PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It is truly an honor to celebrate the amazing women in this month of WIHM and remind those out there in the industry how far women have come, sharing vision, talent and determination in each task they perform, and going that extra mile. This amazing lady has no need for introduction, and it is with great pleasure that I share this up-close-and-personal interview with none other than Barbie Wilde! Barbie is a multi-talented actress, who is not only our beloved Female Cenobite in Clive Barker’s Hellbound: Hellraiser II, but is also an established author.
Pophorror: Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview and be a part of WIHM with us! What inspired you to become an actress, and where did you get your inspiration from?
Barbie Wilde: Just the love of performing. I dreamed of being an actress since I was 12 years old. My inspiration came from thousands of movies that I watched as a kid: everything from drama to horror to sci fi. It all fascinated me.
Pophorror: You’ve been extremely active in your role as an actress since 1983. You’re a multi-talented lady and have traveled widely, performing in cabaret in Bangkok and even appearing in a Bollywood blockbuster, Janbazz. You’ve also danced with the dance/mime/music group, Shock, in New York City, London and Amsterdam. How did your acting career start and did you participate in local talent to begin with?
Barbie Wilde: When I was in the sixth grade, I was cast as a teacher in a school play called The Mighty Germ — a cautionary tale about the common cold. I perfected the most outrageous, over-the-top sneeze. I threw myself backwards with such vigor and sneezed so loudly that I brought the house down. The only thing I can compare my movements to was when Edward Fox gets shot at the end of The Day of the Jackal as he is thrown back against the wall at great velocity by the impact of the bullets. Previously, I’d been a very shy kid with few friends, so having the audience in the palm of my hand was a delicious sensation. I’ve been hooked ever since.
I was always involved in Drama Club in High School, and when I went to University, my major was Drama. I moved to the UK to study further and then joined a professional mime company called SILENTS. Basically, if it was a part of show business, I did it: singing, dancing, mime, acting. You name it, I tried it — with varying levels of success!
Pophorror: You’ve played a vicious mugger in Death Wish 3. How did you get into character as the role of a female villain?
Barbie Wilde: I think it’s always much more fun to play a villain than a good girl. I relished the idea of being nasty to the hardest guy around at the time: Charles Bronson.
Pophorror: You’re the female face of cult classics for your role as the Female Cenobite in Clive Barker’s, Hellbound: Hellraiser II. You’ve bonded with the cast and crew on the Hellraiser set and gathered for yearly functions. How does it feel to be part of that family?
Barbie Wilde: I love going to conventions, meeting the fans and hooking up with my Cenobite chums, along with Ashley, Ken Cranham and Clare Higgins. It’s like the intervening years never existed. We all have a great time with each other.
Pophorror: Tell us how you came into this role, as you replaced Clive’s cousin, Grace Kirby. Also, what inspired you to literally become the Female Cenobite character?
Barbie Wilde: As far as taking over from Grace: I understand that she didn’t like the arduous makeup process — and I don’t blame her! I simply went to an audition – more of a chat – with Tony Randel ,the director, and got the job. I think one factor may have been that I had classical mime training. I know that Clive Barker was fascinated by mime.
One of the things that inspired me as far as the character was concerned was Clive’s novella, The Hellhound Heart, which was the basis for the Hellraiser film franchise mythology. Interestingly enough, the Lead Cenobite in the original story was female!
Also, the makeup really helped me define the character. During the first full makeup and costume test, I looked in the mirror and thought, “Wow! Where’s me?” In other words, where’s the big-haired 80s TV presenter that I had now become (laughs). But then I realized that I was looking at a work of art by the makeup artists, as well as an extraordinary infernal creature called the Female Cenobite. It was quite liberating and empowering.
Pophorror: Do you prefer being an actress and performer, or do you prefer being part of the crew in regards to producing and casting? Which is more rewarding for you personally?
Barbie Wilde: I’ll always love acting, but I really prefer writing now. I’m creating new worlds, mythologies and characters, rather than just portraying them.
Pophorror: What has been your favorite project, and how do you personally get into character?
Barbie Wilde: I’ve been lucky enough to have been involved in so many wonderful projects that it’s hard to choose. I suppose Hellbound: Hellraiser II has to be my favorite, because it’s what I’m best known for and being in it really kickstarted my writing career in horror and dark crime.
However, Comet Press publishing my first diary-of-a-serial-killer novel, The Venus Complex, was truly a high point, as was SST Publications publishing my first illustrated collection of short horror stories, Voices of the Damned.
