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Your new movie Eminence
Hill - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us
about your character in it?
Eminence
Hill is almost an homage to Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch,
it's about the
West as it probably was in the sense that there are no white hat good guys
or black hat bad guys, the characters are very human, being good, bad ,and in
some cases indifferent, much like real life no one's all good or all bad,
everyone in the film is a mixture of both but leaning more to the bad.
My character Mordicai is a snakeoil salesman traveling with his black man
servant/bodyguard, Jonah, a mute former slave Mordicai picked up in
his travels. Their relationship is almost father and son as opposed to master and
slave. Mordicai is very fond of Jonah and they are dependent on
one another, in fact they are probably equally yoked, Mordicai being the
brains and Jonah being the brawns, Mordicai doesn't carry a gun, he doesn't
need to he has Jonah. What did you draw upon to
bring your character to life, and how much Michael Harrelson can we find
in Mordicai? Good question, lol ,more than most would imagine unless you've known me for years
- first Mordicai prefers to charm and bedazzle you with bullshit, rather
blind you with brilliance, he is a conman thru and thru, and something of
a showman/thespian in the PT Barnum mold, his motto is a lie is as good as
the truth if you can get someone to believe it, he isn't evil he is just
self-serving, kind of like the Wizard in the Wizard of
Oz, not a malicious
bone in his body, very little truth in his claims, what he lacks in
character he embellished with guile and cunning, he's very crafty and fox-like.
As to how much of me is in him, first I'd have to give Rob Conway [Robert
Conway interview - click here] most
of the credit for his creation, BUT most people don't know this, in my youth
I used to be a barker at strip clubs in New Orleans. If you don't know what
a barker is, he's the guy at the door loudly talking about how beautiful
and talented the girls inside the club are, lot of fast talk and
exaggeration used to entice unknowing marks and their money into the club,
much like a barker at the carnival lure you into the freak show tent. How did you get involved with the project
in the first place?
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As
you might know Rob and Owen Conway, his brother, have been friends of mine
for several years going back to Exit To Hell, Rob's second film,
with Kane
Hodder and Tiffany Shepis [Tiffany
Shepis interview - click here]. Anyway he sent me the script saying he had
written the character with me in mind, and as I read it Mordicai began taking
shape in my mind's eye - now I still had to audition for the part, we are very
good friends, but nothing is granted. Based on that alone, I have read for
Rob and not gotten the role on a couple of other films so it's never a
slam dunk, however I began seeing Mordicai as a man meticulously dressed
in somewhat shabby clothes, which in his mind are the finest fashion even
if somewhat the worse from wear from traveling the West in a broken down
old medicine show wagon. I'd just wrapped doing Krampus
Origins where I'm
the drunken priest and a short role in Batlefield 2025 where I play Big
Buck who runs Big Bucks Brake's, and could be the great grandson of
Mordicai, but that's another story, anyway I started growing a beard for
the part, and I went down to Tombstone for the anniversary of the film
Tombstone and found the grey top hat in one of the stores there, and
Mordicai came to life. I submitted a self-taped audition and got the part. What can you
tell us about Eminence
Hill's director Robert Conway [Robert
Conway interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
like? Robert
is probably the most prolific director I've ever worked with, he writes,
directs, acts and often shoots his own films or at least parts of them, he
is a quadruple treat! And he's good at anything he does, both the Conways
are very driven to not only succeed but to be better every time they step
up, and they always are, having done six films with them I've seen the
growth, and I'd say we aren't too different to John Ford and his
repertory company of actors who show up in every film. Usually on any of
Robert's films you see very familiar faces you've worked with before,
behind the scenes as well, so it has a very family-like atmosphere. As
for collaboration, Robert is very easy to work with, he pretty much trusts
your judgement once you're on set and filming begins, he's very approachable
with ideas on things a character might say or do that wasn't written in
the script.
Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set
atmosphere!
This
shoot was amazing I mean Lance Henriksen and Barry Corbin, my God they are
icons! Just incredible to be on set with, both gentlemen are surprisingly
genuine and humble, considering their stature as actors. I've always
admired both of them tremendously, based simply on their bodies of work. Most people don't know it but Buck Taylor was originally cast as
Noah, but
we sidelined due to Illness, and Barry Corbin was brought in as his
replacement, but he is so outstanding in the part it's hard to imagine
anyone else playing Noah. Everyone really did an exceptional job on this
film, Clint James as Royce Tullis is nothing short of amazing, Charlie
Motley as Garrett blows me away with the naturalness of his performance, of course Owen Conway owns his role of Quincey Hollis Foster, the
psychopathic marshall tracking down Royce Tullis and his band of outlaws.
Wonderful supporting roles by Anna Harr, Dominique Swain, Augie Duke, Maria
Olsen [Maria Olsen interview -
click here], Brinke Stevens [Brinke
Stevens interview - click here], Tori Osborne, Bill Connor, Greg Lutz, Jeff Yazzie,
Victorio Pope, just to name a few! Hair and make up by Victoria Sandoval,
set design and wardrobe by Lori Haberman, make it look like a
several million Dollar production. A phenomenal sound track featuring songs
by Charley Motley and the immensely talented Amelia Haberman add so much
to the production. The real star of the movie is the State of Arizona,
captured in all her glory by Barry Cohen and Norm Davis!! Man,
their camerawork is magnificent, they really make this movie look as good
as anything Tarantino shot in 70 mm, seriously those guys are unbelieveable.
Any future projects you'd like to share? I'm
blessed! Starting a faith-based film where I play a reformed alcoholic cop
Bill Randall in Someday, and Copper Town after that and hopefully whatever
Robert Conway shoots next, hint, hint ...
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Your
website, Facebook, whatever else?
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2204540/
@Michael Harrelson Actor on Facebook. Anything else you're
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Watch
for the movie's premier Nov 1 in LA and available on DVD and VOD Nov 5. Also check out
Room for Rent with Lin Shaye also on
Uncork'd. Thanks
for the interview!
Thank
you !!!! See ya in the movies.
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amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
