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First of all, could you intrduce yourself to those of my readers who don't
already know you?
HAHA!
Once there was a little boy with the green hair... No literally, I
was a very unusual boy. At 9 I was already taking planes on my own and at
10 started coloring my hair provocatively. I have been an actor since then
in Italy and Europe first where I was born and grew up mostly, and then
came here about 10 years ago because the scene in Italy was becoming lame
and the crisis had killed the industry. Had a US passport (my mom is a
citizen) and wanted to give it a try ... but ended up loving LA and the
land, the people and the parties … and Hollywood! And here I am even
producing movies now, who knew?
I'd like to start the interview with talking
about a few of your new and upcoming films. What can you tell us about Orgy
of Blood?
Orgy of Blood |
Orgy of Blood is one
of the movies I enjoyed doing the most ever! The set was pure creative
pleasure, the people all just wonderful, the location is fascinating to
say the least, the costumes incredible… most of all I was playing
finally a Vampire in an erotic film with a great style part coming from pulps like the classic 70's Euro sleaze
Vampirella and more noble
literature like Anne Rice's novels. Heaven! I wanted to make that movie,
even when I didn't know it was gonna happen.
I always wanted to make that film and now it's a reality! I think
I’d wanna see more films like this one! :)
A few words about the Final Girl-Trilogy?
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Orgy of Blood |
Oh… that's a real
70's style giallo with a touch of Fellini and of course a lot of
Creepersin [Creep
Creepersin interview - click here]!!!
You figure! HA! What
about The Brothers Cannibal? Brothers Cannibal is a
very intense, disturbing story which supposedly really happened in Russia. I
just have a cameo.
Creep Creepersin
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All these films were
directed by Creep Creepersin [Creep
Creepersin interview - click here]. How did you originally hook
up, and what kind of a director is he?
Creep is the most original and at
the same time the most down-to-earth director I have ever worked with. I
love his sense of style! And the way he likes to create a film! Scripts
are important, but the real thing happens on set every day.
He is a true visionary! Sometimes you don't even know exactly
what's happening but you'd trust him no matter what! He knows what he
wants and makes you totally confident that you will be able to give him
what he wants!
And as a producer I must say you
know he is creating a picture! Not merely filming one!!!
I wanted to meet him because I had heard of his
work and my publicist Aine Leicht made it possible and after a few hours
we were already talking about making a movie together! Both him and his
wife and co-producer, Nikki Wall, are really great to work with!
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Box of Shadows |
A few words about Box
of Shadows, a film you also executive produced? Box of Shadows is an
action drama with a touch of horror. It is about some kids getting lost in
the world of meth and drugs in general! It was a very difficult production
but it turned out so well. There
are really great projects for it! Then
there's What a Great Idea, which you not only starred in and
executive-produced but also co-wrote. What can you tell us about that one? It's the same story
told in 10 different ways! Basically it shows how reality can change when
it's told by a group of 10 friends! Their points of view are so different
that at the end you don't even know what to believe anymore or maybe
reality does not exist per se, it is all relative. Very interesting
concept!
House of Flesh Mannequins |
House
of Flesh Mannequins is just too great a title for me to not ask about
that one. So please tell us about it! House of Flesh
Mannequins is the story of a tormented photographer who lives in a
crumbling seedy building and he gets obsessed with his new lovely
neighbor, a young bored girl who takes care of her blind father (Italian
star Giovanni Lombardo Radice).The story takes a turn when she will start
following the photographer into the terrible world of snuff films... It's
another extremely stylish film with some horrific scenes where real
performers cut themselves for real, or ate glass, swords and more. It
really has some frightening moments and it opens in the US at The Santa Fe
Film Festival, introduced by Robert Englund [Robert
Englund bio - click here]! I am really curious to see how
this one will be received! I expect a huge controversy!
You are also in Sean
Cain's Silent Night, Zombie Night [Sean
Cain interview - click here]. What can you tell us about that
movie? That's a classic zombie film! Bloody, gory and fun. I like Sean Cain.
It was fun working with him and Felissa Rose!
Frankenstein Rising |
In Frankenstein Rising, you play the iconic
charactrer of Victor
Frankenstein himself. What was your take on that role? Very
romantic I guess: A man torn from the love and the hate for his own creature, so well
portrayed by the great Randal Malone! And the film stars so many Old
Hollywood Glories! For me it was wonderful meeting people like Margaret
O'Brien from Meet Me in St. Louis and Little Women! A true legend! A
few words on Lizard Boy? A Sci Fi movie about a boy who has some very special powers... What about Samurai Avenger:
The Blind Wolf? A sushi western! It's
getting great reviews in the film festivals circuit worldwide! It's shot
like a classic Sergio Leone western but it's about Martial Arts! And I
play Nathan Flesher, a character that seems to be coming out of Kubrick's
Clockwork Orange! What else do you want??? LOL You also had a small and uncredited role in
Sacha Baron Cohen's Brüno. How was it working on that film? Quite interesting
seeing how Sacha Baron Cohen always stays in character. My role will be
more visible in the unrated DVD version, the film was cut dramatically by
censorship! And Universal could not handle an NC-17 of course! C'est la
vie! Any
other new or upcoming films/future projects you'd like to talk about? Oh my! I should take a
vacation! But actually no! I am working on a movie for Syfy Channel called
The Occultist and will produce and star in the futuristic thriller H1N1...
you know, it's about a virus ... LOL
And then I must work with Mr. Creepersin again! There's a new
project just in the writing that will be made in the fall!
