This past week I got to interview actor Christopher McDonald. Most of us would recognize him as SHOOTER!!! from Happy Gilmore, man that movie was classic!! But McDonald also has a new movie that is now available on DVD, titled SPLINTERHEADS, so make sure you watch that hilarious comedy when you get the chance. He also talked about his career, his connection to the geek world, o and he revealed that he’s going to star in BALLS TO THE WALLS to be directed by Penelope Spheeris who helmed Wayne’s World and The Black Sheep.
McDonald will also be making a directorial debut, production will start later this year. So check out the full interview after this jump…
RS: For my readers who haven’t seen SPLINTERHEADS, what can you tell us about the movie?
CM: The story is about a carnival.. a story about a young man who’s basically a slacker, he has a dead end job, mowing lawn and with his friend. He’s a nice enough kid.. ya know, no direction. Carnival comes to town and Splinterheads are the people who are like in this case is a guy who goes ‘hey yo, you skinny guy you can throw any stuff’ basically separate the people from their money. They’re Carnies without really the legit carnie job of giving away stuffed bears and things like that. So it’s what happens when he meets this girl who’s part of this carnival and the journey he takes with her through all this kind of contentiousness through her boyfriend who works at the carnival, and how he stumbles upon her and how they go Geocaching, which is chasing these little ventures and with GPS signs, so you can find them and add little something, take a little something back.
So the subplot being the only cop in this town is very angry, got a chip on his shoulder and he finds out the chip is being caused by this kid who lied to his mother, who I’m in love with and you find out there’s a reason behind this madness, so you’re just trying to figure the whole town out. It was a fun part for me to play, Lea Thompson played my love interest, this new guy named Thomas Middleditch played a great, he’s the guy who doesn’t know what he wants in his life and the beautiful Rachel Taylor played the girl Galaxy that steals his life away and turns his life around
RS: What attracted you to the project, playing the character Sargeant Bruce Mancuso
CM: A lot of different reasons, for the most part, I love playing cops (laugh) no just kidding.. I love the power (laugh) I heard that they had written it with me in mind, so that was flattering.. plus the town where I grew up, or the next town over, I never shot there so it’d be a great reason to go back, the timing was perfect. Lea Thompson was a friend who’s gonna be in it. Frankie Faison was in it and the only big question mark was the new writer/director and I met him and I was very impressed with his take and his writing and I thought ‘we’ll have a good movie here’, it was really delightful to do it, was a fun character, one I really hadn’t played before, but one that I put my spin on, it was nice. And the people involved were very very good, everyone was there for the right reason.
Which is sometimes you got on these big movies and people start to do so much complaining because they’re so used to getting all this crazy money for doing very little but when they have to work ‘o can you believe the hours we have..’ I mean c’mon.. it’s guerilla filmmaking, that’s why I kinda love the independent film world and I always support it.
RS: You are also a stage actors as well as a film and TV actor.. which medium do you enjoy more than the other? What’s the challenge on each?
CM: The great thing about being stage actor is that it really is the actors’ medium, they carry the ball from the opening curtain to the final curtain. In film, everything is set out of sequence so the challenge is to make sure you have the arc of your character right. There’s something great about doing the same material every night with a new audience cause that’s makes it different every night. And there’s something great about doing it just 3 to 5 to 7 takes and being almost done with it but knowing that you’re building your character while you’re making the movie. So what’s great about my career is that I get the chance to do both comedies and drama in both these mediums and television as well that allows me to break it up and do all this… I studied a lot in England,.. in the States for the longest time if you did Television, you’re a television actor, but that’s not so much anymore, so they’re doing more of the English sensibility of it’s ok to acting as acting and you just do it anywhere, except for soaps I think, I don’t know (laugh)
RS: You have a very impressive career going back to Grease 2.. what was the gig that you had the most fun doing?
CM: Well you’ll never forget your first right? Your first lover, your first movie, Grease 2 was a blast cause I got to ride a motorcycle, I’ve been riding motorcycle since I was a kid so it was just a chance for me to wreak havoc, with the girls on the movie, it was a blast! And I had a lot of fun doing that movie. Other highlights have been Chances Are, playing romantic lead opposite Cybill Shepherd, Ryan O’Neill and Robert Downey, we played the same soul. And then I went off and did Thelma & Louise, that was a big one, a very interesting movie. And of course there’s Happy Gilmore, every sporting event I go to, people go “shooter!”
And Quiz Show where I worked with the great Robert Redford, played that timeless piece of the loss of American innocence back in the mid 50s when this went down when they were lying on the game shows. So it’s been an interesting journey, that and also with the TV and the stage that I’ve done, very well rounded career. Each of them has its own blessings and their own challenges.
