Hodge, The Godfather of Interviews

ANDREW BRYNIARSKI AKA "LEATHERFACE" INTERVIEW

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ACTOR ANDREW BRYNIARSKI AKA "LEATHERFACE"...
HODGE- First things first man, congratulations on breathing life into a character that seemed to be fading from the horror movie scene! Your role as LEATHERFACE really surpassed the expectations of the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE fans.

HODGE- Were you a fan of the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE films before you landed the role?

BRYNIARSKI- Yeah, I was a fan of the original pretty much. Not for a long time though. At first I didn't understand it cause I'd seen a really bad scratched up video of it that had been rented a billion times, no fault of the film makers. I was under the impression that it had poor production quality ya know. Then I saw the IFC film channel version of it all cleaned up and restored and then I saw how brilliant the original really was. That was not to long before I was starting to get involved with this movie. As far as the sequels go, they're pretty much disappointing to me. As far as the second one goes, they had a lot of great characters as far as BILL MOSELEY(CHOPTOP), and some other guys in that film were really good to. I just thought that LEATHERFACE sucked in all the other sequels. Ya know, if LEATHERFACE isn't good in the movie than the movie is gonna suck. It's about LEATHERFACE and his family. That's the Chainsaw Massacre. If LEATHERFACE sucks than it sucks no matter how great the dressing is. I thought the third one sucked. I'm not a fan of R.A.'s (LEATHERFACE #3). He's been an asshole to me in person. "On the record". No class. And in the second one with BILL JOHNSON(LEATHERFACE #2) I liked the SAVINI mask I didn't like the fact that all these big guys didn't scare me. I never felt a fear of LEATHERFACE. I'm an animal. I always felt like I could get away from LEATHERFACE. I could pick up a rock and hit him in the face and that would be it. He was always a big slow dork. For that reason, I thought that was his flaw. I loved the fact that it was a great premise and that the movies had infinite potential but I always thought they needed a real bad ass behind the mask. I always thought that I'd be the right guy to chase these kids to their death. And that's the reason I wanted to get involved with these movies.

HODGE- On the DVD for the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake, their was a deleted ending in which the police burst into a crime scene to uncover a very heavy dead woman. At the end of that scene you were shown lurking in the background and escaping the crime scene. Out of the 2 ending that were shot, which one did you prefer?

BRYNIARSKI- Well we did that in a hurry. We weren't really sure how that was gonna go. It's kinda the process of filmmaking ya know. You're always rewriting the script as you get good ideas, and that’s how that came to play. That was one of the things that was available for the filmmakers and Marcus was interested and wanted to shoot. It was kinda thrown at me very quickly. I've never really had a great feel for alternate endings. I don't think they ever play as well in the movie as the ending they put out

with THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2003, which I think is pretty excellent filmmaking. I think we did a good job on everybody's part.

HODGE- Many fans had mixed reviews about the decision to remove LEATHERFACE’s mask in the film. What are your thoughts about having revealed the true identity of the monster?

BRYNIARSKI- That was the thing that GUNNAR(LEATHERFACE#1) said that he didn't like. He said "I don't blame you, that's probably what they told you to do". It's true enough because I can see his point of view because he wants it to be more just exactly like a tribute to what he did in the original, so he could identify it and all the great things he did in his movie. For me, I thought it was an incredible chance to show another dimension of this character. To show some of that story. A pictures worth a thousand words and when you see all that this guy has suffered you realize- hey, he wants to wear these pretty people's faces cause he doesn't have a pretty face of his own. That's basic that you can get into it more there. You can imagine how people would torture somebody that grew up like that. People are very cruel. And this guy comes right back at em. That's part of the psyche of LEATHERFACE. Part of the intrigue of the character. That's what I enjoyed about taking off the mask. I liked the whole scene. Especially with the sewing machine. It was a great setup. I thought Marcus did a great job with it. Wait till you see the new action figures with the removable mask. They'll be great to.

HODGE- Since both endings of the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE Remake allow the audience to believe that LEATHERFACE survived, is it safe to assume that their will be a sequel to the Remake? Will you return to the role of LEATHERFACE if it’s offered to you again?

