Exclusive Interview with Sid Haig
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I first met the 6' 4" bald, bearded actor Sid Haig on the red carpet at an event for House of 1000 Corpses in 2003 — at the time, I mainly remembered him from Spider Baby and Jackie Brown, but as is the case with many character actors he’s done many great little roles it’s hard to recall them all.
Haig was a baddie in the 1971 Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. He was in six blaxploitation movies in the 70s with Pam Grier, then was reunited with her in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown in 1997. He was in George Lucas’s T.H.X. 138. He has over 300 television credits. But Haig achieved major cult superstar status playing Captain Spaulding, the unforgettable killer clown and Murder Ride proprietor in writer/director Ron Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses.
When I first met Haig I was taken by his friendly, exuberant and open manner; I became even more impressed as I interviewed him several times in connection with the sequel to House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects (which is, in my opinion, one of the best movies of 2005).
When this interview took place in early September 2005, The Devil’s Rejects was no longer in theaters, not having done as well as was hoped (though it did make $11 million over its budget, it only lasted 5 weeks in the theaters). Haig was fighting walking pneumonia, and he’d just come off another movie shoot (Little Big Top, in which he plays a circus clown). I could definitely tell he was draggin’ his wagon — but he gamely answered my questions about everything from why The Devil’s Rejects didn’t kill at the box office, to what his fan’s favorite shout-outs are.
Staci Layne Wilson/Horror.com: Hey, Sid! How’s it going?
Sid Haig: It’s going well, a little tired, a lot of conventions in a row and appearances and stuff. But hey! I’ll live.
Q: You just finished your non-horror movie, Little Big Top. How did that go?
Sid Haig: Very well, extremely well. Very happy with it and I think it’s going to be pretty much a shock to pretty much anybody who knows anything at all about my career. It’s a whole different side of what I can do.
Q: Is that really what attracted you to the story and the script?
Sid Haig: Yeah, well it was a great story and script and it was an opportunity to do something that I’d never done before.
Q: Ward Roberts, is he a first time director?
Sid Haig: He’s directed a short film before which was pretty good. Very good as a mater of fact, but this is his first feature-length film.
Q: Was there any trepidation at all in working with someone without very much experience, or was it refreshing and exciting for you? How do you approach that?
Sid Haig: Well I had two or three meetings with him before we started, and I felt confident that he was going to be able to deliver.
Q: Do you know what the inspiration for the story was?
Sid Haig: He grew up in
Which was kind of interesting to just get the history on it. Peru Indiana is kind of the circus capital of these
Q: Is the story set in modern time?
Sid Haig: Yes.
Q: When I talked to you at the Rejects premiere you said you didn’t think that you would have to be wearing much grease paint or anything like that; but was there any hesitation at all, since you’re strongly identified with the Captain Spaulding character now?
Sid Haig: No, not at all. This is not going to stereotype me as a clown. Because the guy could have been anything in a story like this with a circus theme; but its a story about the man, not the man who is a clown.
Q: I think they should have made you a bareback rider, that would have been cool! [laughing]
Sid Haig: I don’t think so.
Q: Well, the story sounds really interesting; do you know yet if there’s a firm release date? When people will be able to see it?
Sid Haig: There’s not a firm release date, [just] rumors. I think it’s going to be, ah, completed in time for submission to the Sundance Festival.
Q: We’re talking about movies that haven’t come out, so I have to ask about House of the Dead Two. That thing’s been in the works forever, that zombie movie. I know it was completed but what role do you play in that?
Sid Haig: If you know the film at all, in the first film there was the scientist… you know.
Q: Ah ha. No, I haven’t seen either of them.
Sid Haig: Well, I play his father. Who is presumably carrying on his work, and screws it up totally and ah, things don’t work out very well.
Q: I met the director Michael Hurst briefly when I did a set visit for his other upcoming movie, Room Six; What’s it like to work with him? He seems very dedicated to the genre.
Sid Haig: Yeah, he is dedicated to the genre. He does his homework. He knew what he wanted to see when we got there, as opposed to some directors who, when they get there go “Ah, let me see how are we going to do this?” you know? You expect me to do my homework, I expect you to do yours.
Q: I think The Devil’s Rejects is just a masterpiece of a movie, but I’ve got to say I was really disappointed that it didn’t do better in the theaters. Do you have any speculation on that?
Sid Haig: Yeah, I do. Everybody has to understand that basically Lions Gate is a home video company and they released the film to introduce it to the public and were going to make the pitch on home video.
Q: Oh I see. So it’s not really their main focus to do well in theaters they just want to get some word of mouth going so that people can get it on the DVD?
Sid Haig: It’s not necessarily a bad thing. I mean that’s the way they work. I guess people should kind of understand that. I was disappointed that it wasn’t in the theaters for a longer period of time because that has a tendency to put a kind of onus on the film like well, people who hadn’t seen it might say, “Well, I guess it wasn’t very good.” And that’s, I think, the farthest from the truth. It’s a very good film, but I don’t run the company.
Q: You certainly did your part very, very well. Are you a little sad now that there won’t be any more Captain Spaulding, or are you satisfied with his exit?
Sid Haig: I’m satisfied, as a matter of fact. You know, I had been railing against people type-casting me forever, and that would have further set it in. It’s like people don’t take Robert Englund seriously unless he’s doing fright. He’s got a lot more to offer than that, as do I.
Q: That’s true; you do — but I think that you really show range in The Devils Rejects. You were lucky enough to get to play a Captain Spaulding as a fully realized character, everything from the wisecracks, to great emotion. What was it about the script that really appealed to you when you read it for the first time?
