Bill Oberst Jr. is an award winning indie horror legend, from Papa Corn to a zombie-fighting Abraham Lincoln. With over 200 acting credits, you have seen his face many times. We were lucky to sit down with Bill and ask a few questions about his career and also his role in the recently released film,
Butcher’s Bluff (our
review) as a backwoods dad protecting his son, in any way possible.
PopHorror: Where did you find your love for horror movies?
Bill Oberst Jr: Watching late-night TV runs of horror flicks with my boyhood buddies. We picked those flicks apart mercilessly, of course, but we loved ’em. When I discovered Uncle Forry Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine at the drugstore (“Mom, can I have this?” “No, I’m not buying you that trash.” “But Mom-m-m! The monsters are my friends!”) I was hooked. Meathooked, one might say.
PopHorror: How did you get involved in the independent horror genre?
Bill Oberst Jr: Via near-starvation. I did theatre on the east coast for almost two decades and came to Los Angeles in my 40’s on the strength of a Wall Street Journal review of my portrayal of the Civil War general W.T. Sherman. Crickets. Just as I was on the point of begging, a friendly casting director set me straight with the words, “If you want to work, go dark.” I said “How dark?” The reply: “With that face, you can’t go dark enough.” God bless that truthful soul. It worked.
PopHorror: You have won many awards; what is your most prized?
Bill Oberst Jr: The first Lon Chaney Award for Outstanding Achievement in Horror Cinema. Joanne and Mike Thomas, who ran the FANtastic Horror Film festival in San Diego, arranged for Lon Chaney’s great-grandson, Ron Chaney, to present it to me. I cried. Sweet mercy, I love Lon Chaney and all he stood for. He’s the reason I love wounded monsters. And the reason I play them.
PopHorror: Was being a horror actor always your plan?
Bill Oberst Jr: I wanted to be a monster make-up artist, but in those pre-internet days a rural boy had no way to learn that craft. I did what I could through mail order and taking Dick Smith’s correspondence course, and I still love make-up, but acting was something I could do with no special materials, just my own mind and body. I never dreamed that I’d have the joy of being a small part of the horror movie world. The kid in me still can’t believe it happened. God’s been good.
PopHorror: What was your inspiration for the Papa Corn character in Circus of the Dead?
Bill Oberst Jr: Two words: Billy Pon. This picture, taken between takes, says it all:
Billy Pon had been imagining that character for years, and presenting early versions of Papa in his Texas haunted attraction. I just had to open up and absorb. And if you’re absorbing something like Papa, it lingers. I’ll admit, it took a while to de-Papa myself. Said I’d never play him again. But Billy called. Part Two looms. Lord have mercy.
PopHorror: Who has been your favorite character to portray so far?
Bill Oberst Jr: I did a portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth (a hypothetical portrayal, obviously) that toured colleges and houses of worship. It was just his teachings from the synoptic gospels, presented as if you were hearing them for the first time. A presumptuous undertaking – I’d never do it today, but I was young and daring. I tell you, speaking those words in first person and having people look past me in a wig to something else (whatever that something might have been to them) was unforgettable. I’ve done it a couple thousand times. I can still see their faces.
PopHorror: Do you feel like the character of Jed came naturally in Butcher’s Bluff?
Bill Oberst Jr: Oh yes. He’s the kind of guy I grew up with in the small town South of my youth; the kind of guy who prefaces almost everything with “Lemme tell you something…” or “I’ll tell you what…” That vibe runs deep in my blood.
PopHorror: Was there any horror movie character that inspired the character of Jed?
Bill Oberst Jr: So many of them. Every B horror movie and C horror movie and TV horror movie back in the day had those weird character types. I was thinking of an old TV-flick called Gargoyles when I was playing Jed. I smiled a lot on that set.
PopHorror: Did the energy from the rest of the villainous family fuel your character?
Bill Oberst Jr: Yes, and I’ll tell you what, for a movie shot during the darned pandemic, there was a lot of positive energy on that set! I think it was because everybody there just loved horror, and because we are fans ourselves, we wanted to make something fans would love. Love covers a multitude of sins, you know.
PopHorror: It seemed as if the cast was constantly in an excited mood even beyond acting. Would you agree that the cast just naturally played off each other?
Bill Oberst Jr: For sure. It felt like a gaggle of horror geeks making a movie. I really hope fans like it.
PopHorror: Some people complain about slasher movies with a run time of over 90 minutes. Do you think Butcher’s Bluff fills the two-hour run time without becoming redundant?
Bill Oberst Jr: Oh, runtimes are a matter of taste. Why not just start watching Butcher’s Bluff, knowing you can stop anytime, and see how it flows for you. It’s a labor of love – let it come to you with no expectations. Don’t be a runtime bitch. And I can say that as a frequent runtime bitch. Let’s all try to make some time to not worry so much about time.
PopHorror: With all you have done in your career, what would you say to someone afraid to take the jump into chasing a dream?
Bill Oberst Jr: Three words: Be Not Afraid. That’s the first thing angels say in scripture when they appear, and it’s the only thing that will get a person to the first step of trying. Have no expectations except to be your true self, say your prayers, then jump and as Ray Bradbury so beautifully said, “Build your wings on the way down.” I’ve been to enough deathbeds to know that a person’s final thoughts are never “I wish I’d never tried.” It’s always “Why didn’t I try more?”
Thank you, Bill, for your time!
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