PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It’s been two decades since iconic filmmaker John Waters made his Child’s Play franchise debut in Seed of Chucky as Pete Peters, a skeevy paparazzo who meets a nasty acid demise.
Over the past 20 years, Waters has remained an avid fan of the franchise, staying up to date with the subsequent movies and Chucky television show, and loving every fun, bloody moment. Therefore, when Don Mancini [our interview] asked Waters to take on a brand new role in the Chucky Season 3 finale, it was a no-brainer for him to oblige.
On May 1, Waters made his debut as Wendell Wilkins, the reclusive creator/”father” of the Good Guy doll who is in league with Caroline Cross (Carina Battrick, Under the Banner of Heaven 2022) and has dark plans for the trio of Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur, The 5th Wave 2016), Devon Evans (Bjorgvin Arnarson, The Seventh Day 2021) and Lexy Cross (Alyvia Alyn Lind, The Spiderwick Chronicles 2024).
Ahead of the shocking finale, PopHorror had the pleasure of speaking with Waters about his exciting return to the franchise, how he drew inspiration from Vincent Price (House on Haunted Hill 1959) when getting into the character of Wendell, whether or not Chucky and Divine (Pink Flamingoes 1972) would’ve gotten along and more.
PopHorror: Can you believe it’s been 20 years since Seed of Chucky came out? I can’t!
John Waters: No, because I still get recognized for it all the time wherever I go, especially on public transportation, people always recognize me from Chucky. And the Chucky movies, they keep playing. It’s like Law & Order, it never ends.
PopHorror: It’s been 20 years, what made now the time to come back?
John Waters: I would’ve come back every year since then if Don asked me. He knew I loved being in it and I always spoke well of Chucky and everything, so it was exciting to be in it again, especially in the finale! And I’ve got a good part too.
PopHorror: You do! It’s a much eviler part than the paparazzi guy.
John Waters: Yeah, yeah, it’s very Vincent Price-ish.
PopHorror: Exactly. Going off of that, was there anyone that you really drew from that inspired you when you were getting into the headspace of this role?
John Waters: I guess Vincent Price is always the one. Vincent Price called me when he was alive once because I did a special on him, I talked about how much I liked him, and he called me to thank me. And then I talked to the daughter, who wrote a really good biography on Vincent Price. And then actually, I just heard from her. She’s coming to Baltimore, I think I’m gonna see her when she’s coming here. So I’ve always felt close to Vincent Price, from The Tingler and everything. So I guess I’ve tried to throw a little of him in. But more so I guess, I was just trying to play whatever was written, the part. You know, some creepy guy that lives in a house all alone that has been traumatized by children. I got along with the cast great though, the cast was fun, so I liked working with them.
PopHorror: I was going to ask, what was it like working with the new generation of actors?
John Waters: They’re fun, they’re young, they’re nonbinary, you don’t know what they are. But the parents were great too. And it’s just a weird situation to be that age and be starring in a TV show, it’s not a normal life. You’re on a set all day, you’re not in real life. But we had a great time, I had fun with them very much. I hope I get to go back. I hope it gets renewed.
PopHorror: I hope so too! Now when you came on board for the show, had you been following everything since Seed, or did you have to catch up?
John Waters: Oh yeah, I’ve watched all the Chucky movies and I’ve seen the show. I’ve always watched it, even when I wasn’t on. I get questions about Chucky everytime I do a spoken word show, which I do 50 a year, so basically he’s always been in my life. And Glen is standing in my living room, I have one of the real ones that was in the movie. And it’s usually in my living room, but now it’s in the Academy Awards Museum show about my work. So it’s on loan now.
PopHorror: Did you ever expect Chucky to go this long with a whole TV show?
John Waters: Even when I was in it, it had already been a hit and there had been several sequels. So I knew I was part of a brand. It always was just a brand that I felt very comfortable in. And I felt the fact that Chucky, I mean, even that Glen doll I have in my living room, my friends’ children freak out when they come over. Sometimes I even have to put it away. They look over and they’re terrified, which I find hilarious, that just a doll can do that.
PopHorror: Glen is the freakiest looking one, but the nicest one.
John Waters: Glen to me looks like a Walter Keane painting. It looks like Sid Vicious and Walter Keane put together. So they’re both a little punkish. I think that’s why I always kind of got into them. But I collect everything, I have the Chucky cookbook, the Chucky everything.
PopHorror: There’s a cookbook?!
John Waters: I even have the sweater that lights up that I wore to my family Christmas dinner this year.
PopHorror: Love it! Now John, I’d love to ask you about Seed. I feel like it was so ahead of its time with Glen being genderfluid and everything. What was it like to be part of that?
John Waters: I think Glen/Glenda was a reference to Ed Wood certainly, who was trans and certainly nonbinary, if you see Glen or Glenda the movie. So I think bringing that in gave it a new twist, and Divine’s real name was Glenn. So that had something to do with it too in a weird way. And he was punk, and punk has always been kind of downlow gay. So kind of it all came together in something that I think obviously worked for the public and it definitely worked with me.
PopHorror: Over the weekend, I was revisiting some of your early work. I couldn’t help but wonder, if Chucky ever had the opportunity to share the screen with Divine, especially in Multiple Maniacs, what do you think would happen?
John Waters: Multiple Maniacs was thought up to be a horror movie. Divine was a monster recreated to scare hippies. And I think Divine would’ve been very comfortable with Chucky. I mean, when Divine had the Cavalcade of Perversion, where she lured people in to watch freaks and then kill them and rob them, I think Chucky would be quite at home in Multiple Maniacs. He could’ve been an opening act, or Divine could’ve had him as her bodyguard. If there was a sequel, I think Chucky could’ve been her bodyguard. Definitely.
PopHorror: Your new character of Wendell Wilkins lives, unlike your past character of Pete Peters. Would you want to come back for Season 4 and, if so, what would you want to see happen?
John Waters: I don’t know, I’m not the writer. I’ll leave it up to Don because he comes up with good stuff, you know? I just want more twists and definitely I’d like to be on it. I had a great time everyday, I loved seeing the kids that are in it. He’ll think of some new way to startle me because it does startle me, the show, what they get away with. And no one seems to complain because it’s funny. But it’s also really edgy and it pushes a lot of buttons, but people don’t realize that. It sneaks in like Hairspray snuck in. It’s like a trojan horse. It gets by and nobody reacts to the buttons that seem obvious. That’s a skill.
PopHorror: It is. And Don has been tossing around the idea of sending Chucky to space. How do you feel about that?
John Waters: Well, science fiction is the only genre that I don’t get, but I’ll be happy if they can make me motionless, I’ll be floating up there. If we go to another planet, that would be… But Chucky in space, like on Sputnik, I don’t know. Don will come up with something. He’ll come up with something good.
PopHorror: Back to your episode of Chucky, there’s a really big plot twist. What did you think when you read the script?
John Waters: I was happy because it was a pivotal part, definitely. I’m playing really the father [of the Good Guy], even though he tells me not to get any father issues because he doesn’t need any father giving him advice. But it’s a good part. It has a lot of history and I was thrilled by it.
PopHorror: Just in general, is there anything upcoming for you?
John Waters: Oh God, I’m always doing my show, I’m doing the John Waters Summer Camp, I host a big punk rock festival in Oakland on July 4th weekend, I do my spoken word show all over the country, I have a big Christmas tour coming up. Yeah, I’m busy. Come see me!
Thanks for speaking with us, John!
Be sure to check out Chucky on SyFy and on Peacock!
