How did you get the part of Chickenboy in the film?

I was in the waiting room and overheard the casting director, Adrian Michel, along with Paul Volk and Joe Hart, the two writer/directors (who usually aren’t in the room for casting) giving this other actor a bunch of notes. He was then to go outside, work on it, and come back in. Well, I heard all those notes, so when they said “Do you have any questions”, I said “No” and I basically said, do I have all this room to work in (pointing to the audition space), they said yes, and I went CRAZY CHICKEN on them. They were blown away since the last guy wasn’t even close to that.

It was torture though. For two weeks, I didn’t know if I got the part. I later learned they wanted me that day but were working out the rest of the cast first with bigger actors like Bo Svenson and Brion James. When the casting director called me back in to say congratulations, she had all of our headshots pinned up on her board, and there I was between Jim Cody and Kane Hodder (Jason Vorhees from the “Friday the 13th” movies).

Did you do any research before hand? Did you watch any films like Mad Max?

I was already a fan of those but none of them really had a character quite like mine. But, all I knew is I was going to be on the set of a multi-million dollar movie that blows stuff up...SO COOL.

Were there inspirations for the character?

The frantic moves of a chicken, literally. I popped and jerked my head like a chicken as often as possible. I felt like I was going to end up in a KFC bucket at the end.


Did you enjoy your time on set? Was it a difficult shoot?  

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed being on this set.  For me, there was NOTHING to dislike.  I wanted to stay there forever. It was my first feature film and nothing can compare to the high of nailing that first big gig...except maybe that first big paycheck!!  The stunt team was awesome to watch as well. Those guys rocked so hard!!

How long were you on set?

We were in Ontario for about a month, my shooting schedule was for three weeks.

What was your off screen relationship with your on screen buddy Charlie (Jim Cody Williams) like?

It’s funny. When Jim Cody read the script, he thought my character didn’t have much to offer. As far as lines went, I basically repeated what Jim Cody said, so I literally did NOT learn my lines. He was very talented in that he would ad lib, so I would have to be able to roll with that. Having an improv background made that a snap for me. I treated Chickenboy as someone he saved from a tragedy, he speech pattern was effected as a result from this tragedy and dedicated himself as Charlie Bacchas’ right hand man. I also considered Chickenboy the bad guys’ mascot, as he was made fun of a lot (see the poker scene), but they all kept him around. Jim Cody later complimented me for bringing something to that role he totally didn’t expect. We would hang out quite a bit off set with Bob O’Reilly (Star Trek’s Gowron the Klingon-very cool for this Trekkie. In fact, I shared my dressing room trailer with him), drink, play cards...good times.
 
 
Did anything interesting happen on set?

YES!!  The day we were to blow up that giant smoke stack was exciting.  The whole cast came out and hid at safe distances while we watch the effects crew blow the thing up. Me, Jim Cody and Staci Foster were on the roof of a nearby building when we heard the loudest BANG and straight down it went. Interestingly enough, it was supposed to actually fall over, not straight down. Still looked cool though. I think I might even have video of that somewhere.

Were there any other members of the cast that you got to know?
 
Yea. Jim Cody was supposed to be a real leech towards Staci’s character, so we tried to distance ourselves from her to avoid liking her to much. FAILURE!! She was way too cool and sweet to not be friends with. We didn’t stay in touch with her like Jim Cody and I do with each other, but I still have great friendship in my heart for her.


Would you do it again?  

NAME THE TIME AND PLACE, PAL!!

I’d also like to add these last three fond memories: First, the wardrobe department let me come in and help design the costume. The designer Lisa Dyehouse did such a great job making that costume I asked if I could have it at the end of the film. Unfortunately, they had to keep it in case they had to pick up shots with stand ins. Oh well. Next, they editor paid Jim and I a compliment. There was no real comic element in the film. I brought that to the picture. The editor, Chris Worland, said (spoiler alert) when Bacchas and Chickenboy died, he got board editing the film because there wasn’t anything funny for him to look forward to. That made me feel like I really contributed something special. And finally, I got my name on the movie poster!! This was a big deal. There were other people with way more screen time, line and notoriety who did not make the poster (including Bob O’Reilly). In fact, my name in sandwiched between Jim Cody and Kane Hodder...yes, I come BEFORE Kane Hodder’s name...CHEW ON THAT, HOLLYWOOD!!

I also wanted to do an audio commentary for the DVD, but by the time I tracked down the distributor (PM Entertainment sold their titles to Madacy Home Entertainment), I was a week or so late as it had already been replicated...Damn!!

What are you up to now?  

I turned my attention towards post production for awhile to get a better overall view of how the industry works. I have been working steady as an AVID/Final Cut Pro editor mostly. Coincidentally, Jim Cody comes to me every time we need to update his acting demo...that dude works his ass off. Also, I got married two years ago and my wife and I are expecting our first Chickengirl in a month.


Many thanks to Brian for taking the time to talk to us, and good luck in the future to him and his family.