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Your new movie [Cargo]
- in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your
character in it?
[Cargo]
is about a wealthy business man who is drugged,
kidnapped and held hostage in a metal cargo container. He has only a
cellphone to come up with 10 million Dollars in 24 hours, or his wife
will be gangraped and killed and he will be left to die. I
play Anthony Peterson. He has a checkered past and not a lot of real
friends. I'm an evil guy, but I do love my "trophy"
wife. Some reviewers have said they feel sorry for me, even though I'm
not too nice a guy. What did you draw upon to bring your
character to life, and how much Ron Thompson can we actually find in
Anthony Peterson? I play characters believeing that whatever I say is the truth and I am
always right. I worked on it for over a month. I understood all the
emotions, but it took me a long time to get Anthony's speech. His rhythm. Once I found that, I was off and running. Because of the many
weeks of work I memorized the whole thing.
You are in almost every shot in [Cargo]
without any other on-screen actors to bounce off of - so what kind of a
strain was that for you as an actor? We shot it in totally succession. I was prepared and it wasn't a
strain. The phone conversations were with a lovely young lady, Sarah,
who was the PA. The other actors came in a couple days after we finished
filming. I was amazed at how James Dylan and our sound mixer blended it
so well. It really seems like we are talking to each other. There were
times I was a bit exauhsted and I had to take a break. It was a very
creative time, I truly enjoyed it. How did you get
involved with the project in the first place? I have known James for a number of years. He's a huge American Pop
fan. He wrote it for me. As a matter of fact, Anthony Peterson was a
combination of Tony and Pete. My 2 characters in American Pop. Our
producer J.C. Macek III [J.C.
Macek interview - click here] came up with that. What can
you tell us about your director James Dylan [James
Dylan interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
like? As I said, James and I were friends and he had been a fan of mine
since he was a teenager. He created an atmosphere for me to work and
pretty much left me alone to create. Any future projects you'd like to share? There's another young filmmaker, Joe Black, who was also an
American
Pop fan, I met him a few years ago. I've made 5 films for him. All very
good and unique films. None have yet to be released. Two (Low Town and
Gena ) will be on pay for view in March, 2019
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Armstrong Circle Theater |
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"No Place to be Somebody" |
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Baretta |
You
entered the filmworld back in the 1960s at a rather young age - so do talk
about your early days for a bit! Please read everything you want
to know about my early career in my bio:
"Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1941, Ron, his older brother
and mom and dad moved to Miami, Florida in '45.
He showed talents as a singer / performer. At an early age, he
performed in kiddie shows.
In his early teens he saw Brando in On the Waterfront. He knew then he wanted to be an actor.
At 19, with $200, he set out for New York. Two years later (on his 21st birthday) he was acting opposite
Robert Duval on the live TV drama Armstrong Circle Theater.
At the same time, he had begun a singing career. Ron had a record
out. Over the next 2 years, he had 2 records released. Neither were
hits, but because of them and his budding acting career, Ron got a
starring role in a film, opposite British actor Hugh Griffith - once again another disappointment. The movie was never released.
It wasn't until 1969 that his career really got a shot in the arm.
He originated the role of Shanty in the Pulitzer Prize winning play
"No Place to be Somebody". Ron recieved rave reviews in both New York and
across the US, when he later toured.
In '72 he joined the prestigeous cast of the Henry Fonda revival
"The
Time of Your Life". By then Ron had moved to LA. He was awarded The Los Angelos Drama Critics Circle
Award in 1973
for his portrayal of Bickham in "Does A Tiger Wear a Necktie".
Around this time his Hollywood film and TV career took off. In the next 25 years, he could be seen guesting on numerous
television shows. One of which was a recurring character on the Emmy winning
Baretta.
He starred in an animated film for Ralph Bakshi, American Pop. It
was Rotoscoped, a process in which the actors performed the entire movie
on a soundstage. That film was then traced and the background drawn in. Ron played the 2 leads Tony and Pete.
Again a disappointment, the film didn't make it and Ron's
contribution was ignored.
In the late 90's he became disillusioned with his career. He even
questioned his own talent. He stopped acting. He went on a spiritual search and eventually began to fight through
the darkness. He joined Facebook in 2010 and to his amazement, a large group of
people searched him out. Unbeknowns to him, American Pop had become a cult classic, thanks
to DVDs, cable and the internet. He discovered people had loved the
movie for many years and they knew who he was. They understood what
Rotosope was and that they were watching a tracing of his performance.
Recently he was honored at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater. There was a
special showing of American Pop and he did a Q & A, prior to the
film.
Two young filmmakers/fans wrote lead roles for him. He has 5 movies
yet to be released.
One of the 5, [Cargo],
has aquired distribution and was released Nov.13, 2018. He also has the management of Newman and Thomas.
After 15 years, Ron is beginning his career again..."
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Having been in the
business for quite some time now, how has the filmworld changed over the
years?
The business has changed greatly. Partly because there are more people here wanting to be actors - or just
famous. Reality shows have made people think they will just be discovered.
The other thing is casting is done through self taping. Actors
audition by taping themslves and casting directors look at thousands of
auditions for one role. I don't know how anyone gets cast. I'm lucky to
have James and Joe writing for me.
Actors (and indeed
actresses) who inspire you?
I was first inspired by Brando and Dean. When I came to NYC, I
studied the method, but it never really worked for me. I was able to pretend, very well.
Charles Gordon who wrote
No Place to be Somebody was also an actor, and he really
taught me a great deal.
Your favourite movies? On the Waterfront,
Bonnie and Clyde, Apocalypse Now, Pulp Fiction. Anything else you're dying to
mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
I really hope people see [Cargo]. I'm very proud of it.
Thanks for
the interview!
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