November 1, 2004

Most people may not recognize Brad Loree right away, but to genre fans, we know that it’s because he’s either risking his neck doing stunts on a production or wearing a white mask. Brad’s done dozen’s of stunts thru-out his career on films such as ‘The 6th Day’, ‘Final Destination 2’ & ‘House Of The Dead’. He was the most recent actor to portray Michael Myers in ‘Halloween: Resurrection’. We spoke to Brad about his early days breaking into the stunt business & his take on the iconic movie maniac, Michael Myers. He turned out to be one of the nicest Icon interviews yet. Which makes us wonder… how can someone so darned nice, play someone who’s meant to be… pure EVIL? Cue the Halloween theme music. – by Robg., Mike C. 10/04

Why don’t you start by telling us your earliest recollections of the horror genre. Were you a fan as a kid?

Well, guys… as a kid, I honestly was never a horror film fan. I had actually never even seen a horror film until I was 19. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m a chicken shit, so being afraid was not my idea of being entertained back then. BUT when I was 19, I ended up dating this girl who ONLY watched horror films. Because ya know, she wore the pants in the relationship. (laughs)

Ohhhh… (laughs)

We watched lots and lots of horror films. They were what they were to me. I had never seen the Halloween films until years and years later. And after having seen all these gory & violent films, the original Halloween movie, I really appreciated for being a very suspenseful film. And for having a very minimal amount of blood and gore in it. So, that girlfriend and Halloween are my earliest recollections of the horror genre. Now, of course I enjoy it a whole lot more.

You’ve been a stunt man now for years. What event from childhood made you decide, “I want to risk my life in front of the camera”?

It was sort of a vocation by accident. When I was 13 I went to see a Bruce Lee film called ‘Fists Of Fury’. I fell in love with the martial arts and Bruce Lee. So, I joined the local karate school. And the guy who was my karate instructor there was a guy named Tony Morelli. Shortly out of high school when I was 20 years old, I went to watch him win the World Kozera Kickboxing title. He became something of a local celebrity here in Vancouver and the film industry was first starting to come down here a lot in the early 80’s. He started doing commercials and then he started doing some stand in work. And it was his influence. He sort of kicked open the door for me and introduced me around. And it was following his example that I ended up becoming a stunt-man. Because as a world champion, of course they took him on very quickly. And it was through his connections that I became a stunt-man. My heart really was in acting, but I didn’t have the confidence for it.

Did you initial start out as an actor?

Well, I studied acting in school in my mid-20’s but again, I was really shy. And too dissident to just go for it. And then it was 1991, I had done a days work on stunts for this TV show, doing some fights. One of the guys there just said to me you should really be pursuing this stunt work, because you’re a good guy & you got this athletic skill and whatnot. So, that’s when I first got my page, resume and head-shot and started peddling my face around.

Is being a stunt-man a difficult field of film to break into? How was it for you first starting out?

When I was first starting out, it was a LONG process. There was not a ton of people that were aware of the life and living you can make as a stunt-man here in Vancouver. The group that had the most power as far as stunt casting was Stunt Canada. And to them it was a minimum of 5 years experience before they’d even consider you for membership, except for someone like Tony Morelli, who was a world class athlete. And today I see two skills – gymnastics and martial arts. If you are exceptionally good at either of those, I see people getting into the business and getting work very quickly. But that’s today. 10 years ago, you still would’ve had to pay a lot longer dues then I see people today doing. These days, some kids come off the street and they don’t know what it is to do extra work to pay the bills. They try getting some stunt work and they’re off to the races.

You’ve been doing stunts for a while now. Was there any stunt that you may have been nervous to approach? Anything that might have been really difficult?

Well, in my career, I would say the scariest, most nerve racking stunt I ever did was dubbing an actor on a show called “M.A.N.T.I.S.” and he was this android that jumped out of a window on the third story & of course lands on the ground unscathed and knocks out a couple of guards. I had to jump out of this 8 foot by 8 foot window from the third story down into an airbag. Which is not the trickiest thing in the world, but the tricky part was the floor below – the second floor, jetted out from the level of the building I was in by about 14 feet. It was like this concrete staircase. And it was a long jump as well as a high jump. And it was also at night, and the way they had it lit, the window I was jumping from was just this black wall.

