October 14, 2015

If you don’t recognize actor Graham Skipper just yet, rest assured you will! Having made a name for himself by portraying Herbert West in RE-ANIMATOR: THE MUSICAL, he’s also appeared on screen in 2013’s ALMOST HUMAN, and has reteamed with director Joe Begos for his upcoming feature THE MIND’S EYE.

He’s also got DEMENTIA and Jackson Stewart’s debut flick BEYOND THE GATES on queue in the near future, but you’ll next see him in several segments of TALES OF HALLOWEEN. We caught up with him to discuss appearing in Neil Marshall’s segment BAD SEED and then being called back to duty for some of the other shorts!

Blumhouse.com: How’d you come to be involved in TALES OF HALLOWEEN? And were your pleasantly surprised to see the roster of talent involved, both in front of and behind the camera?

Graham Skipper: The horror community in LA is a tight-knit, really awesome bunch of people, and whether it was through playing Herbert West in RE-ANIMATOR: THE MUSICAL or from acting in Joe Begos’s ALMOST HUMAN, I’ve come to know and be lucky enough to be friends with a whole slew of these filmmakers. Then as the project was really coalescing, Neil (Marshall) asked me if I’d like to do a small role in his segment, and of course I said yes!

BH: I initially saw you in Neil’s segment, but you ended up cameo-ing in several of the shorts now (which makes you a pivotal role!) Was it fun coming in to different segments and seeing what each filmmaker had in store?

GS: It was a total blast – not to mention an honor – to get asked back to be in multiple segments. I love each of these directors so I was really excited to get to be on set and soak up their different styles of filmmaking. Plus it’s just fun to be on set with all of these guys. They’re a great group of people and that bled into a lot of fun for everyone on set.

BH: Director Adam Green plays your partner in the flick. What was it like acting with a director, let alone one that’s fairly prominent among the horror circle?

GS: It was totally fun! Adam’s a great guy and I’m a big fan of his work, so not only was it fun to act alongside him, but just chatting when we were hanging around was a real pleasure too. He’s got a lot of insight into the business, into independent filmmaking, and is a hilarious guy, so getting to be his partner made the whole process that much more enjoyable. He was totally generous off-screen and on, and I’m glad to have gotten to know him. Plus he showed me the funniest Youtube video I’ve ever seen: Goats That Sound Like Humans. Oh my God, I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.

BH: Neil brought in a bunch of cameo’s for his segment including Greg McLean and Drew Struzan. As a fan, what experiences did you have with them onset?

GS: Aside from totally geeking out? It was funny – when I got on set for Neil’s short, Neil came up to me with this devilish grin and told me that Drew Struzan would be making a cameo, and I about lost my mind. I tried to play it cool when I met him but I’m sure I just came across as a bumbling actor sheepishly muttering the words STAR WARS and SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. Then with Greg McLean it was also funny, ‘cause this very nice, well-put-together Australian gentleman walks into the dressing room and we have a nice chat, and at some point someone comes up and points out that it’s not just any Greg, but *WOLF CREEK* Greg McLean, and I again totally geeked out. It was particularly fun hearing about his process when making WOLF CREEK part 1 versus part 2 – both films that I really love but for very different reasons. The whole time I just kept pinching myself, realizing how incredibly lucky I was to get to be a fly on this particular wall. It was all such a joy.

TALES OF HALLOWEEN opens in select theaters and will be available on VOD October 16th.