INT: Andrew Divoff

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The Arrow
interviews Andrew Divoff

Of
all the people that I’ve interviewed, Andrew Divoff has always
been a favorite. He’s the perfect
blend of talented actor and good businessman, and always a
pleasure to have him on.
Welcome back to the page,
dude! Andrew has a new blood drenched/tit-filled movie coming up called
“Faust”, so I thought it
might be kool for him to drop
by and talk about it with you all. Here’s how it went down.

1- Your
upcoming flick “Faust” is based on a popular comic
book which is itself based on a classic tale. Care to give a
short description of the storyline for the uninitiated?

The film was written by David
Quinn. David’s words along with the artistry of Tim Vigil are
responsible for the
comic-book named FAUST from which the film was developed. The
comic-book in turn, is
inspired by Goethe’s FAUST wherein Faust makes a deal with the
devil for his soul…well, as we all
know, a deal is a deal and payback time always comes around!
The comic-book version is quite graphic and sexually explicit.
I think Bryan Yuzna’s version is very faithful to the comic
and truly pushes the envelope of what you might expect. The
hero of the cinematic version is one John Jaspers played
heroically by Marc Frost, who I must say was a great guy and a
consummate pro and leader on the set. Jaspers’ alter ego who
appears in his altered fantasies as FAUST is the ultimate
tragic hero. M, played by yours truly was a trip to experience
both on set and off- I mean come on, can you
imagine a six foot tall pale albino from hell walking around
at Christmas with his hands buried in his coat on the roman
catholic streets of Barcelona? Suffice it to say I got much
more than my share of attention.

2-
You’ve got quite a female cast at your side. What can you say
about the ladies in this film?

Dr. Jade de Camp, the
psych/love interest to Jaspers/Faust was played by Isabel
Brook who besides being a great actress, is really sexy and is
really a great lady. Monica Van Campen, who was a great Claire
was also very brave with her character. I was amazed at her
inner fortitude. I must say, both ladies were brave with their
work in some very tough situations which although they only
last a few seconds on film, are often just pure hell to shoot.
Again, I’ll wrap this one up by saying that the flick is a
great rush and the soundtrack really helps.

3- Every
actor has a technique before a scene to get in character. Let’s
take the exciting conclusion for example. What did you do
before tackling the scene to get in full M mode?

I like the question because you
ask about preparation for a particular scene as opposed to the
prep for the whole
character-in other words, you’ve made it easier for me. First
of all, we have to mention
the total make-up and wardrobe of the character which helps
immensely in the preparation-external prep.- then you’ve got
your alone time, away from the writers, the director, the
cameramen or the lighters-internal prep. My favorite moment in
the movie was filmed in M’s den, by the fire-I like the simple
intensity of the scene. My preparation for that one was simply
to show up before anyone else on the set and sit there in that
leather chair. More than anything my prep before a scene is
trusting that when action is called the character will answer.

4- You’ve
dealt with effects before with “Wishmaster”, but
this flick has twice the amount of visual trickeries than the
latter. Did the heavy effects make the acting process harder?

I
think in this case the effects were helpful, at least for me.
It allowed me to use my imagination more. I was lucky to have
worked in the genre before and pretty much knew what I had
coming to me. For actors who are new to the genre it is very
confusing. This was not the case with our cast as we had bonded and felt more like a troupe of gypsies whose act was
booked in and around Barcelona for a couple of months.

5- I have to
ask. What was the film shot on? It did seem like hi-fi digital
at some points…

The film was shot in 35 but
there were bits and pieces from all mediums, including hi-fi
digital.

6-
There’s also a lot of female nudity in this flick. Did
all that female skin distract you every now and then? Flub a line, perhaps?

As I mentioned before, the film
was faithful in all aspects to the graphic nature of the
comic. There is no question that the cast of the film was a
sexy one and there was indeed, on everyone’s part, a sort of
giddy excitement at being on set during some of the racier
scenes. On the day however, the set or sets were tightened up
allowing only those directly involved with the scene to be
there. Invariably it comes down to trust and that was
something we ( the cast ) definitely had as well as respect
for each other’s space.

7- Can the
word “sequel” be plausible in respect to Faust?

I do think
that there is a possibility of a sequel to be produced
by Filmax in Barcelona. FAUST was the first outing of a
challenging schedule which included 7 films to be produced by
Julio Fernandez and Brian Yuzna under the banner of “The
Fantastic Factory”. There are still 3 films to be shot
before the schedule is complete and they can consider the
possibility of sequels and new projects.

8-
Was it the first time that you had bleached your hair? How long did it
take once the flick wrapped for you to change it back to its
original color?

This was the first time I’ve
bleached my hair and it was quite a trip. I’ve already
mentioned the looks it got on the street, I did not feel any
compunction to hide it and went about my usual (day off)
business. The physical effect it had on my hair was the worst
part. My hair grows pretty quickly and therefore had to be
bleached 5 times in two months in order to hide the darker
roots. Toward the end of the shoot I would rake a comb through
my hair and it would break off at about marine haircut length.
As for the second part of your question, on the last day
(night) of shooting we shot the scene involving introducing
the snake to Jeffrey Combs-who was a blast to work with- as he
kneels, waiting in the pit during the climax of the film. At
the beginning of the evening I told Quim Grau -who did a
superb job on hair throughout the film, that as soon as wrap
was called I wanted the rest of the hair cut off to match what
had already broken and would like to have it dyed back to its
original color before getting on the plane home. I realized at
that moment just what a powerful influence a simple thing like
hair color can have.

9-
Any other projects in the works?

I’ve got two projects
right now which I am helping to get off the ground and which I
will participate in as an actor. They are both
suspense/thrillers. I will keep you posted on their progress.
I’ve got to put a word in for a film I made last October in
New Brunswick, Canada. It’s called “Blue Hill
Avenue”, it was directed and written by Craig Ross and
has a great cast including William Forsythe and Clarence
Williams III. In a phrase, it’s ‘Boys in the Hood’ meets ‘Once
upon a time in America’. It should be out by September.

10-
Typecasting is very common in Hollywood and it’s hard to break
out of. You’ve played
“the villain” countless times. My question is: will
we ever see Andrew Divoff in a romantic comedy? I’d pay to see
that!

I would love to do a
romantic comedy, it will undoubtedly have to be a project
initiated by me for the
reasons you have mentioned- I’m ever the optimist. BEST
WISHES!!! ADD

I’d like to thank Andrew for
his time and the pictures that he let me use from his official
site. If you
guys want to know more about “Faust” you can check
out the film’s official site here.
Do brush up on your Spanish though. I have seen
“Faust”
and all I can say is: Abla gore, TNA, Divoff? Si senor si…dos
tequilla sunrise per favore…gracias…have a blast guys!