And I really had to run and jump and commit before I had any sight of my target, being the airbag. So, it was a little un-nerving. Then on the rehearsals, I had my rain shoes & on the day we shot this, I had to wear this really funny costume, with rifles on my back. This other stunt-guy was supposed to do the gag, but he had turned it down & they had already bought the costume for him. So I had to wear these very stiff, brand new, thick leather motorcycle boots that were two sizes too small. So, I was very nervous about clearing the railing below. During rehearsals I was getting by it by about 10 to12 feet. But when we shot it someone said I just got by it by about 3 or 4 feet. If I’d’ve fallen short, it would’ve been very ugly for me. But I made it and it was really great, and the director raved, but it was just one of those situation where if something had gone wrong, it would’ve went really wrong. I’ve never had a coordinator ask me about allergies and blood type and all that stuff before doing a stunt before. (laughs)

You’ve done a lot of work on both TV shows and feature length films. Is there any major differences between working on a television production as opposed to doing a big feature picture?

TV shows don’t have the money or time, so they have to get what they want on the day. I’ve been on features where you sit around for a week and don’t do anything. I mean, like long hour days. Televisions not like that at all. They have to shoot. They can only afford so many takes before moving on. Features have the money to keep shooting until they get their shots. So, it’s definitely a time thing with television verses features. You get much longer days on features. And more days. Televisions just a lot quicker.

Any point of your career that you consider a high light or the most fun for you?

My favorite day on set, I would have to say was a stunt actor job I did on a TV production called ‘The Long Way Home’ because I got to do both a stunt and a little bit of acting with Jack Lemmon. I think fondly about that because I was a huge admirer of his.

How’d you initially land the role of Michael Myers for “Halloween: Resurrection”?

I had been working as a stunt double for a kid’s show on Fox called ‘Los Luchadores’. It was that show where these guys were Mexican wrestlers by day and crime-fighters by night. And the stunt coordinator left the show after about 8 episodes. And I was left to finish the last 5 episodes by myself as the coordinator and the double. So, we finished the 13 episodes and left to go find new work. Because they hadn’t made the executive decision at the time to make more episodes. So, the first AD, a gentleman by the name of Brian Knight, had gotten himself an interview with the Halloween people.

And he decided the night before to do some research. So he rented the first film and he was watching it and told me later that he thought “Brad would be a good double for that guy”. And then I guess during his interview the next day, they mentioned to him that they didn’t have a Canadian stunt coordinator yet because they had to match him with the American. And they also didn’t know who was going to be their Michael Myers in Canada.

And he said to the production manager, Tracy Long, the guy you should talk to is Brad Loree. So, Tracy gave me a call. Her first question was “How tall are you?” I said “Well, I’m 6 foot and a half” and she said “Oh, that’s perfect! Can you come in tomorrow to meet the executives about doubling for Michael Myers?” So, I said “Yea”. And I thought ‘It’s kind of strange that Mike Myers is doing this horror film.’ But it turned out I just forgot the characters name because I hadn’t seen the movie in years! So, I went in the next day and met with Malek Akkad, Rick Rosenthal the director, and a couple of the producers.

Rick had me stand against this wall and walk towards him, imitating “the walk”. We did it like 4 or 5 times. And then he turned to the producers and said “Yea, this guy’ll be fine.” And then they started talking to me about flying out to LA to get my head cast for the mask. So, I asked “Whoa whoa. Why do I have to fly out to LA to double an actor?” And they said, “No, Brad. You’re not going to double the guy, you’re going to BE the guy.” And that’s when I went “Ohhhh.” So, it put a spin on me, because I just thought I was going to go back to do that ‘Los Luchadores’ show.

That’s awesome.

The gentlemen from Fangoria actually asked the producers, “How many guys did they go thru before you met Brad?” and I was reading on and they said “He was the first guy we met and interviewed and we just went with him.” So, that’s how it happened.

When you were cast you had mentioned seeing some of the films before. Did your memory of the early films influence how you were going to approach the role of Michael Myers?