RS: You don’t mind always getting associated with the character Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore? You don’t find it annoying or you don’t feel stuck at all?
CM: I don’t think I’m stuck, I’ve done so many different things since then, I love it that it tells me a lot about human nature.. that that’s the one that sticks out. It’s always “Shooter”
Because of the wide appeal of a comedy like that and the movie wasn’t a major success when it came out, but it certainly lived up to way past our expectations, the importance of DVD and Cable, streaming and all that stuff which is why I’m doing this movie (Splinterheads) cause I think it’s a very funny movie and it’s good for people to see this kind of stuff.
RS: It’s award season right now.. you don’t feel like.. looking back on your career.. you don’t feel like there was any performance of yours that you thought got snubbed or overlooked?
CM: We never look at those things.. why someone like Maggie Gyllenhaal gets a nod rather than the other actor that didn’t get nominated but ya I thought it was a terrific part and I thought the guy in Thelma & Louise was a terrific part. But that’s not why I’m in this business, not to get the thrill piece, I’m in it for the work, I’m in it for the experience, for the life changing moments, and the great people, the directors I meet.
RS: You’re also in touch with the geek world, you’ve voiced Jor-El and Clark Kent on two separate animated series, you were also in the movie Fanboys. Did you grow up a geek? Have you ever gone to Comic-Con?
CM: I like all that stuff, I went once to Comic-Con before everybody knew who I was, I was “wow, it’s a wild wonderful different crazy geek world, look at all these people dressed up in all these crazy costumes” and I was hoping if they sold the movie right that Superhero Movie would be one of those, because Hour Glass was a delicious costume and I thought that might be a big thrill to see a lot of people dressed up as the Hour Glass. There was a joke about it in the movie even, because it was a spoof but it didn’t have the following that we all wish it would have, had that been a big success, things would’ve turned out differently, but I don’t seek those things out. The fact that I got in that first Star Trek thing was a fluke that the character’s name was like Mollio Castillo and I’m like as Irish as you can get, Christopher McDonald, they changed the name into Richard Castillo because they liked the way I played the part and I was delighted to do it, it became one of the big hits of the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. And again with this Stargate thing I just did, it was a big thrill to be on that because I think the show’s terrific.
RS: So do you consider yourself a geek?
CM: I got a little geek in me, I mean don’t we all? (laugh) I have to say the inner geek in me is there and living well
RS: Is there gonna be SUPERHERO MOVIE 2?
CM: I don’t think so. Had it done the noise of the Scary Movies, it would have. I was hoping it would be a 3 or 4 picture deal, which why we said yes. I had a blast with the director Craig, o my god he was terrific! David Zuker too, very very funny people. It’s great to go to work and laugh every day and get more inventive and more crazy.
RS: We will see you next in the movie ROADKILL with Paz Vega, can you tell us a bit about it?
CM: It’s already filmed, we shot it over in Serbia right before the Holiday, very interesting story about little private eye guys who track down this big government cover up, and I’m part of the government cover up so it’s a real thrill to play that and a lot of comedic elements and very funny people in it,.. and in a really exotic part of the world.
RS: So what are your future projects that you’re thinking about doing?
CM: I’ve got 3 or 4 in the can right now, I’m signing on to one called BALLS TO THE WALL. It’s a father story with his about to be son in law and how they pay for the wedding and it gets involved with a lot of crazy stuff and goes on to Chipendale stuff, so very funny movie. Penelope Spheeris is directing, she directed Wayne’s World.
RS: I saw you in an interview one time saying that if actors today want to make it in this industry, they need to start making their own movies, do you still believe in that philosophy?
CM: I’m exercising that right now. I’m making my own movie. If I had started out in 2010 as an actor, I’d definitely be making my own movies because it’s so easy to do that now with all the technology, you get camera for nothing, shoot it and put it on your iMac here and make iMovie or finalcut pro and you got yourself a movie, a product, ..people who don’t do that are missing a great opportunity and a great possibility of something that could really launch your career.
RS: You said you’re making a movie?
CM: I’m directing a movie in September that will shoot for a couple of months, I’m doing pre-production right now
RS: What’s it about?
CM: It’s a love story basically, it takes place at this resort area, that takes place over about 8-10 years, the two couples involved, and people that shouldn’t be together end up not together and the people destined to be together can’t fight that destiny. So it’s kind of a heartwarming and interesting, struggling thing about relationship. It’ll be independent financing, we’ll do the whole rounds at the film festivals and hopefully we’ll get a nice release dates, some backing and some prints and ads and off we go!