BRYNIARSKI- Theirs going to be a prequel. And the producers and I would love it if everything works out and I can be LEATHERFACE again. If it's offered to me I'll do everything in my power to come to terms and make this franchise something horror fans are proud to go and support. The role has been good to me and I certainly am the guy for the job. I think it would be silly for everyone if they hired another actor. I certainly would like to do the prequel. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes down. I hope that we do work it out and I'd love to come back as LEATHERFACE.

HODGE- At many of the big Horror conventions around the country, the merchandise/vendor area is usually as big or larger than the celebrity areas. So it’s no surprise that most of the fans you see walking around at these conventions are dressed in horror themed clothing. However, I’ve noticed a new disturbing trend in merchandise lately. Many vendors are selling clothing with Real serial killers on them such as Ed Gein or Charles Manson. Even McFarlane toys have a new action figure line featuring some of histories most notorious killers. What is your opinion on

Real murderer merchandise?

BRYNIARSKI- I think it's disgusting. I think it's a great question I'm glad you asked. You know, my biggest fear is that people take this too seriously and that's a perfect example of going over the line. It's all fun till somebody gets hurt. Glorifying people that have committed ruthless murders through merchandise is ridiculous. I first noticed it at the Fangoria convention, which is a great convention and I love the magazine. I love the fact that we can all have this fun sub-culture ya know. In my opinion that's why I don't mind making horror movies, that's why I can defend them. But once you start glorifying people that are murderers and do disgusting and ruthless acts on people, it's just wrong. To make these people heroes, is ridiculous to make money off of that. It should be illegal. It's certainly offensive, even to me, and I'm a hard guy to offend.

HODGE- I'm glad you said that because the thing that struck me as the most disturbing aspect of the merchandise is that those people that were murdered by these killers have family members and descendants ya know. That must be so disgusting for them to witness someone making money off their devastating loss of a loved one ya know.

BRYNIARSKI- Shame. Shame on all those pussies that sell those shirts. Anybody that wants a cool horror shirt can just get one at a big horror site or my website www.andrewbryniarski.net.

HODGE- The character of LEATHERFACE ranks as one of Americas top movie monsters of all time! The character is so notorious that even other branches of entertainment have copied the gimmick such as- multi-platinum rapper Krayzie Bone who named a solo album "LeathaFace" and a Japanese wrestler named LEATHERFACE who’s been earning a living with the gimmick for years now. You must be taking a lot of comfort in the fact that your version of LEATHERFACE was awarded with such a great response, from fans that aren’t always easy to warm over.

BRYNIARSKI- So let me get this straight, the dawg KRAYZIE BONE is one of the guys from BONE THUGS IN HARMONY right? If it's a direct nod to the movie or my performance in any way than I think that's wild. I think that's great. BUCKETHEAD has also always thanked LEATHERFACE on his records. A lot of Rock & Roll guys are huge supporters of Horror, and stuff that I'm doing in my other movies and my horror soundtrack and all this cool stuff. So yeah it's a great theme. LEATHERFACE is really cool. It's very disturbing. Very Hardcore. BLACK LABEL SOCIETY has got LEATHERFACE lights in the studio. All kinds of LEATHERFACE hints shows up everywhere in Rock & Roll. It's nice to know that theirs rappers out there that represent to. Everybody's down with good clean fun. So theirs a wrestler named LEATHERFACE?

HODGE- Yeah, theirs been more than one. In Japan a guy has been using the whole gimmick for I'd say over 10 years now. He works over there with the whole Bloody Butchers apron, Mask, and Chainsaw, the works.

BRYNIARSKI- Really! Oh, he'd better knock it off or Imma send my dawgs on him, lol.

HODGE-What's the scoop on this beef with you and former LEATHERFACE actor R.A. MIHAILOFF?

BRYNIARSKI- I can't stand him. He got in my face and wanted his ass kicked in a big way in public. I was gonna do it for him if I wasn't more professional. Yeah he's a punk. He got in my face cause he was all disturbed. He thought he was gonna be the guy to come back twice. He didn't get it cause his movie stunk. He doesn't like the fact that T.C.M. 03 was a huge hit. He tried to play it bad and be a tough guy with me. So he wanted me to beat him up I guess, while I was playing guitar chillin with my fans at the convention. I asked him if he wanted to go out in the parking lot and tell me the rest of his story, or if he wanted to be cool and walk away. It's a shame that people are like that. I guess "The Saw Is Family" and people don't like to let go.

HODGE- With Halloween right around the corner, will you be appearing at any more upcoming Horror Conventions?

