‘The Toxic Avenger’ Star Elijah Wood Talks Toxie And Making Movie Magic With Friends
Macon Blair’s The Toxic Avenger has finally been unleashed onto the world, and it boasts a stellar cast, including Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon, and the iconic Elijah Wood. The ensemble cast comes together to craft a gonzo yet heart-warming tale about fighting the man with a mythical mop. While Dinklage owns the screen as our titular hero, Wood practically steals the show as the villainous Fritz, a henchman with big dreams.
We got to sit down with Wood to discuss this new take on a Troma classic, playing in The Toxic Avenger sandbox, and the magic of making movies with your friends.
Dread Central: Congrats on The Toxic Avenger! I remember seeing this at Fantastic Fest two years ago and having a blast watching it on the big screen with everybody. How do you feel about it all coming out finally? I mean, everyone must feel so, pardon me, fucking excited to finally get this sucker out in the world.
Elijah Wood: I’m so unbelievably pumped. It’s been a long road for us. But it finally found the right distributor after Legendary sort of took an unbelievable shot on this and poured their resources into a Troma remake, which is fucking amazing. It took a minute to find the right partner, but it finally did. And Cineverse is amazing. I mean, they’re releasing it wide. I think it’s on over 2000 screens
DC: That’s so cool, though. I know everyone always says horror is back, but this just shows the endurance of horror.
EW: It’s really important for this movie. As you know, these kinds of movies are made for audiences. And having seen it at Fantastic Fest, that’s part of the thrill, sharing this with a group of people in a cinema as the absurdity and over-the-top cartoonish gore slams you in the face. You want to see that with a crowd. It makes it so much more electric and fun. So we are all beyond thrilled that it’s finally coming out on so many screens.
DC: I love how much heart this movie has. People don’t realize that. Yes, it’s a horror movie, but there’s also so much empathy and love in this one. I’m hoping a new generation may get to find these weird, cool amalgamations of emotions.
EW: Yeah, totally. I mean, even the original, too, is an underdog story. It’s like a kid who’s picked on that finally gets to have his day with the bullies. There are environmental messages in that film. This film is sort of a father-son story that is very real and very much the beating heart of the film, whilst also having real things to say in a mix of wild absurdity. There’s commentary on pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies and beating people down and the environment as a whole, and it’s also an underdog story. But it’s also couched in this really fun, ridiculous package that’s absurd and funny and very violent.
DC: Hell yeah, we love that. But your character has a lot of prosthetics, probably more than you would think. How long were you in the chair?
EW: It’s actually been a while. It’s been so long. I don’t remember what the process was in terms of length of time. It was probably an hour and 40, I think. It was primarily a headpiece.
But that transformation is so fun. I was signing up for that. When I was given the script from Macon, it came with a piece of concept art, a drawing of what Fritz was supposed to look like. And it’s very much where we ended up going with the character, which was a blast. I mean, to be given a character where I could transform in such a way, I was thrilled. So whatever it was ultimately going to take, I was stoked about it. I don’t often get that opportunity.
DC: I was going to say! A lot of the movies you’ve been in, you’ve been yourself, which is great. But it’s got to be so cool to literally put on not a new face necessarily, but a new vibe entirely and get to transform physically into something different.
EW: It’s so much fun. It was an absolute blast.
DC: How was that set? Was the set incredible?
EW: The set was a blast. It was an amazing sandbox. It all sort of descends from Macon. Macon is a delightful, wonderful human being
He’s one of those filmmakers who, when people work with him, they’ll work with him for life. And that’s how I feel. I mean, I was in his first film that he directed, I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore. From there on out, I was like, “I will do anything for this person”.
I love him. I love his work, I love his voice. I’ll do anything. So when this came around, I was like, “I’ll do whatever”. And then it happened to be Fritz, so I was like, “This is even better”. I get to play such a fun character, and I get to disappear into this character.
But yeah, I mean, the atmosphere on set, to your point, was a total blast. We were playing in this fun sandbox. The set design was amazing and fun and over the top, certainly a slight twist on reality, and all of the characters, these bizarre, fun, wild characters. So to get to play in that space for a couple of months in the heat of the Bulgarian summer was a blast. It was great.
DC: Filmmaking with your friends is just the best ever.
EW: It really is.
The Toxic Avenger is out now in theaters.
Categorized: Interviews