Well, I do remember that the first one struck me as being very well done for it’s type of film. I remember being on the edge of my seat. I remember that guy (Nick Castle) being very scary. And I had watched the second one. And when I went to see the third one of course, I was terribly disappointed like everybody else that there was no Michael Myers in it. And I stopped watching them after that. But after they told me I got the job, I got copies of all the films. Watched 4, 5 and 6. And watched what the other guys did in their versions of the role. I wasn’t overly impressed with some of the previous Michaels. Because I was in Pasadena at that Halloween convention last October, and one of the guys admitted to the crowd during the panel that he didn’t look at any of the films. He just did it his way. And I just thought that was so strange. I remember just how eerie the portrayal was in the first one. So, I watched the first one over and over and over again and just tried to copy Nick Castle because to me, he IS Michael Myers.

And you did a great job! You’re my 2nd favorite Michael.

(laughs) I appreciate that! Who’s your 1st favorite?

Nick Castle from the 1st movie! Of course! (laughs)

Yep. (laughs) Obviously!

I’d read that while you were preparing for the role of Michael Myers, you had also watched a series of different serial killer documentaries. Was there anything in those real-life serial killers that you might have brought into the role?

Well, I just wanted to try to understand a little better the serial killer mentality. And I had done some research. In fact, I’m reading a book right now on Psychosis. I just wanted to have something to work with while I was playing Michael where he doesn’t really view human’s like you or I do. Like normal people do. For psycho-paths, they’re really just objects. They’re not really people with feelings or emotions. I can’t say I got a whole lot out of the documentaries. But some of the other Halloween’s I watched, I felt the other guys played Michael far too human-like. And it really took away the eeriness and scariness of the character.

What’s one of the first sequences you filmed as Michael Myers? What’d it feel like to put on the mask for the camera for the first time?

I remember being super nervous. At the very beginning when he first hands the knife over to the guy in the asylum and he’s walking down the tunnel with all the lights and the character’s going on about Michael Myers. “And now he’s back!”

That was the first thing we shot and I just remember thinking to myself “Oh I sure hope I do this walk. Because if I don’t I’m going to get fired!” (laughs) Through the whole movie though, Rick was constantly reminding me to just take time. Nice and slow. I was perfecting it from the very first day to the very last day that we shot.

Great scene too.

Thanks.

You were the one and only Michael to finally kill Jamie Lee’s character of Laurie Strode. What was it like working with Jamie Lee in general? And how did it feel to have that honor of being the one that got her?

It was a real treat just to get to meet and work with Jamie Lee, because like most heterosexual males, I’m a huge fan! (laughs) But, no, she was really terrific and I was really impressed with what a grounded and normal, rational person she was. She didn’t have any attitude at all. And it was a real treat. And I feel kind of special being the one to finish her off. I’m sorry to see her go, but that’s the way the story goes. And I’m sorry I’m not going to get to work with her again. But she was great and she set a real example.

Rick Rosenthal directed the second Halloween movie as well. Tell us a bit about your working relationship with director Rick Rosenthal?

Rick and I got along very well. Rick’s a great guy and we’re both hockey fans. He actually plays hockey down there with celebrity teams and whatnot. I thought Rick was a great guy, and I loved him of course because he as responsible as anyone for me getting the job. Because he was one of the people that picked me. We got along great and he was a lot of fun. He kept his tension in check. For the most part he was pretty relaxed and easy going. He’s just really easy to work with, I thought. I think him and Busta had ‘some moments’ but I wasn’t pretty to them. Rick and I still email each other a lot and he was very encouraging in me pursuing the acting. Because like I said, I’d like to do more of that.

Well, you mentioned Busta Rhymes. A lot of fans are very mixed on the character of Freddie Harris as played by Busta Rhymes. What do you remember about working with Busta?

I’ve been hearing a lot about those mixed feelings myself. But I’ve got to be honest, Busta impressed me very much in that he’s this really big rapper, and I’m not too familiar with his music & that world, but apparently he’s quite big, but you wouldn’t get that from working with him. He was just such a happy guy. Easy going. And friendly and considered a professional with everybody. And I certainly hope I get to work with him again because he was a lot of fun. Very warm person.

Robg.: Ok, now this may jog your memory on what we mostly talked about in person at the Halloween convention last year. Tell me everything about Bianca Kajlich!?

