PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Back in 1985 came a movie that was quickly embraced by the horror community. Return of the Living Dead, means so much, to so many. For a lot of us, this movie was the beginning of our love for horror. There was just something about this movie that people connected with. I have been a fan since I was 5, watching it over and over. I had the opportunity to interview Thom Mathews. Thom has over 65 credits, including the iconic “Freddy” from Return of the Living Dead and “Tommy Jarvis” in Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives.
Let’s get zombified.
PopHorror: Where did you get your start in the industry?
Thom Mathews: Well, having been born on Hollywood Blvd and my Grandfather working for the studios as a carpenter makes it a hard question to answer. My first “role” however was on Falcon Crest.
PopHorror: You have over 65 credits to your name in the movie industry, including producer credits. Which do you like more producing or acting?
Thom Mathews: Acting for sure.
PopHorror: In Return of the Living Dead, what was really in the tank that leaked?
Thom Mathews: Haha, I have no idea.
PopHorror: Aside from the Return of the Living Dead as Freddy, you also starred in several Friday the 13th movies as Tommy Jarvis. Which character was your favorite to play?
Thom Mathews: My favorite filming experience and character to play to date by far was Freddy in ROTLD. Freddy would be a fun part to play for any actor. Starting out as a young innocent kid then slowly turning into a brain sucking Zombie, an amazing role! Then being paired up with the talented James Karen was icing on the cake! We found out on ROTLD 2 we shared the same Birthday so we celebrated it together every year until he passed.
PopHorror: You also played Tommy Jarvis in the Friday the 13th video game. Did you enjoy being a voice actor?
Thom Mathews: I did. Not really a voice actor playing myself. Actors are used to doing that voice work when we complete a film. Needing to lay down or dub over original tracks to cover airplane noises, mishaps on sets, etc.
PopHorror: Did you ever think Return of the Living Dead would attain the cult status it has now?
Thom Mathews: Absolutely not. And it gets better with age. Lighting in a bottle!
PopHorror: Was Return of the Living Dead 2 a planned return for you, or was it just written in?
Thom Mathews: It wasn’t planned or we weren’t written in. As I understand it when they had the script ready for part 2 they started shopping it around by preselling the right to the foreign markets at the time to get the seed money to make the film.
When they approached the Japanese Distributors they absolutely wanted to pay for the rights. They had one request and that was to have James Karen and myself return in some way to the sequel. James and I were huge in Japan!
PopHorror: How long did makeup take for zombie Freddy in Return of the Living Dead?
Thom Mathews: I was in the chair for about 4 hours towards the end. You know that’s when I was able to get to know James Karen. Our time together in the make-up chairs together will always be near and dear to my heart.
PopHorror: Do you think the shape of horror in modern times has the same energy as 80’s horror movies?
Thom Mathews: I don’t know, there’s something very innocent about the 80’s horror movies. With the practical effects, low budget creative energy on the sets, creating on the fly! Today’s horror is a lot more sophisticated in the stories and execution.
PopHorror: How much did you have to do with the story from Return of the Living Dead 1 or 2?
Thom Mathews: Well, that’s the thing about doing the first one. It was really a collaboration of the great script Dan O’Bannon had written. James and I went over every scene together then if we had any ideas we’d bring them to Dan and discussed them just before we’d shoot the scene. We never heard the word no. We talked about almost every scene. James Karen’s death scene, when he toasted himself in the oven placed his wedding ring on the controller, was all his idea. We also improvised some lines during the scenes as well. “Like this Job” just jumped out of me when we were filming that scene! It was fun to go to work!
PopHorror: What advice would you give someone who wants to make it in the horror genre?
Thom Mathews: Well like anything. I always say if you have a dream to do something then start doing something tomorrow for 5 mins towards that goal. That’ll build to 10 minutes per day then an hour then half the day and so on. In a years’ time, you’ll be doing it most of the day!
Thank you, Thom, for taking the time to chat with us!
You can stream Return of the Living Dead free on Tubi, Roku Channel, and other streaming platforms.
