Exclusive: Star Andy Powers Talks Clown
Staci Layne Wilson
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Ever been in tight, too-warm, itchy, or just plain uncomfortable clothes? All you can think about is the end of the day when – finally! – you can take the damn things off. Now imagine not being able to take the outfit off. Ever.
That’s what happens to Kent (Andy Powers) after he dons a dusty old clown costume to entertain the kids at his son’s birthday party. The frilly polyester collar clings like a noose, the fright wig is truly frightening as it fuses to his own hair, and the red nose morphs with his own so tightly he can hardly breathe.
If that wasn’t terrifying enough, the threads, hairs, and fibers of the cursed costume get under his skin, causing Kent to become a killer.
That’s what the horror movie Clown is about, and for an actor it’s an undeniably meaty role – pun intended – but it was very challenging as well. We caught up with the man inside the clown, and here’s what he had to say.
Dread Central: Looking at your resume, it’s a bit of a surprise to see you in Clown – you’re not a so-called “horror actor.” What was your attraction to starring in this rather gruesome and gory film?
Andy Powers: I knew the director, Jon Watts, here in New York for a while, and so when he called me in, I kind of knew it was a horror movie. But the sides were just so weird, and I’m always attracted to things like that. I could tell it wasn’t your typical sort of slasher flick. During the audition I was really excited with the chance to play something that evolved through physical changes. You know, it’s a real challenge to do that because you have to be aware of the nuances of each moment and not overplay your hand too soon. It takes a lot of preparation. But the thing that really sold me on it more than anything was that in the audition with Jon, he cited the movie Howard the Duck. He asked me if I’d ever seen the movie Howard the Duck. That was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid; it’s a guilty pleasure of mine, and so he and I started to warm up each other. I did the impression Jeffrey Jones did as the Dark Overlord, and that was it.
DC: Kent doesn’t start out evil. Is that something you especially liked?
AP: He was a tragic character. He’s the man who really loved his family; he loved the life he had, and I think what I brought to him was just sort of that recognition that an innocent person and everything was being stripped away. This is something that began as the best of intentions. Seemingly a really, really good person suddenly starts to experience very, very dark instincts and needs, and that’s tragic because it’s one thing to be horrified by an outside thing, but it’s another to be horrified by yourself, you know what I mean?
DC: Yeah, you can see that in your performance. Even when he’s killing, you feel sorry for him.
AP: Yeah, it’s sad because he’s as horrified and disturbed by what’s happening as the viewer. Usually we see a villain that relishes his activities, but to see a villain that does things that are grotesque and vulgar and bloody but that he’s not relishing – at all – is totally different. I think it’s a unique take on a horror movie. It’s pretty awesome.
DC: You, Laura Allen, and Peter Stormare look like you’ve been acting together forever. Did you have a lot of time to rehearse?
AP: It wasn’t a huge budget so we didn’t have a lot of time to get to know each other beforehand. But Laura is great. And Peter, he shows up just ready to rock. He is insane in all the best ways. You know, you meet him, and the first thing you want to do is have a beer and talk about all the crazy stuff you think about the film, and he seems to be the kind of guy that is just 100% on board for the experience of being an actor. And he’s so much fun.
DC: We talked to him about Clown also, and he really does seem to have great enthusiasm. (Read our interview with Peter and Laura here.)
AP: Absolutely. One of the first scenes we shot together was the scene in the car wreck, and that’s about him being all beaten up and then dragged out of the car and thrown on top of the car and… you know, he’s a little long in the tooth. I don’t want to out his age or anything, but he’s a little long in the tooth to be doing that kind of physicality, and he took it like a pro hockey player. He loved it, and that’s the thing that I had so much fun with… he loved doing that stuff! Between takes he kept having to fill his mouth with this blood; he’s sitting there with a mouthful of fake blood, and he’s laughing. But he’s laughing in order to get himself into the spirit of the scene. So I was waiting, sort of like focused, and I hear the A.D. say, “Ready in five,” and I hear Peter Stormare go, “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha,” getting himself into character. It was just awesome, and he’s a sweetheart.
DC: For the jaded horror fan who might think this is just another killer clown movie – not that there’s anything wrong with that! – what do you say?
AP: Just to accept the fact that it’s not a movie that will automatically tell you how to feel or exactly what situation you’re in. If you think about horror movies, so often they’re formulaic and you’re in this situation with the high school kids that are being chased by some mindless creature in a mask and a machete or you’re being hunted by an unfeeling alien or something like that. It doesn’t work that way. I think what they’ll like about it is that everything is unexpected. At times it is funny, and it’s funny in ways that’s a little disturbing to you because of the subject matter, you know what I mean? If you just can suspend your disbelief for a second and really accept that this suit makes him into a dangerous serial killer, the rest of the film is totally plausible, sad at the same time, and funny because he is a clown.
Clown Release Details:
Dimension Films and Anchor Bay Entertainment are proud to present the home video release of the Eli Roth (Knock Knock, Hostel franchise) produced horror/thriller CLOWN, a unique, frightening, and disturbing take on evil clowns, on August 23rd on Blu-ray and DVD. Directed by Jon Watts, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher Ford, the film stars Peter Stormare (Fargo), Laura Allen (TV’s “All My Children,” “The 4400”) and Elizabeth Whitmere (The Last Hitman).
CLOWN is a story of a loving father who dons a clown outfit and makeup to perform at his son’s sixth birthday, only to later discover that the costume – red nose and wig included– will not come off and his own personality changes in a horrific fashion. To break the curse of the evil outfit, the father must make grim choices with his own family facing danger.
Categorized:News
