, especially since Hodder finds himself being offered more roles that don’t require hockey masks or prosthetics these days. He finds that both types of performances are difficult in their own ways.
Hodder explained, “Working with or without the use of make-up effects both have their pluses and minuses. While it can be fun to get made up, it can also get tedious spending a lot of time sitting in that chair.”
“On the flipside, just playing a ‘normal’ guy can be really difficult because there’s so much you have to do behind the scenes with running lines and working through your character development too,” Hodder added.
Most recently Hodder joined up with the folks at Ariescope Pictures for Green’s latest feature, Frozen. The film and its shooting conditions pushed both the cast and the crew to their limits.
“Frozen was by far some of the hardest working conditions I have ever faced in my thirty-something years in the business,” said Hodder. “At the same time, it was also a blast to be working with Adam, Cory, and all those guys again from Hatchet. It felt like a reunion, and despite the weather, it was still fun to go to work every day.”
Hodder added, “We had one stunt where a guy was hanging from a chair lift in 15-degree weather and really couldn’t wear thick gloves so his hands froze. It was dangerous, but from what I’ve seen so far from the dailies, everyone’s dedication to Frozen paid off. Some of what Adam wanted to do was pretty amazing stuff.”
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