BRYNIARSKI- Yeah I'm doing a lot of stuff right now. A lot of haunted houses. Some really cool stuff this season. The Big "Rock & Shock" convention as you know. Coming up in Boston. With the ICP, so all the Juggalos will be in attendance. I look forward to all the performances as well as seing all the cool horror heads out there at the convention center. Everybody in the business is gonna turn out. It's gonna be a big deal. So it'll be a good time had by all. So come, "come to the Darkside", "I am your father".

HODGE- You’ve landed other roles in such

Hollywood films as- "Pearl Harbor", "Higher Learning", "Rollerball", "Any Given Sunday", "Batman Returns", "The Program", "Scooby Doo", "Street Fighter", and many more. Was their ever a role you turned down that you later regretted?

BRYNIARSKI- I've always tried to have a strong work ethic that doesn't really let me turn down work. Theirs a lot of jobs I couldn't take cause the terms they were coming at me with were ridiculous. They'll kill ya in this business. It's great to be exploited as a commercial kind of thing, but it's not great when they don't appreciate you and they wanna exploit you, period. So things have to be cool. Usually, I'll do everything that I wanna do. That's how it's always been. That's the beauty of being a creative person. You control your own destiny. That's why I'm not salty about anything I didn't do. For a lot of those roles, man you realize that you couldn't have saved that film with your performance anyways. You end up being glad you didn't participate. A lot of times if they pick a different guy over you you'll watch the movie and say "let's see what this is like", "let's see how they do". And I've watched those films and never felt bad once. If it's something I really wanna do I always know I'm gonna bring a lot to it. As far as I'm concerned that's the way I would do the stuff that interests me. That's the way it stays, and the way it works

HODGE- What’s this I hear about you being passed over at the last minute for a major role in "Troy"?

BRYNIARSKI- Yeah, it's not that I was passed over. It's just that their was a time that I was involved in that movie, and then a time when it wasn't so smart for me to be in that movie. So it went to Tyler Mane(Sabertooth from X-Men). Who's a great guy and a personal friend of mine. It's all good man. I wish my friends well in everything they do, even if it's what I do. I ended up doing other things to. That movie would have taken me away for a year. In that year I've had a lot of opportunities. Things I'm doing now I wouldn't be doing if I was in that film. It seems real cool to get a job and work with Wolfgang Peterson. But in the end I like what I'm doing right now and where I'm at. It was one or the other, so sometimes you gotta trust the force. Have faith in fate and go with the flow. It all works out.

HODGE- It’s obvious in your roles that you’re a big guy. Any truth to the rumors that you’re a professional body builder? Have you entered competitions?

BRYNIARSKI- Absolutely no truth to the fact that I'm a pro bodybuilder. I was and amateur bodybuilder. I competed in Mr. America, Mr. USA, and Mr. Universe up until 1988. Then I gave that all up to grow up and do better things with myself. As far as discipline and wt. training and staying in shape and staying able to kick ass and be an athlete…that's still very important. But that's different than bodybuilding which is a job where you wear lil weenie hangars and move yourself around like a weirdo. So lets get

that straight. I have nothing to do with any of that exploitation for Joe Weider's personal corporate empire. I used to take it very seriously. I was very disciplined with my training and nutrition. I had an incredible control over my physique. Now I like to have more control over my career. I just like to stay in shape. I'm not posing in the mirror like I did when I was 20. It worked for me then, it doesn't work for me now. I don't have the physique I had when I was young, but I wasn't the man I am now. I'll still kick anyone's but.

HODGE- I understand that you’ve recently begun to produce your own films as well. What films have you produced and when will fans be able to see them?

BRYNIARSKI- Y Well, I've produced 2 independent horror films last year. One is called "The Legend of El Charro" and one is called "Treasure of the 7 Mummies". I did them both with Pretty Dangerous films which is an up & coming company out of Venice California where I live. They're great guys. They've made 8 movies in about the 14 months they've been a company. Which is incredibly prolific. Most big studios hardly make that many films a year. These guys do it with amazing resources. These projects get big stars to cooperate with them because these are projects people wanna work on. It's a great thing. I get to work and basically show that I'm the veteran that's been doing this for 15 years, for a lot of young people that don't have the experience I have. It's a great chance for me as a filmmaker to start to control the projects that I work on from start to finish. From Script to Casting. Distribution and Soundtracks. All stuff that I'm good at and stuff that I love to do. Things are cool right now. I'm using this energy. I'm living the dream. Making movies. Making music. Doing what I want. Keepin it real with the fans. They keep it real with me. They give me nothing but love. What can I do or say ya know. Thanks be to god. I'll just keep giving it back and rockin the map. It's just a fun ride.