Sid Haig: Ah, just that it was a more fleshed out character, that had some dimension to it. And it was something that just realized a much fuller, more complete character.
Q: There are some parts in the movie where you just really seemed to be having a good time. Like with Ken Foree, you know, some of those scenes just seemed so natural. How much of the script do you follow? I mean, does Rob really want you to stick to the dialogue and the blocking and all that, or are you allowed to have a little bit of freedom?
Sid Haig: Ah, you’re allowed a little freedom, and certainly in House of 1000 Corpses I had a lot, he gave me a lot, and so I had a lot of room to play around. I just didn’t feel the need for that in The Devil’s Rejects. I wanted to stick with the words as much as I possibly could. It was just different. There was a much more well-constructed character and I didn’t feel that I had to embellish on his persona.
Q: But there is a really believable through-line from the first movie to the second movie, even though they’re totally different. There's the kernel of them that remains and honors the first movie without copying it. I’m wondering what your favorite aspect of the Spaulding character is?
Sid Haig: His ability to disarm people, his affable sense if you will. There’s where the cunning of the character lies for me. If you’re gonna be the guy who plays that guy, you gotta be cunning, and disarming.
Q: I absolutely loved the part in the car, you know, when you commandeered the car and you’re scaring that little kid. How many takes did you do on that one?
Sid Haig: That was only a couple of takes on that. The stunt with P J Soles took a little longer just because she was not used to doing stunt work; kick like this, punch like this, fall like that, um… took a little time. But the thing with the kid, two or three takes and it was over and done with.
Q: You were very convincing, I almost cried! [laughing]
Sid Haig: You did?
Q: Yeah, right! But I did cry at the clown who did my second birthday party. But that’s an old story. The kid was really good though, and I loved your dialogue in that scene. Do you get a lot of people quoting you and stuff like that? What do fans say to you when they come up to you? What’s the most common thing that they reference?
Sid Haig: Well right now it’s “Tootie fuckin fruity!” In the past it’s been, “Shit the bed” and, ah, you know, all kinds of other things. People just holler that out as I’m walking down the street.
Q: Oh, nice! Do you ever get used to that?
Sid Haig: Sure. It’s fun, if you don’t get all serious and whacked out behind it. It’s a fun thing but you’ve got to keep everything in perspective, you know. This can all go away real soon, so I take care of the people who take care of me, namely, the fans. OK? Because without them, I have a rough way to go.
Q: You are riding a really great wave right now. I know there was a bit of a dry spell there, but now you’re really going strong. I’m wondering where you see yourself, say, five years from now? Will you be directing, or what do you want to do career-wise?
Sid Haig: I probably will direct. That’s one aspect of who I am that needs to be served. So I will probably do that, but I don’t see myself moving away from the genre. You know, forsaking the thing that gave me my restart ,or if you will, in my career. If I find a good horror script I’ll do it. If I don’t, I won’t. I’m not gonna just stay true to the genre and do crappy movies.
Q: Well, I was surprised when I looked you up on the IMDb and that’s like the one thing that you haven’t done yet, is direct a movie. So you’re gonna have to be really careful when you pick your project. Do you have a dream project in mind?
Sid Haig: Yes I do. I can’t talk about it right now.
Q: I didn’t mean specifically, but I mean... would you work with your friends or would you like to work with new people, or how would you go about it?
Sid Haig: I like working with friends but ah, if they don’t fit the roles... I have friends that are good enough, and close enough, that they will understand if it’s just not right. [coughing, throat clearing] Excuse me, I’m at the end of my walking pneumonia.
Q: Oh gosh. Yeah, you were coughing really bad at the premiere of Rejects back in July. Is that the same illness?
Sid Haig: Yeah. I did the whole shoot at Little Big Top with walking pneumonia.
Q: So did that help you get into character for the sad clown?
Sid Haig: Well I don’t know, but it wasn’t very pleasant.
Q: No, I bet not. Well, you’ve worked with some other great directors from George Lucas to Quentin Tarantino to Rob Zombie. Is there anyone that you would love to work with who’s like hot today, that you would think that you’d love to be in one of their movies?
Sid Haig: I think that I would get along really well with Scorcese. It’s because I feel that he works organically as I do. I think that would be a really good experience.
Q: I could totally picture you in The Gangs of New York, that would have been perfect.
Sid Haig: Yeah.
Q: If he does a sequel.
Sid Haig: Right! He’s amazing.
Q: The release date of the Rejects DVD has just been announced. It’s coming out in November. I understand you took part in the commentary on that?
Sid Haig: Yeah. Our commentary, and there will be a blooper reel, and they have a two and a half hour “making of.”
Q: Wow, two and a half hours; that’s longer than the movie!
Sid Haig: We had the guy on set every minute that we were shooting, putting footage together for the documentary portion of this.
Q: What was it like doing the commentary? Did you do yours with Bill [Moseley] and Sheri [Moon Zombie]?
Sid Haig: Yes, and we had a good time. But then, we always have a good time.
Q: The three of you really do seem simpatico.
Sid Haig: It’s great when you can work with friends who kind of know how you operate and know the way that you think. You feed one another.
Q: When you do your commentary, do you kind of think about what you’re going to say beforehand or just jump in there and wing it?
Sid Haig: No, you just jump in and wing it. Tape is rolling and you just have to comment on the fly.
Q: That’s fun! Was there any alcohol involved?
Sid Haig: No.
Q: No?! OK, so we’ll look for the sober commentary on the Rejects DVD in November, right?
Sid Haig: Yeah.
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