INT: Anthony Michael Hall

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The Arrow
interviews
Anthony Michael Hall

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.

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!

ARROW: You
were really the anchor, for me anyways, that kept me into the game
the whole way.

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.

ARROW: One
question a lot people are wondering is how close to the book is the
series going to stay? Is it going to deviate?

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.