HODGE- I’ve read somewhere that you’re a music junkie, lol. Theirs even rumors that you’re a singer in a band? What’s the scoop with your music man?

BRYNIARSKI- I have a band called THE MUSICAL FREEKSHOW(MFS) or Mutha Fuckin Shit, lol. I get all kinds of guys to work with me on it. I have so many guests. ZAKK WYLDE might play on something. I've got some other guys from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. Some guys from SLIPKNOT are interested in working on my soundtrack. These guys have given me stuff that they've done by themselves too. Not part to their bands. They'll give me some solos that need hard guitar riffs or hooks or lyrics written ya know. I've got these other guys in my band and we'll grab a chance to work with some of these guys electronically and put it all together and throw those tracks out. We're looking to do that and some more soundtracks as well as our debut album "The Musical Freekshow. It'll be full of incredible guests like BUCKETHEAD, and a guy from SLAYER wants to work with me. You'll never know whose gonna show up on it. It just blows my mind that they think that I'm cool and that LEATHERFACE is rockin. Things are just real good and creatively I'm just going with it all. Using the opportunities wisely. I'm doing as much as I can everyday. And biting off as much as I can chew for sure. Just finishing it all up and just waiting. Ya know Exhale. It certainly is rocking. Moving real fast. We're just gonna keep rockin and keep knockin it out. Until everybody's real happy then I can rest. I'm also now the Ambassador for the BLACK LABEL SOCIETY California chapter. ZAKK did that for me. It's an honor to do that. To ride with these guys and hang with these brothers. It's all very good right now. I'm also working with other musicians like my friend BILL MOSELY(Rocker/Actor), a former guitarist from EVANESSENCE, JASON MILLER from GOD HEAD, I have so many people I'm gonna work with man. S.D.M.F. Strength, Determination, Merciless, Forever with the BLS. Basically I'm just trying to work with the people I wanna work with, and not make money for assholes I don't know or respect anymore. That's the other side of it. I have another band and that's my own thing, and that's all good to.

HODGE- If I don't ask this next question than a lot of movie-goer guys will be upset with me,what was it like working with one of Hollywoods fastest rising stars- JESSICA BIEL in THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2003?

BRYNIARSKI- She's hot. She's also a great actress. She's a great young girl. She's really nice. She'll gain your admiration and respect. It wasn't something I was gonna take advantage of. Although, it certainly would have been tempting. She's a great girl though. I'm happy to be friends with her. I wish her luck in everything she does personally and professionally. But uh, ya know I'm not gonna say that it wasn't fun chasing her under the pale texas moonlight…in a deeply psychotic sadistic way, lol. It was sexy. But "on the record" I can say shit like that cause this is a Juggalo site. I know this is Juggalo turf so I'm not sweating anything I say in this interview. Thousands of ninjas can check this out and get the real scoop and know how it really is with me. I'll be throwing down some cold ones and cocktails with these INSANE CLOWNS in Boston soon. I know it's hard to get respect when you're a bunch of CLOWNS, so I feel their pain. I'll be drinking with the JUGGALOS and having fun when I see ya'll in Boston for the "ROCK & SHOCK" convention.

HODGE- Well that’s about all the questions I have for you Andrew. I appreciate you taking this time out to do the interview with me. If your past work is any indication of where you’re headed, you’ve got a long bright future in store! Do you have a website where fans can go to keep up with all the latest on you?

BRYNIARSKI- yeah, it's www.andrewbryniarski.net . Everybody come on bye, holla, and drop a line. We have a good time on there. Eveybody's real cool. We keep it real. So do the same and check it out. And please click on my banner for the charity guitar auction I'm a part of. It's a really great cause to help some sick kids in need. But yeah, thanks for this opportunity to speak my mind HODGE. Ya'll Juggalos seem real chill and I'm looking forward to hangin with you guys at the "ROCK & SHOCK" convention in October. Thanks.

Click here for a CHARITY that Andrew is Involved in!