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ARROW: You act and co-produce "The Dead Zone" TV series. What was it about Johnny’s tale that appealed to you? AMH: The first thing was the association to Stephen King. I’m a fan of the film and definitely of Stephen King. I read some of his books and saw a lot of the film adaptations. I particularly loved "The Shining" with Nicholson; it’s a personal favorite of mine. The other thing was the opportunity to work with Michael Pillier, he is one of the more successful figures in television history when you consider was he’s contributed to the Star Trek franchise. He’s also an amazing guy and a very intelligent writer. The scripts for the show are so good and they continue to get better and better. We’re on episode #9 right now and it's really challenging for me as an actor to play this part; it’s a lot of fun. ARROW: Actually, I watched the first episode (called "Wheel Of Fortune") and I got to say that I was really impressed with your performance! AMH: Well, thank you!
AMH: Very cool. ARROW: I wanted to know, what kind of research did you have to do on the side to get into the mind frame of this character? Johnny is, after all, fairly complex. AMH: Good question. I read up on the psychic grounds and continue to read up on it. I educated myself about the supernatural, psychic abilities and all that. I particularly read up on this one guy named Edgar Casey, I don’t know if you’ve heard of him. ARROW: No, I haven’t… AMH: At the beginning of the last century, he was referred to as “The Sleeping Prophet”. He used to give psychic readings in an almost trance-like state. His life in the work was particularly inspirational for me when I was preparing for this because in his career, Edgar Casey gave over 14000 readings in this trance-like state. What he would do was lie down on a couch and give readings to people who would come to him or he would sometimes put them under hypnosis. He was particularly interesting for me. One of the ideas that I got from Edgar Casey's work that was really interesting, it’s a little bit esoteric, but stick with me on this… ARROW: Shoot.... AMH: He had this idea that the spirit of the person is the life, the mind is the builder and the physical is the result. It was a really interesting paradox to acting because as an actor you always have to approach a role physically and mentally. But with this role, it’s also spiritual because Johnny is trying to put his ability to good use. It’s really challenging for me, every show has this tremendous character arch. It’s really a great opportunity and a great role.
ARROW: Did you watch the Cronenberg version with the great Christopher Walken at all or did you purposely avoid it? AMH: I did, I’m a fan of David Cronenberg and liked some of his films. I’m definitely a fan of Chris Walken. The only thing I can say about Chris Walken is: I obviously didn’t want to duplicate anything that he’s done, he’s a one of a kind type of actor. The only thing that I took from him though, was actually related to his costume. He kind of wore this coat in the movie, like an old navy coat with the collar up and he also walked around with a cane and that’s something that I’ve taken from the film. It became part of the look of my costume for the character. So that was really the main thing. ARROW: So what would be the main difference between the style of the show and the style of the movie? AMH: As you’ve seen in the pilot, the show is a lot more dynamic visually in terms of how the audience sees the visions played out. ARROW: Yeah, the director goes "all out" visually: fast motion, slow motion, freeze frame, the whole thing! AMH: Exactly, and as you saw...we’re really trying to invent some techniques here with things that have actually been around for a while. The combination with the CGI work is really impressive. We’re playing with the frame work as you said and working with steady cam a lot. We have this great company called STARGATE that are doing all the effects/ CGI work and they’re incredible. They really kind of make all these things happen. For example, as you saw in the Pilot, the scene where she comes to see me at the hospital and I’m in a wheelchair. We have a conversation and halfway through, the camera (which is on a circular dolly track) moves 180 degrees around and suddenly we see her and she’s at home getting her husband ready while our conversation is never interrupted. We’re continuing to go into that direction and to play with these types of visual effects.
AMH: Well, one character that we haven’t introduced yet is the Stilson character, the Martin Sheen character (Arrow Note: from the Cronenberg movie) who runs for President. It has come up through discussion to bring his character back. I also know for a fact that Michael Pillier has drawn heavily from the characters in the book, actually even more so than in the film. ARROW: What are the most interesting relationships in the show? AMH: The Johnny/Sarah relationship is an interesting relationship because it's got be platonic. She still has feelings for me and I for her but I’m not going to wreck her marriage (she's married to Walt). There’s definitely a love that she has for me and that I have for her there. Also, the character of Walt (Sarah's husband) is very important because we have to work together. In some of the upcoming episodes, you’ll see that it's developed to such an extent that I like to work with him almost like a psychic detective. ARROW: So what has been the hardest scene for you to shoot so far as an actor? AMH: That’s a really good question; I got to think about that…. ARROW: [laughs] AMH: …the storylines have been so different through the 9 episodes and there’s been challenging aspects to every one of these stories. We just finished one recently that’s kind of an homage to “12 Angry Men”: it was a court room drama about a jury deliberating over someone’s murder. That one was really intense because it was kind of like shooting a play where we’re all locked in one room. One thing I can say is that it’s a process of discovery playing a psychic. I’m not psychic but I think that we all have sort of psychic-like inclinations and abilities, we’ve all experienced ESP at some level. I’m learning that I really have to put my whole body and mind into it. It’s a really challenging thing but it’s really more a process of discovery because I don’t always know how I’m going to play it. Sometimes when I go in and play out of these visions, it’s like I'm falling asleep or waking from a dream, sometimes it’s more intensive where it comes on like a headache or something, you know what I mean? ARROW: Yeah, man. AMH: It just varies depending on the storyline. What's really been fun for me is that my work is sort of a bridge to the camera work and the CGI work. So we all have to stay aware of the over lapses, and the transitions in and out of these visions which makes it challenging from an acting and production standpoint. ARROW: Last question, in three words what can people expect from this series?
AMH:
Ok, I’ll give you a 4-word answer…. ARROW: Go ahead… AMH: Cutting edge, breakthrough, television. That’s what we want to do. ARROW: Very kool, thanks a lot for your time Anthony. AMH: Thank you John, I really appreciate it. -------------------- I'd like to thank Anthony for his time, he gained my coveted OCA title through this interview, which means for the non-initiated: One Class Act. It's always groovy for me to talk to a star with no pretenses, it makes my job so much more pleasant and easier. As for the show, I actually checked out the first episode called "Wheel Of Fortune" and it was pretty decent. The show's highest cards were without a doubt the slick directing, the love story and Anthony Michael Hall kicking bootie as the main player. If you're a TV fiend or a Stephen King nut, you might want to check this out. I predict a good run for this show. Read my interview with The Dead Zone's DAVID OGDEN STIERS here |
Another
Stephen King TV adaptation is on the genre block and this time it's
a second rendition of THE DEAD
ZONE (David
Cronenberg did a film version of the book starring Christopher
Walken as Johnny in 1983). The series premieres on
Sunday June 16, 2002 and it will air every Sunday at 10 PM ET/PT on
the USA Network. Arrow recently had the chance to ask
THE DEAD ZONE
star Anthony Michael Hall wassup with the show, and here's what he
had to say.
More Interviews with the Arrow...
Crawl back to the Arrow in the Head Homestead...
© John
Fallon 2002 All Rights Reserved JoBlo.com
