Brian "Dwight" Farmer is a horror movie buff with a lot of great thoughts on zombies, gore, and acting in New England. He shares them all with us today in this epic and exclusive interview. Check it out!
Hi Brian, so great to have this chance to chat with you!
Hey guys, same here I really appreciate you asking me to do this.
So, you play a lot of hardened tough guy types. Is this a conscious decision on your part, or do you just find yourself getting a lot of roles as the muscle in movies?
(
laughs) You know to be honest, I normally get type cast into those roles, I don't know what it is about me. I mean I don't mind them, who wouldn't mind being the tough guy? But me as an actor I'd say I have a lot more to contribute to this craft then playing the muscle all the time. I'm a diverse actor and I know I can adapt to any role.
You're a method actor. Tell us what that entails, and how you generally prepare for a role.
Preparing for a role as a method actor, it's complex, it really depends on the character: "who am I, what am I, where did I come from, how can I relate?" It has to do with sense memory and emotional memory, I mean I have my strategies but I can't give away all my secrets. But I'd say preparing for ''Dwight'' I'll most likely talk with a southern accent to just about anyone I come encounter with.
Breaking into this business isn't easy, especially outside of Hollywood. Lately it seems like there's a surge of interest in making films in New England - do you agree with that observation? How has it been getting parts in this area for you? What is it that New England has that perhaps Hollywood and SoCal do not?
You know, I've had this conversation with a lot of people on both the east and west coast. I think overall if you want to be a film actor, LA is we're you need to be. But New England as a whole is making a pretty impressive mark. I believe N.E. made the top 10 list for best places to make films this year. As far as getting roles in the area, I've been doing pretty well for the most part, knock on wood. In some areas it's more of who you know, but it says something when a director or a C.D. calls you up and offers you a role, that to me means I'm doing something right. For now I'll just keep my mouth shut and let the roles come before I mess this up (
laughs).
You're playing redneck zombie Dwight in CvsRZ. Do you think there's a good reason to be more frightened of a redneck zombie than your average, run-of-the-mill hungry undead?
I think you should be more afraid of a redneck zombie, because rednecks are wild, they don't have any regard for anyone and they'll just rip you apart. They are a step above you're run of the mill original zombie. Overall it's more fun and intimidating to be a redneck zombie. Besides, ''When there's no more room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth'' Or a redneck zombie that is.
That could be a nice tag line for CvsRZ! Or how about, "When there's no room left in Texas, the
redneck dead will walk the Earth?"
That's actually a pretty good tag
line, I like it. If you use it make sure I see a cut in my residuals or
else I'll summon the rednecks.
So one gets the sense that you're a pretty big fan of zombies. Is that accurate?
I'm a huge zombie fan, I mean the new age zombies I'd say are more intimidating due to the fact that they snarl and run at rapid speeds, as opposed to the old school zombie who walk with the slow slouchy pace. The zombie has become more advanced as time has gone on. A good flick in my view is Dawn of The Dead. [Writer George A.] Romero is a genius, so if you're a zombie fan I recommend you check it out.
Are we talking the 1979 original or the 2004 remake with Ving Rames?
I'm
talking it about taking it back to the 1979 version. George Romero
set the bar for film makers and was a genius with this flick, he's the
god father of zombies. Don't get me wrong, Snyder's 2004 remake was
great for the modern time that we're in now. But if there was
no original and no George Romero, can you honestly say zombies would of
taken off as huge? I mean maybe, but without him there would be a gap.
You definitely know your zombie films. Besides Dawn, do you have any other favorites?
There is such a long list of good zombie films, but the great ones
are on a scale of there own. I remember when I saw The Return Of The
Living Dead for the first time. Despite its comedic
tendencies it was a great film. But I love 28 Days Later, the classic I Walked With A Zombie, and of course Night Of The Living Dead, just
to name a few.
How have your friends and family responded to the news that you're about to star in a web series as a redneck zombie? That's not a character one sees often in this business, I imagine.
To be a redneck zombie is original and with that said I intend to raise the bar. There's a new zombie in town, the red neck zombie! All around I've been getting tons of support, I've been doing some promoting with the series with some LA actors that I know so the buzz that is the redneck zombie is spreading like wild fire. Plus, who wouldn't want a friend who's a zombie? I mean I'm not ''Fido'' but I bet I'd be pretty handy to have around.
Let's talk zombie gore. One school of thought in horror flicks says the more blood, the more body parts, the more gruesome - the better. Another school says it's not what you see but what you don't see that makes a film terrifying. Where do you stand in this debate?
I'm a part of the school that's stuck on the fence and can't decide. Overall I prefer gore - who doesn't? - but you have to respect the suspense of what you don't see, the hidden factor. In the zombie world, I think the gore, the carnage and the overall thrill of seeing someone destroyed is what makes a zombie flick worth seeing.
Ok, for the last question let's get a bit philosophical. Almost every zombie movie has that pivotal scene where the group of survivors faces the question of how to deal with someone who's been bitten and about to turn undead. Put yourself in that scenario - what do you think you'd do?
In this situation, of course I'd care if they we're my friend, but overall in this case you need to protect yourself. So as much as I wouldn't want to, I'm going with the sure fire way to kill a zombie, they're getting shot in the head. Plus if the roles we're reversed I guarantee they would do the same thing.
Thank Brian, been great talking to you!
No problem, I'll see you guys on the big screen!