As far as getting into character is concerned: I take my first cues from the text to get a sense of the character and then build from there: internally and externally; emotionally and physically.
Pophorror: Has there ever been a role that you’d love to play that you haven’t had a chance to yet?
Barbie Wilde: I always fancied Lady Macbeth! Or some other nasty but interesting villainess. However, when I once mentioned to a couple of casting director friends of mine that I wanted to do a one woman show about Zelda, the mad, doomed wife of Roaring Twenties author, F. Scott Fitzgerald. They said that it probably would have be more advantageous for me to do a show about Betty Boop, the cartoon character! What you think of yourself in your mind – i.e., dark, mysterious, troubled – is not necessarily how people on the outside perceive you.
Pophorror: Apart from acting and dancing, you’ve also been an assistant casting director for the BBC and a casting director for MTV in London, and you’ve worked in television as a presenter/host and scriptwriter. How did you come to be a casting director and have you had any challenges in this position – seeing as there are many divas and ambitious aspiring actors/actresses out there?
Barbie Wilde: In between acting jobs, I worked as an assistant for some friends of mine who were casting directors. Eventually, a few jobs came in that they didn’t want to do, so I took over.
I didn’t have that many problems because I am a people person and enjoy meeting and working with everyone. The only castings that were a bit awkward were the ones involving little kids and disaffected teens…. And the only real problems were with their parents!
Pophorror: In regards to writing: your first fiction novel, The Venus Complex, was published in 2012 by Comet Press and between 2011 – 2017, you’ve contributed 12 short horror stories to different anthologies:
“Sister Cilice” (for the Hellbound Hearts Anthology, 2009)
“U for Uranophobia” (AKA “Gaia,” Phobophobia, 2011)
“American Mutant: Hands of Dominion” (Mutation Nation, 2011)
“Polyp” (The Mammoth Book of Body Horror, 2012—reprinted in The Unspoken, 2013)
“A is for Alpdrücke” (The Demonologia Biblica, 2013)
“Zulu Zombies” (The Bestiarum Vocabulum, 2013—reprinted in Fangoria’s Gorezone #29, 2014)
“The Cilicium Pandoric” (the sequel to “Sister Cilice”—Gorezone #30, 2014)
“Botophobia” (Phobophobias, 2014)
“Mr Duggins’ Stigmata” (Noir Nation No. 5 Crime Anthology, 2014)
“Writer’s Block” (The Grimorium Verum, 2015, reprinted in Gorezone #34)
“Blue Eyes” (Great British Horror: Green and Pleasant Land, Black Shuck Books, 2016)
“Patient K” (Dark Discoveries Magazine, 2017)
What other projects are you working on in regards to literature and where does your inspiration come from when creating these concepts?
Barbie Wilde: At the moment, I’m working on Blue Eyes, a film adaptation based on a short horror story of mine with writer, director and composer (and former Fangoria editor-in-chief), Chris Alexander. We move into the pre-production phase soon.
I’ve started a new novel: a real life ghost story with the working title of The Anatomy of Ghosts. I’m also writing a script based on another short horror story of mine called Zulu Zombies. I’d love to see graphic novels made from “Zulu Zombies” and my Female Cenobite stories that revolve around a character called Sister Cilice.
My inspiration comes from my dreams and my obsessions…
Pophorror: Apart from acting, what other training have you had (voice, dance, stage combat, etc.) – as you’ve also performed the female backing vocals for the theme song of the 1985 film, Morons From Outer Space – released through BMI Records Ltd.
Barbie Wilde: I’ve trained in voice, dance, mime, fencing, kung fu, piano, harpsichord and, believe it or not, the bagpipes!
Pophorror: Have you experienced any real-life actress’s nightmares?
Barbie Wilde: I’ve had a couple of times when I’ve frozen momentarily on stage, but for the most part, I’ve been very lucky indeed!
Pophorror: Have you ever forgotten your lines, or a prop, or choreography during a performance?
Barbie Wilde: See above. I’ve never forgotten a prop or choreography. But forgetting one’s lines is every actor’s nightmare.
Pophorror: Have you ever sustained any injuries while on stage or on set?
Barbie Wilde: Very early on in my career, I nearly electrocuted myself during a rehearsal for a mime stage show. I threw the master switch for the stage lights and got a big shock. Scared me to death! I’ve been very careful ever since and I never would do a stunt that I thought was unsafe or dangerous.
