Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
1 for three consecutive weekends until it eventually made $125 million.
They had already set up in Wilmington, North Carolina, to film.
And they had everybody cast but the killer.
Most of the killers you hire will get in character and stay there.
Before I got home I got a call saying, Could you leave in the morning?
So I flew on out to Wilmington.
I got out there and started studying the character.
So its pretty intense … Well, I guess its been long enough that I can talk about this.
I was scared to death that if I loaned this guy my body, I wouldnt get it back.
It was really scary and I needed the credit, I needed the money.
It was a career move.
Nobody thinks that any of these horror actors act.
I dont know why.
But for me, I put so much study into every move I made.
When you see that fast walk [inIKWYDLS], I practiced that.
I practiced the hook.
I worked my tail off on this character.
Whoa.I immediately said, What are you laughing at?
And he said, Youre trying to work yourself up to the point where you might kill somebody.
Its like drinking a cup of coffee to me.
And I made one of the best acting decisions Ive ever made in my life then.
Instead of me becoming a psycho, why didnt I just walk out there and do nothing?
Because Id be reflecting this guys feelings, that killing somebody didnt mean nothing.
Did you get your body back?Yes.
Who are the others?Lets see.
The guy from it was a home-invasion movie.
Im getting so old I cant even rememberthe name.
I got the greatest compliment in my life working on that film I cant think of the name of.
I was kind of like her new uncle.
We walked and talked, and it was great.
I just thought they were all the greatest bunch Id ever worked with.
Theyre all such wonderful people, and I hope they have all the happy joy in their life.
What did you guys talk about on your walks?
Why do you think you bonded with her specifically?The business, our careers.
Wed tell each other stories about our families.
I dont know why we bonded.
Ill tell you what, everybody on set at first had somebody there with them.
I think it was just that.
And I adore her.
She is one of the most intelligent women Ive ever met in my life.
And she knows how to play the game.
And the PA went to get her a cold water.
And I said, What happened to your legs?
And she said, What do you mean?
I said, Hell girl, you couldve gotten that water.
That kid dont have to get water for you.
And she said, Muse, you dont understand.
The more you ask for, the better they treat you.
But I never got as good as Michelle is at it.
And Jennifer Love Hewitt and I lived in the same apartment building in Burbank, before we got cast.
So you knew each other before filming?Well, sorta.
She was there with her mother.
Theyd gotten an apartment there to pursue her career.
I was tickled to death we got cast together and got to know each other.
And after doing two together, we didSaturday Night Live,which was just amazing.
They want you to be onSNLtomorrow night.
And I said, Get outta here!
I dont need your joking around with me!
And he said, No, seriously.
We have rehearsals and tomorrow night we shoot live.
I was blown away.
I didnt have clothes fit for New York.
Can I take some of my wardrobe with me?
So I wore myWalker, Texas Rangerwardrobe under my hook-man stuff.
Did you ever get the sense that any of the cast were afraid of you?I did not.
I knew one of my purposes there was to not make them afraid of me on the set.
And I said, Where is she, Love?
She said, Shes over in the cafeteria.
Did you eventually calm Brandy down?
Did you become friends?We did, we did.
In fact, right then.
I let her know I was nothing to be afraid of.
Its always weird on the set.
Im the scariest looking guy in the whole world.
And it really got me.
I dont care what all this looks like.
Just know that everything I do with you Im gonna do with love.
I know this is gonna look weird, but just remember that.
And her mother just smiled real big at me, and hey, it worked.
Do you keep in touch with any of them?Oh, gosh.
Thats why we left Los Angeles, to find a place for her to go to high school.
And she has a 401(k) and health insurance.
And that was what drove him over the edge.
I understood that, but I never got it completely until Sophie was born.
I say, The producers saw something in me that I didnt even know was there.
If you mess with Sophie, youve got me to handle.
Youd dress up as a fisherman and go on a killing spree.Exactly.
Well, I dont know if Id kill.
I might make it more painful.
Something really horror-movie qualified.
I think he wrote something creepy like, Hello, old friend, or something.
Did you mean to freak him out?Lord, no!
He was just the nicest guy in the world.
And I havent talked to him in years.
And I dont know why I did that.
It just seemed like a greeting.
I wasnt in character or nothing.
And I thought Id just let him play at it.
But Ill send him something spooky for his birthday or something.
I think you should.
Did you notice Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. falling in love on set?No.
Its their story and they get to tell when it happened.
I didnt see that!
Which scene was the most fun for you to film?When the kids hit me.
Me laying in the ditch beside the road and Im supposedly dead until they get there.
And Im not a warm-blooded person.
And I thought to myself, Well, then I will force the issue.
The first AD ran over to me and said, Muse, do you need a medic?
And I said, No, buddy.
Im preparing for the shot.
And I laid there deader than a doornail till we got the shot.
Thats professionalism right there.
And its pretty despicable to me!
Gosh, theres been so many.
It was so cool, because shes such a good actress.
That was a great shot.
We were like, Man, thats gonna get em.
How much of that was actually you?Oh, man.
I got pretty bad hurt.
Not that this one movie did it.
Ive had nine concussions.
I told the guys, Lets make this real.
And they said, What do you wanna do?
I said, This whole thing is about my daughter.
So could you put some pictures of me and my daughter fishing on the boat?
They wanted that shot and the stunt guys said, We cant do it.
And the director said, Come as close as you might.
And I got about an inch from the camera and stopped.
I heard the stunt coordinator calling at the guy, What the hell?!
And they said, Just in case, get medical over here!
And the director said, Thats the shot I wanted!
And I said, Love, whats going on?
And she said, You cant feel that?
And I said, No, what is it?
I had to wear sunglasses the rest of the shoot.
It didnt hurt but it really made people uneasy.
And they decided Michael Myers should shove me off the stage, a two-foot drop.
My foot just killed me.
But you cant see it on my face!
Youve really suffered a lot for your art.Well, yeah.
How often did you get recognized as the fisherman killer after the movie came out?Yeah, yeah.
They stood up and were getting their coats and looked back and saw me standing there …[Laughs.
And these five or six kids sitting in front kept talking.
I think he probably hasnt changed his underwear.
So you relished being this character for people.I did.
From an acting standpoint, a psychopath is about as far as it’s possible for you to go.
I took it on as something I wanted to master.
And I think I did.
My performances werent always consistent but I think the character of the man was there.
I understand it being a horror movie, they just wanted me to be a bad guy.
But I was trying to put some depth and reality into this guy.
The reason was because the producers wouldnt let the press pre-screen it.
So they said there must be something wrong with it.
So I stayed at the farm.
1 movie in the nation.
And he said, Yeah?
And I said, I got the No.
1 movie in the nation!
And he spits his tobacco on the ground, and he says, Yeah.
We got to move that tractor.
