K.T Simpson
Chad Michael Collins, best known for his role in the “Sniper” series of films, currently appears on Shudder’s hit horror series “Creepshow”.
TV Sneak caught up with the versatile thesp, who also features in the latest ‘Call of Duty’ video game, to talk about working with Dana Gould in the Roxanne Benjamin-directed ep of “Creepshow”.
Chad, you only need to look at your filmography to see you refuse to be pigeonholed. But what genre would you so you naturally gravitate towards?
I’ve been pretty lucky to bounce around between different genres across TV and film. Currently, I’m enjoying the release of our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare video game, which was an entirely different and wonderful experience to film. I’d love to do more performance capture work in that arena, but at my core I’m a sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book fan, so any projects related to those across any medium are always my preference.
And how much have the “Sniper” films done for the career? Did they open a lot of doors?
The Sony Pictures SNIPER film franchise has been a really great blessing in my career. To star as the lead across four films, that’s pretty rare, and it’s been a gift to take ‘Brandon Beckett’ from an over-eager Marine grunt to the weathered, experienced elite sniper that he is now. It’s certainly not hurt me in my career, to have the SNIPER card in my back pocket. Those experiences were especially handy for getting in the door for the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and for breathing life into my ‘Alex/Echo 3-1’ character.
When it came to casting “Creepshow”, Shudder seemed to go straight for the horror icons. So how did they wind up with an action icon in there too? Take us through that meeting?
Yes, they did an amazing job of bringing in some old horror favorites – Adrienne Barbeau, Tobin Bell. But when it came to me, there was definitely no meeting – it was earning it the hard way via audition. My action background had little to do with playing ‘Dr. Sloan’ in “Skincrawlers”, as it was definitely a departure from my pretend-soldiering. I bet they were grateful when I had to throw myself on the ground and writhe around to give birth to that giant leech, though!
And who did you work with largely on your episode?
Dana Gould and I were the leads on that episode, and we had a blast. I feel like it really captured the humor, the camp, and the gore that really came to define the original CREEPSHOW films. Director Roxanne Benjamin nailed it, and I thought all of my co-stars did an incredible job. You have to give everyone a big round of applause, as filming with gallons of corn syrup blood, fat suits, and buckets of dyed pasta “leeches” was a physical challenge. That set looked like the aftermath of a Nickelodeon “Double Dare” episode by the time we were done with it, sans green ooze switched out for gooey faux-blood.
It’s been a raging success, the show, what do you attribute to its success?
I’m happy it’s a big success, and that a second season is on the way! It was a great group of people, and I’m a huge fan of Greg Nicotero for his work on “The Walking Dead”, so it was a really fun gig. I think that horror fans are some of the best fans around, and they always prove that if you have great, original horror tales to tell, they’ll be first in line. We released an action-horror-western film this summer called HIGH MOON, and the fans really supported it. I love doing horror projects, and that’s because the fans make it so great.
This whole horror-fantasy genre isn’t new to you, obviously. You played Frankenstein’s mother on “Once Upon A Time”. How fun is it getting to play these sorts of fantastical characters?
Yes, playing ‘Frankenstein’ was a blast. Between the airbrushing, the latex stitches, the costume and more, you really do feel a sense of transformation when so much goes into it all. I think playing in the fantasy arena is very freeing, as you aren’t as beholden to portraying something that is real or established. There’s less pressure. Obviously, there’s a long line of brilliant ‘Frankenstein’ performances, but I think I was free to approach it more openly, so I enjoyed it immensely. It’s flattering to see how much that character still resonates with Oncers to this day.
And before we let you go, “Sniper 5”. What can you tell the fans?
Well, I can’t say too much, other than that one is in the works. Hopefully by next year we’ll be dropping a new ‘Brandon Beckett’ adventure into the waiting arms of fans. It’s been a little while, so I’m excited to return to the role and deliver a bigger, better SNIPER film to audiences around the world. But for now…that info is classified!
Photo Credit : Sonalii Castillo