Pophorror: You’ve had the opportunity to be on the other side of the table at an audition and have been involved in casting. What did you learn from that experience that you could share with us?
Barbie Wilde: Although I enjoyed casting, in the end, I wasn’t really cut out for it. I think my desire to act was always in the back of my mind. Casting wasn’t something that I was passionate about. I learned that if you’re going to do something, you must really love doing it, otherwise you might as well be working at McDonalds.
Pophorror: Have you ever experienced anything embarrassing or unexpected in your career as an actress?
Barbie Wilde: Well, at the last minute, the director of Death Wish 3 wanted me to do a scene topless, which was really unexpected. It wasn’t in the script and I had no warning. I kept thinking about my mom, who was a lapsed Catholic, and I thought to myself: I can’t do this, she’d never forgive me. Also, I was a bit miffed about being placed in such an uncomfortable position. In my opinion, it’s really unprofessional for a director to spring something like that on an actress just before you go on set. I pushed back the only way I knew how: I asked for more money! He refused to pay me extra. I said I wouldn’t do it and he ordered me off the set. Whew! Maternal discombobulation averted! The funny thing was, he got another actress in to do the same scene after I left and he didn’t ask her to take her top off. So there ya go!
Pophorror: What are the negative and positive parts of being an actress?
Barbie Wilde: Well, you’re seeing the negative parts on the internet now, as part of the #MeToo movement. No one has ever tried that “casting couch” routine on me (except for the previously related incident), but from what I can understand, it’s pretty much the norm in Hollywood. It taints the business and it’s a shame that those in power feel that they have to perpetrate this stuff.
I think that famed actor and director (and Hollywood outsider) Orson Welles once said something like: Hollywood isn’t about making money. There are much easier ways of making money. Hollywood is all about power.
And of course, there’s Marilyn Monroe’s immortal phrase: “Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.”
The positive things are wonderful: if you’re lucky, you get to portray great characters, written by genius writers. Sometime, you get to travel the world. You met fellow artists and creatives that end up being friends for life. And if you’re very lucky, you manage to make at least one work of art that makes a big impression on people.
Pophorror: Do you have any advice for those aspiring to become actresses or performers and those wanting to get involved in the media as a profession?
Barbie Wilde: There’s a quote from the film, GalaxyQuest, that I always tell people who want to get into the business, “Never give up. Never surrender.”
If being an actor, or a director, or a writer, or a stunt person, is what you want to do, then go out and do it. You only go through life once, so you’ve got to grab all the gusto you can get!
A FAN OF BARBIE WILDE? HERE ARE SOME BOOKS AND OTHER WORKS TO CHECK OUT:
Out now: Voices of the Damned, an illustrated short horror story collection published by SST Publications. (Publishers Weekly: “…sensual in its brutality.” “…a delight for the darker senses.”) Each story is illustrated in full color by top artists in the horror genre, such as Clive Barker, Nick Percival, Daniele Serra, Vincent Sammy, Tara Bush, Steve McGinnis, Ben Bradford and Eric Gross.
Out now: The Venus Complex, Barbie’s debut dark crime, diary-of-a-serial-killer novel, published by Comet Press. (Fangoria: “Wilde is one of the finest purveyors of erotically charged horror fiction around.”)
BARBIE WILDE‘s WORK IN PRE-PRODUCTION:
In pre-production: a feature length horror film called Blue Eyes, based on a short story of mine. It’s co-written with Chris Alexander (Blood for Irina, Queen of Blood, Female Werewolf, Blood Dynasty, Space Vampire) and will be directed by Chris. Starring Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy.
BARBIE WILDE‘s WORK-IN-PROGRESS:
Work-in-progress:
Film Script: Zulu Zombies.
New real life horror novel, working title: The Anatomy of Ghosts.
Plans for the future: to find a publisher for graphic novels based on my short stories Sister Cilice and Zulu Zombies.
In 2017, Barbie returned to acting in The Offer, the first episode of the horror series, Dark Ditties, produced by Cult Film Screenings.
GETTING IN TOUCH WITH BARBIE WILDE:
Catch Barbie Wilde on Social Media:
Twitter: @barbiewilde
Instagram: barbiewilde
Facebook: barbie.wilde and BarbieWildeAuthorActress
Facebook for Blue Eyes: BlueEyesHorrorMovie
website: barbiewilde.com
