King of the Kill, Kane Hodder is back as the homicidal yet lovable Victor Crowley in the third installment of Adam Green’s hit horror trilogy “Hatchet”. Media Mikes had the chance recently to talk with Kane about his work on the series, how he evolves his characters when playing them more than once and his thoughts on the writing of Adam Green.
Adam Lawton: Having played both Jason Voorhees and Victor Crowley multiple times what type of approach do you take to help evolve the character?
Kane Hodder: With Jason I always wanted to keep the character looking consistent. The four movies I played that role in all had drastically different settings. I was in the woods, in the city, and even in space. No matter where that character was I wanted it to look familiar to the people. I wanted the way I moved and responded to be the same no matter where or what he was doing. With the Victor character I purposely started him in the first film as being very twitchy and nervous looking. Throughout the three films I purposely toned it down. In my mind Victor was getting a little more used to the killing. I’m not sure if the audiences picked up on this but for me I wanted make it look as he was getting used to what he was doing.
AL: When you’re playing these characters that don’t speak and you’re covered under heavy makeup or a mask how do you convey an emotional performance when your true features can’t be seen?
KH: That’s the whole secret to performing in this type of makeup. The prosthetics are obviously extensive so what you would normally do with your facial expressions don’t generally work. You have to change how you perform as if you don’t there is the chance that you will too much like a mannequin. I think the secret to my success has been that with the characters I have played I was able to make them look more lifelike with the ways that I use the makeup and more importantly with the way I move. I think it’s pretty hard to look intimidating when your facial expressions are covered by a mask and you can’t use your voice. You have try and be scary with movement which can be tricky. I guess somehow I have been able to make it work to where I look natural. It’s certainly a whole different way of acting.
AL: Victor’s makeup in this film appears to be a bit more intense than in the previous films. What was that process like for you?
KH: I loved the fact that Adam and BJ gave me a lot of close ups. Particularly towards the end in my scenes with Danielle. I was able to show more than just Victor’s murderous rage. We were able to bring across a deeper thought process for Victor this time. This was a big departure from how we have seen Victor in the past. I was really happy that we had those moments and that BJ and Adam allowed those moments to happen.
AL: Being no stranger to “kill scenes” were you able to give your own input on those for this film?
KH: Yes. When Adam writes things he is always open to my suggestions but the thing with him is that I have never performed written material from someone that is so creative with the violence and graphic. I often do have to add anything which very rarely happens. I have played a lot of different characters like this and I have to take the basic kill as written and add quite a bit to it in order to make it something that I would want to see. I always had to do the with the Jason thing but with Adam he writes in such a way that I perform it exactly how it’s written and that’s perfect for me. If I do end up adding something it’s generally nothing major. Adam is really fucked up in the head. (Laughs)
AL: When you were first approached to play the role of Victor and his father did you know that it would turn in to playing him in 3 films?
KH: Yes I did. From the beginning Adam told me that he wanted to tell the story of Victor over the course of three films. It wasn’t one of those situations where he made the first film; it became successful so let’s make another. He purposely held back story material in the first and second films so that he could tell the story over three films. I guess it could be seen as a little cocky on his part to assume he would do more than one film and it was definitely a risk but he always had that plan of doing three. That’s why each film picks up directly where the previous one ends. It’s all one long story. With “Hatchet III” a lot of things come together.
AL: Do you have any other projects you’re currently working that you can tell us about?
KH: I have a film called “Sickle” coming out with Tiffany Shepis. I play an unfriendly police officer in that one. I am heading back to Louisiana to shoot a film that was written and being directed by John Schneider who most people remember from “The Dukes of Hazzard”. I play a version of myself alongside people like Bill Moseley, Donald Shanks and Roddy Piper. That’s going to be a lot of fun. Bill Moseley and I also have a film coming out called “Old 37” where we play brother. I am very fortunate to have so much going on and I owe a lot of that to the fans. I’m not trying to kiss ass or anything but it is absolutely true. I thank them very much.