(laughs) Bianca! Oh, she’s a darling. I absolutely had a huge crush on her too. I never told her that. She’s from Seattle, which is a sister city with Vancouver and she was just remarkable. Very beautiful and very very talented. I was really impressed with her, just watching some of the scenes that she did.

She was great fun, although she was very afraid of me at first. Even without the mask! I think she just thought I was really Michael Myers. But then she kind of warmed up to me and we became very good friends. I think that helped get over her fear of me somewhat. And I certainly hope she comes back for Halloween 9, weather I’m involved of not. I’d like to see her continue. I just thought she was terrific.

Halloween 9 is currently in pre-production now. Anything you can tell us about it? We’ve heard you’d really like to reprise the role of Michael Myers again?

Well, I do. The last thing I heard was from Paul (Swearingen) is that they’re still trying to hash out a script that everyone’s happy with. Um, I’ve heard rumors that people want to see Michael take on someone like Freddy or Jason and Moustapha wasn’t interested in toying with the formula.

I don’t think anyone’s interested in Michael doing that.

We’ll see. I just hope they do another one next spring and that they do it here in Canada so I can get another shot at the character.

We’re rooting for you, man. We hope you get to do it again.

I really appreciate that.

What was your favorite scene in ‘Halloween: Resurrection’? Both to film and to work on?

Oh… I have a lot of them. But the one scene that comes to mind is when I’m following behind Busta dressed as Michael Myers. And then he turns thinking I’m his workmate and he starts chewing me out. And instead of stabbing him, I just turn and walk away. I think I blew two or three takes, because I was laughing so hard under the mask & it was noticeable. I couldn’t help it. Or keep it together with him. I was really hoping that scene stayed in the film. Because I know we did a bunch of scenes that never made it into the film because they changed the story-line around a little bit.

Speaking of, there’s actually a production still of Michael coming up behind Tyra Banks character. Looks like your about to off her?

Yea. We originally shot it that I pull a bunch of the cables hanging from the ceiling there in the computer room. And I strangle her. But for whatever reason, they decided to leave it more up to your imagination. So, we just see her hanging from the rafters. But yea, originally we shot it with me strangling her with the cables.

What’s your favorite kill in ‘Halloween: Resurrection’?

Favorite kill? I guess I have to say Jamie Lee because… well, it’s Jamie.

And is it true that one of the first guys you kill in the film is now your roommate?

Yea. A local actor named Brad Sihvon. He plays the guy who’s setting up the camera’s in the house. He’s the one I stab with the leg of the tripod.

The Spielberg fan!?

THAT’s the guy. He’s now my roommate. Good guy.

Is it true that you had auditioned for the role of Jason in ‘Freddy Vs. Jason’?

Well, when production came to town, the producer on ‘Freddy Vs. Jason’ had seen somewhere an interview I had done on the set of ‘Halloween: Resurrection’. He felt I was somewhat articulate and put some thought into the role. And I was possibly the kind of person they wanted to play Jason. So he was very on my side about doing it. And we had talked about it. But when I had met director Ronny Yu, he immediately dismissed me as being too short. (laughs) Actually, when I was talking to you earlier about this TV show, where there was this other gentlemen that helped convince me to pursue doing stunt work, that was Ken Kirzinger. Who ended up playing Jason. He is one of my best friends. And he actually doubled Kane Hodder on ‘Friday The 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan’. When Ronny passed on me, they had this huge casting call where they had every giant 6 foot 7 guy. Trying to get the biggest, tallest guys in town. It somehow came back around to Ken, and Ken ended up with it. Which was awesome for me, because if I didn’t get it, I was really hoping Ken would. And he did. So, I didn’t get it because I wasn’t tall enough. Which was fine with me, because I didn’t want to divide camps anyway.

You took part in the “Return To Haddonfield: 25th Anniversary Halloween” convention. Your first convention appearance, I think?

Yeah, that was my first convention experience. I was VERY nervous when I got there, but I had a great time. And everyone was so friendly.

What was that whole convention world like to you from your perspective?

