Vampire Ball Report VI: Brian Thompson and Brody Hutzler Q & A
Brian Thompson and Brody Hutzler’s Q & A
BT: You have a lot of free time as a bit actor - because of the Screen Actors Guild, he has a pension. He likes surfing. “If there was a possibility to create a character arc - to really own a character and send it through the gauntlet, I would love a chance at that.” He said that with regard to income, there is a “marginal rate of utility” for happiness. In the US, it is $50,000 - $150,000. You can get a place to live, health insurance, and savings. Happiness per dollar after that is less.
Asked how he got his role in “The Expendables”, he said that when he was 25, he took a year out of college. They wanted someone who was 35. He went for the job anyway. He was nervous, feeling, “I just met Rocky!” The screen test was the biggest production he’d ever been on! And when his agent phoned to say he’d got the role, “it was a big dogpile!”
Both were asked about their best and worst performances.
BH: The worst was “Saved by the Bell”; the best was “Angel.”
BT: “I keep flipping - whatever it is. I’m looking for something I haven’t seen before.
BH: This wait for the last series of ‘Game of Thrones’ has been in-fucking-terminable!”
BT: If he got a film that was a great piece of literature … “until then, I keep flicking.”
Brian’s favourite role in sci-fi was in the X-Files [as Alien Bounty Hunter]. He wants to play a cerebral character - “Yoda! Yoda’s big brother!” But he got fed up of having to stab people in the neck. “I’m not a prop for your violence.” There was a drama about having his hair cut. They weren’t supposed to cut much off, but they did. He’d received two scripts, and found he had no lines. He’d been promised that his character would be fully fleshed-out. So he went in a demanded some lines and in the second episode he got them, and his character grew from that.
The comedy film “¡Three Amigos!” had the best catering, and was a fantastic giggle.
He commented on the contrasting characters of Chevy Chase and Steve Martin; he saw Chevy Chase asking a crowd, “Which do you like best - “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” (which starred his co-star in “¡Three Amigos!” - Steve Martin) or “Caddyshack” (which starred himself.) He said it showed the difference between an people who want to tell the best story, and those who just want attention.
BT and BH would both like to do a Western.
BT was in a film in which a stuntman was killed in a helicopter crash. It’s the nearest he’s been to anything that felt like a war zone.
BH: Stunt fighting is stressful; if people aren’t paying attention, someone will get hurt.
BT: “Jean-Claude Van Damme can’t remember choreography - they had a fight scene, and “the actor’s high, out of his mind, and swinging a sword.” [This was probably in “The Order.”]
BT has had 5 roles in Star Trek. “For a kid … this show that was iconic to my childhood … that was the most satisfying!” He was very excited! “I’m in Star Trek! Again!”
BH enjoyed being on “Days of our Lives.” He would like to play an action hero, or someone like MacGyver.
BT would like to play a guy who believes he has no enemies.
BH would love to live here [London, England, or the UK] for a while. He feels at home. “It’s nice to be some place where there’s some culture, and some history.”
BT: You have a lot of free time as a bit actor - because of the Screen Actors Guild, he has a pension. He likes surfing. “If there was a possibility to create a character arc - to really own a character and send it through the gauntlet, I would love a chance at that.” He said that with regard to income, there is a “marginal rate of utility” for happiness. In the US, it is $50,000 - $150,000. You can get a place to live, health insurance, and savings. Happiness per dollar after that is less.
Asked how he got his role in “The Expendables”, he said that when he was 25, he took a year out of college. They wanted someone who was 35. He went for the job anyway. He was nervous, feeling, “I just met Rocky!” The screen test was the biggest production he’d ever been on! And when his agent phoned to say he’d got the role, “it was a big dogpile!”
Both were asked about their best and worst performances.
BH: The worst was “Saved by the Bell”; the best was “Angel.”
BT: “I keep flipping - whatever it is. I’m looking for something I haven’t seen before.
BH: This wait for the last series of ‘Game of Thrones’ has been in-fucking-terminable!”
BT: If he got a film that was a great piece of literature … “until then, I keep flicking.”
Brian’s favourite role in sci-fi was in the X-Files [as Alien Bounty Hunter]. He wants to play a cerebral character - “Yoda! Yoda’s big brother!” But he got fed up of having to stab people in the neck. “I’m not a prop for your violence.” There was a drama about having his hair cut. They weren’t supposed to cut much off, but they did. He’d received two scripts, and found he had no lines. He’d been promised that his character would be fully fleshed-out. So he went in a demanded some lines and in the second episode he got them, and his character grew from that.
The comedy film “¡Three Amigos!” had the best catering, and was a fantastic giggle.
He commented on the contrasting characters of Chevy Chase and Steve Martin; he saw Chevy Chase asking a crowd, “Which do you like best - “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” (which starred his co-star in “¡Three Amigos!” - Steve Martin) or “Caddyshack” (which starred himself.) He said it showed the difference between an people who want to tell the best story, and those who just want attention.
BT and BH would both like to do a Western.
BT was in a film in which a stuntman was killed in a helicopter crash. It’s the nearest he’s been to anything that felt like a war zone.
BH: Stunt fighting is stressful; if people aren’t paying attention, someone will get hurt.
BT: “Jean-Claude Van Damme can’t remember choreography - they had a fight scene, and “the actor’s high, out of his mind, and swinging a sword.” [This was probably in “The Order.”]
BT has had 5 roles in Star Trek. “For a kid … this show that was iconic to my childhood … that was the most satisfying!” He was very excited! “I’m in Star Trek! Again!”
BH enjoyed being on “Days of our Lives.” He would like to play an action hero, or someone like MacGyver.
BT would like to play a guy who believes he has no enemies.
BH would love to live here [London, England, or the UK] for a while. He feels at home. “It’s nice to be some place where there’s some culture, and some history.”