Interview With Skeet Ulrich, Star Of ‘Blood’

I don’t have children, so I can’t tell you that I understand, or even know, what a parent will do to save or help their child.  This is the question that the new Brad Anderson film, Blood, raises. What would you do, and how far would you go, to save your child? According to Jess, played by Michelle Monaghan in an incredible performance, you will fight to the death, and nothing is too insane or too much to save her son after he’s been bitten by dog, and comes down with a mysterious illness. To celebrate the release of the film, I chatted with star Skeet Ulrich via Zoom, about what intrigued him about the film, horror conventions, what’s up next, and more!

PopHorror: Thank you so much for your time, Skeet. I loved Blood. I went in completely blind, and I thought it was really good, so I’m super excited to speak with you.

Skeet Ulrich: Great, thank you!

PopHorror: What intrigued you about Blood and made you want to be a part of it?

Skeet Ulrich: Well, before I even opened the script, I saw that Brad (director Anderson) and Michelle (Monaghan) were a part of it, and I kind of already knew I was going to do it, no matter what it was. I’ve loved his films and her films for so long. And then just reading it. It’s such an interesting film. It’s so many different things – it’s a page turner, it’s pot boiler, it’s horror but it’s psychological thriller, family drama. Just had everything that was so intriguing, and the notion of, what the hell is it, in the long run. I was just blown away by it and honored to be considered for it.

PopHorror: Michelle was incredible.

Skeet Ulrich: Yeah!

PopHorror: This is one of her best roles. She was just amazing.

Skeet Ulrich: Yeah, yeah. I got to witness it from three feet away most of the time. Pretty phenomenal.

PopHorror: That’s awesome! After reading the script, was there anything you were adamant about bringing to your character?

Skeet Ulrich: I don’t know if adamant, but there was something that I really wanted to work on with Brad, and then we did, and he agreed with and was open to, same with Michelle, was I wanted him to be on the same financial basis as her, so tonally they were sort of cut from the same cloth. Initially, the way he was written it felt like he was a bit more well-to-do. It was just something that I had an instinct about, that it needed to feel like somebody she had dated in high school, and did date in high school, and they had a long history together. So that was really kind of it. Brad’s a master of tone so he was all about it, of figuring that out and it didn’t take much to change a few things to make it work.

PopHorror: I think it was effective, because you did get that vibe that they were high school sweethearts who started their lives together and then it just kind of went in the opposite direction of what they were hoping for.

Skeet Ulrich: Oh good, thank you.

PopHorror: You’re a fan favorite in the horror genre. How does that feel, and what draws you to horror?

Skeet Ulrich: It’s wild, because in my mind, I haven’t really done that many of them. I mean, Scream obviously was pretty big, and to my mind, The Craft is less a horror film than a supernatural thriller. I don’t feel like I necessarily deserve that. But in terms of Scream, we do these conventions throughout the year, these horror conventions, and you really feel it there. The people’s love of it, and the genre. It’s pretty wild. I would have known idea, six years ago, seven years ago, before I ever did one of these conventions, that they existed. So it’s pretty mind boggling and continues to be.

PopHorror: Scream changed the horror genre, and it opened up to audiences who may have never watched horror before.

Skeet Ulrich: Yeah!

PopHorror: I think that’s why it resonates with people. And conventions bring all of us misfits and weirdos together to talk about something that we love. I met you here in Arizona at Mad Monster.

Skeet Ulrich: Oh yeah!

PopHorror: And your line was the longest one there. That just tells you how people horror and love the people that make their favorite things.

Skeet Ulrich: Yeah, it’s an interesting experience going to those. Matt Lillard and I, it’s really become us thanking people. They’re coming for a reason, and they’re coming to get pictures, and signatures, and time, and whatever, but it means so much to us. We spend all weekend elaborating on that and hoping that people feel the gratitude for their fandom, if you will.

PopHorror: We do, we do.

Skeet Ulrich: Good!

PopHorror: What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t acting?

Skeet Ulrich: Oh my god. Who knows? All of my family are in NASCAR, been in the sport for a long, long time, and continue to work in it, so I assume I’d be at a racetrack somewhere, or at a shop somewhere. Who knows? It was not my cup of tea so I chose other things, but that would have been the easy walk. If I had my druthers, I guess, otherwise I’d build furniture, or build anything. I’d be a builder.

PopHorror: Well, we definitely appreciate you taking the path that you did.

Skeet Ulrich: Me too! My body thanks me for sure.

PopHorror: What is up next for you?

Skeet Ulrich: I just completed a show for AMC with Giancarlo Esposito. Well, we shot the first season anyway. It’s called Parish, and it’s phenomenal. It’s just such a beautiful story and he is absolutely incredible to be around, to work with, to collaborate with. I think we’ve created something pretty special. There’s nothing solid yet, but I think it will air later summer or early fall. That’s what they’re talking about anyway, so we’ll see.

PopHorror: I am intrigued!

Skeet Ulrich: Yeah, it’s a really, really beautiful story. Intriguing story. Yeah, I’m excited.

PopHorror: I just have one last question for you today. What is your favorite scary movie?

Skeet Ulrich: The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

PopHorror: Oh, you did not even have to think about that.

Skeet Ulrich: No. That one… Look. There’s my TV, or my theater, and this is what’s behind me, and I was watching Emily Rose the first time in the dark, and I kept turning around feeling like something was coming in the windows behind me, or up to the windows. It’s the only film I’ve ever stopped watching and waited for the sun to come up to finish watching. It drove me crazy, that movie.

Thank you so much to Skeet for taking the time to speak with us. Blood is now available on demand!