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Your new movie
Mauler - in a few words, what's it about, and what can you tell us
about your character in it?
Mauler is a slasher film about a
giant religious zealot who’s home gets broken into while he mourns the
death of his grandmother, and the consequences of not only the invaders
actions, but his as well. What did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and
how much Breck Cuddy can we find in Lucas? I had to go
through a good bit of makeup each day, including dying my hair darker and
getting bloodied up each day. Looking in the mirror and seeing a very
different version of myself helped me step into Lucas each day. Outside of
that, simply studying other iconic slasher villains was definitely
beneficial to be able to pull from as well.
Honestly, what kind of a challenge and/or how much fun was it to play a
character as evil as Lucas? It’s always fun to play a
villain! I do make sure when I play a character like this or do any sort
of creature work to make a bit of an effort to be playful and jokey
between takes (unless my scene partner asks not to so they can stay in it
better), because I don’t think it’s healthy or necessarily too fun to
remain at such a heightened state or remain a scary figure especially
between setups for myself or my fellow actors. But when the camera’s
rolling, I just wanna be bad! How did
you get involved with the project in the first place, what drew you to it?
I actually initially auditioned for the role of “Adam” ,which was
played wonderfully by the amazing Jayden Stith. I found the role of Adam
on Backstage describing a tall protector of the group, so I thought that
would be in my wheelhouse. After submitting the self tape, I got an in-person callback. Once I met
director Terence Bernie Hines and read the scene a couple of times,
he asked me if I had ever played a villain, and asked me to “murder” the
reader (Adam Arabshani), to which I did, and got cast as Lucas instead! I
guess I’m a better killer than protector? Something to talk about in
therapy, I guess!
With Mauler
being a slasher movie, is that a genre at all dear to you? And to what
extent could you identify with
Mauler's take on slasher cinema? For someone who
acts primarily in horror films, I would not say it is a genre I’m
naturally inclined to turn on on any given night, but I find a lot of joy
playing in that world. I am a comedian and want to make more comedy
projects, but after working in both genres, I fully understand what Jordan
Peele meant when he said “the difference between horror and comedy is the
music.” Obviously this is a bit of an exaggeration, but both ultimately
just want to get a physical reaction out of the audience, and it’s fun to
play with and discover choices that can make that happen on set.
Mauler
is a great take on the genre because our slasher has a clear “why”, which
I think can be looked over easily in the genre. What can
you tell us about Mauler's
director Terence Bernie Hines, and what was your collaboration like?
Terence and our producer, Sonia Machado-Hines, were both so very warm and welcoming
to me when I joined the cast and treated me like family which made my job
much easier and less stressful to see the level of trust they had in me from
the beginning. I am very grateful to them for this opportunity for my
first feature film, and it’s something I will never forget.
A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set
atmosphere? As is the case with many low budget projects,
the cast and crew got very close and had a lot of fun on the shoot!
Everyone hanging out and working together in the house we shot in lent a
hand to some long term friendships and collaborators I hope to stay in
touch with throughout my career. Any future projects you'd like to
share? As we all are, I’m just trying to stay busy and make
cool stuff. I always promote any projects coming out or improv shows I’m
doing on my Instagram @breckcuddy, so check me out on there! I’m on an
improv team at UCB Theater in LA with shows every other Monday, so come
check it out and support live comedy!
From what know, Mauler
is your first film as an actor, but you've got a couple or so shorts as
writer/producer/director to your name - so what can you tell us about that
aspect of your career, and what made you want to enter the filmworld in
the first place?
I actually went to school for filmmaking
at New York Film Academy and took acting and improv classes to be able to
work with actors better and more effectively, but quickly fell in love
with performing as well! While my main goal will always be
writing/directing, acting is a wonderful tool I have been able to work on
throughout the last few years on various projects, and I hope it is
something I continue to be able to do for a long time. Long story short
about entering the film world: I was playing basketball in college, hated
it, discovered my love for film and desire to work in that field, quit
ball, moved to NYC to pursue that love and never looked back!
How would you describe yourself as an actor, and some of your
techniques to bring your characters to life? I think I have
good instincts, especially from having an improv background, and am good
about bringing ideas to set, but also being able to handle it when the
ideas aren’t used! I love collaboration in any form and love to bring that
to set.
Actors (and indeed actresses) who inspire you? Of course
the king of creature work, Doug Jones, is a huge inspiration. In comedy I
admire Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, and other tall guys who carry
themselves in the funniest way possible, using their size to their
advantage but also not. Your
favourite movies?
Slow West, a beautiful
western from 2015 that I wish more people knew about. It’s such a perfect
film in my opinion that's full of love, heartbreak, and redemption. Other
movies I love are Scott Pilgrim Vs the World,
Semi Pro and La La Land are definitely up there
off the top of my head! ... and of course, films you
really deplore? I’m gonna… avoid this on Your website, social media,
whatever else? @breckcuddy on Instagram and
breckcuddy.com Thanks
for the interview!
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