Your new movie Choke
- in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your
character in it?
This
movie is a difficult one to explain to be honest, on the surface it is a
story about a young girl's meeting and subsequent relationship with a
serial killer and a detective, her experiences with the two men lead her
down a dark path. My character Robert is a detective who has many
unhappy and dark parts to his private and sometimes public life, he has
obsessions and is guilt-ridden from his past relationship.
What did you draw
upon to bring your character to life, and how much Scott Butler can we find
in Robert? This
was a fascinating movie to work on, as the script played out like a
surrealist dream or nightmare, moments in time shifting, what is real,
what is not, when is this happening, are all of these characters really
there? I decided to throw away a lot of my acting process and not
prepare the moments before, so that each scene was difficult to pinpoint
on a timeline of what happens to him. I don't think there's much of
me in Robert, but like everyone I've gone through things that make you
look back and wonder about how you dealt with them and if they were
healthy in your life. How did you become involved with the project
in the first place, and to what extent could you identify with its
serialkiller theme?
I've
known Gregory Hatanaka, the writer/producer/director of Choke,
for many years and worked on several of his movies, he's a close friend
and I love his filmmaking style both on the set and also what he creates.
I am fascinated with serial killer themes, have done a lot of research and
read a lot about past serial killers, the theme doesn't strike a chord
with who I am personally, but I am always interested in the full spectrum
of human behavior, in how far we can go in one direction.
What can you tell us
about Choke's director
Gregory Hatanaka, and what was your collaboration like? It's
always a joy to work with Greg, he is so collaborative, lets actors try
things, and the feeling on set is one of friendship, creativity and passion
for film, all of which make the experience so incredible to work in.
Greg has had an incredible career in film, in so many aspects of the
industry and worked with some true greats, I am very honored to be able to
work with him and call him a friend. Choke
wasn't the first time you've worked with Gegory Hatanaka - so what can you
tell us about your other collaborations? I've worked on a few films
of his, Holy Terror, Death Game, Heartbeat, Darling
Nikki. I first
met him years ago on one of his film sets, had just moved to LA so was
lending a hand, years later a mutual friend asked me if I'd be interested
in doing a quick pickup scene for one of his films, and of course I jumped
at the chance. Holy Terror was the first project where he cast me as
a lead character, I loved working on that movie, really was a lot of fun
creating my layered/conflicted character Father Jacob.
A few words
about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? It was just a lot of fun,
we worked hard but it never felt like a grind, it was always shocking when
we checked our phones to see the time it was, we'd been filming and
working until late sometimes. Very bitter-sweet to film my last day
on Choke, as you had so much fun but also so happy to have worked on it.
There was a lot of joking, playing with scenes, making new friends on set,
recommending actors and actresses for open roles, it was such a blast the
whole thing. Any
future projects you'd like to share? I
played two roles on one movie (that was a first) called Attack of
the Unknown from Michael and Sonny Mahal, a fantastic sci-fi movie
starring Tara Reid, Richard Grieco and Robert LaSardo, coming out in
August. One of the characters is human but the other is a creature
with heavy prosthetics, that's how I was able to get away playing two on
this one! I love creature performance roles, have studied mime and body performance with Lorin Eric Salm (who studied with the world famous
mime artist Marcel Marceau). I also played a smaller role in Greg's
new movie Heartbeat, which I believe is coming out soon. I have a
few other movies that are starting pre-production soon, so will update on
that as they start to get off the ground.
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Your
website, social media, whatever else?
My
main website can be found at www.scottbutleractor.com,
my IMDb is at www.imdb.me/scottbutler, and
my Facebook/Twitter and Instagram is at @scottbutleract
Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? A beautifully made and
critically acclaimed TV show I had the honor of being a part of, Lodge 49 from
AMC, produced by (and also featuring) Paul
Giamatti and my episode directed by the superbly talented Alethea Jones,
is out on Amazon Prime and Hulu. If you want to watch something with
real heart and originality, there really is nothing better than Lodge 49. Please give this lovely show some love, it
currently has season 1 and 2 out, and are hoping that a season 3 will
happen someday! Thanks
for the interview! Thank
you so much for having me on here!
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