It was just a real experience to get to meet the fans. The people that put the convention on were terrific. It was great to meet Dick Warlock (Michael Myers from Halloween 2) too. He and I have since become really good friends. We keep in touch. He’s been trying to get me to follow him around on the convention circuit. And I’d love to do more conventions. I’ve been to a couple of appearances since. I did an appearance a few weeks ago in Georgia at a theme park.

Come closer to New York, buddy!

Oh, I’m telling you guys. I want to come to New York in the worst way, because I’ve never been. And it’s always been on my list of places to visit. So, I’m going to talk to my agent and see if he can get me to Chiller or one of those conventions out there.

Mike wants to ask you this next question and he’s dead serious about it…

Ok.

Mike C.: You’re in one of my all-time favorite movies. Please… tell me everything there is to know about “Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal”!?

(laughs) Haha. Yeah.

Mike C.: It’s a wacky movie. And I love it! Can you tell me something about that?

Originally it was called ‘The Gateway’. And Jorge Montesi was the director. He’s a guy that works up here a lot. And I just had this really good audition with him. And he had given me the part of the co-pilot. I was supposed to be the co-pilot. Originally I had auditioned for an FBI guy, got the part of the co-pilot. And then about a week after I found out I got the part, which was 4 days work. I got a call from a stunt coordinator friend of mine and he offered me 23 days work on the Arnold Schwarzennegger film ‘The 6th Day’. And I called my agent and told him I’m sorry but you have to get me out of this ‘Gateway’ thing, because ‘The 6th Day’ was just so much more work. They got me out of that, I went to do the Arnold thing, but then I got a call after saying they still wanted me to play a supervisor in the airport. So, I went there and had a very nervous day playing the supervisor. (laughs) And then they blew me out the window. (laughs) One of my favorite things I tell people when they ask about my acting career is I worked with Jack Lemmon, I played Michael Myers… and I got replaced in a movie called Turbulence 3 by Rutgar Hauer!

Mike C.: But we love that movie! It’s just… something else. I always show it to people all the time.

I have to watch it again, I guess. I did fast forward it once, just to see how much Rutger was in it. Because I assume since they got Rutger Hauer, he would’ve been in it a whole lot more. But they really didn’t add anything for him.

Robg.: He was the satanic co-pilot. That could’ve been you pal!

(laughs) Yea. I live right above a video store, so I’m going to have to look it up.

You’re appearing in the upcoming ‘The Second Line’. Which was a based on a story by Paul Swearingen, and written by Halloween Movie.com’s Tony Masi. The cast is set to feature a bunch of other Halloween actors including Ellie Cornell, PJ Soles, Charles Cyphers & Marianne Hagen. How’d you get involved in that project?

Shortly after I got back from the convention in Pasadena, Paul and Anthony were telling me about a couple of their scripts. And they asked me if they could send me one. And I said certainly. So, they sent me a copy of ‘The Second Line’. And I read the original draft which I think has changed somewhat since then. At one point, they weren’t sure how to get this thing marketed, so I told them to get ahold of my agent in LA, because I knew he had a literary agent. I don’t know if that’s how they found the gentleman who’s optioned it. But they asked me if I’d consider playing a part in it. And I said of course! Of course I would, I love to work and I love movies and anything I can do for you guys. They wanted me to play the lead. And I said “Guys, I appreciate that but first of all, I don’t have a ton of acting experience and second, you’re going to need Brad Pitt to get any money behind the thing. So, I’ll work in the background and do whatever you want me to do”. So, I signed a form agreeing to be a part of it, so I hope it comes to fruition and happens next year.

What can you tell us about ‘The Second Line’ and the role you might possibly take?

They haven’t really assigned me to a part yet, so I can’t go too much into that. But even if it was two lines and a days work, I’ll be happy. It’s about a hockey player who’s career is cut short by an injury and he then inherits a house in Illinois from an estranged relative that he didn’t even know about. And he moves his family out to this house because he didn’t make the money he was hoping to. And then these strange occurrences start talking place. Flashbacks from his childhood. He accidently drowned his older only brother when he was a kid. It’s just a series of events that happens. I don’t know if I should, but I’d compare it to Poltergeist. Something along those lines. I really don’t want to give away too much and it’s been a while since I read the script.

Looking forward to it. Thanks so much for talking to us, Brad. We really appreciate it!

Guys… seriously. Anytime!