I am very excited about this but I won't tell what it is yet!
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Domiziano Arcangeli, circa 1991 |
Leaving
the present behind for the time being: You got your start in the movies
in Italy in the early 1980's when you were still in your early teens. What
can you tell us about your early career? It was a great
experience but at the time it was more about working, cashing in and go
traveling with my buds. I didn't have much passion for anything. I was a
true rebel, living carefree and from bad to worse! Later on I started
doing proper work and getting involved with acting coaches and preparation
on roles. And then I ended up becoming a cinephile. But as a teen I was
totally about my life. In your teens
you also made two films with veteran genre director Antonio Margheriti [Antonio
Margheriti bio - click here], I Cacciatori del Cobra
d'Oro/Hunters of the Golden Cobra and I Sopravvissuti della
Città Morta/The Ark of the Sun God. What are your
recollections of Margheriti and your films with him? The Canary Islands!!!
HAHA! Those were really great! They were shot on location, mostly there
and in Spain! Margheriti was a perfectionist and a real gentleman!
Extremely educated. His sets were very well organized and it was all like
a dream. What can
you tell us about your film with Joe D'Amato [Joe
D'Amato bio - click here], Il Piacere/The Pleasure? Uhm… Joe D'Amato was
such a character. I don't remember talking to him much.
He would refer to me like that blond little boy or bitch, depending
on the day, and order some producer what or where I had to stand.
You
also had a small, uncredited role in Federico Fellini's Intervista.
A few words about Fellini and his film? There are no few words
when it comes to Fellini! I must say: OUSTANDING! The set was so big, one
of the biggest I’ve ever seen!
What can you tell us
about Liliana Cavani's Francesco starring Mickey Rourke? Liliana is still a
friend she had directed The Night Porter and was rightly considered one of
the best directors of her time! Mickey Rourke was generous and so
passionate about playing St. Francis of Assisi. He played him like a hippie! It was a beautiful and a very grand movie. Very, very moving! I had
to discipline myself on that set! That's when I started to think: OK,
you'd better study or they will fire you!
Your
recollections of Tinto Brass and Paprika?
Tinto (who directed
also Caligula and Salon
Kitty) was a friend and hired me for that! It was
another huge success in Europe! Huge! That movie made a fortune! And it is
about whorehouses!
You also were
in Umberto Lenzi's Demoni 3/Black
Demons, right [Umberto Lenzi
bio - click here]? Yes, he was very
strict with me. But I was so excited because we went to Rio de Janeiro for
five weeks! And the movie is still a really scary one! With Stelvio Massi, you made L'Urlo
della Verità - a few words about that one? I must tell you I
don't remember the story but Massi was another master! That movie gave me
a lot of popularity in Italy at the time and I think I was playing a
paraplegic getting addicted to drugs.
With the legendary Jess Franco you
did Red Silk, Incubus
and Flores de Perversión.
What can you tell us about the man and your films with him? Jess Franco: the one
and the only! What amazes me about him is his energy! He's a real veteran! I
think he's done all genres! I am proud he likes my acting! If he likes it,
it must mean something because he has worked with virtually everybody!
You
also have to talk about Bruno Mattei and your films with him, Capriccio
Veneziano/Venetian Caprice and Mondo
Cannibale/Cannibal
Holocaust: The Begining [Bruno
Mattei bio - click here]! Bruno Mattei was a
true professional. A great genre director. His films were not memorable,
but they always sold everywhere and made some producers very rich, I can
tell you that! What about Zalman King's Chromiumblue.com? Zalman gave me my
first big chance in the US! It was one of the leads in the 2 year-series
for Showtime Networks. We filmed here and in Spain and Luxembourg! It was
a great concept very ahead of its time with an amazing chill soundtrack! I
had blast working on that! And everybody was so beautiful on that show
it's ridiculous! I know Zalman always had great words about me and
he really helped me in the industry here in Hollywood. I will always be
very grateful to him! Are
there any other films from your illustruous past you'd like to talk about? Thanks for the
illustrious! I am flattered! Really, no I think we mentioned so many!
Maybe just one! My first film as a lead, the beautiful and intense The Boy
From Ebalus opposite cult actress Teresa Ann Savoy (of Caligula and
Salon Kitty). A true great film and my first breakthrough! I was barely 16! In
the mid-2000's, you have relocated to the USA. Why, and how hard was it to
get filmwork there? I love LA. Like I said
I came for a while and I ended up staying! Zalman King cast me in Chromiumblue.com
right away and that helped a lot!
It's hard to find film work here! But I work all the time, so I
cannot complain! I love producing now because it gives me more control
over a project and definitely more involvement! I finally became a
cinephile, like I said, after all! And a true filmmaker! Your website, MySpace, whatever else?
www.DomizianoArcangeli.com
or www.myspace.com/domizianoarcangeli
PLEASE SEND ME AN ADD!!!! haha Throughout
your career you seem to have always come back to horror movies. Is horror
a genre especially dear to you? Yes. I am a big horror
fan myself. I think the fact that I was in so many cult films when I was a
teenager motivates many directors to hire me today! Besides acting in
movies, you are also an accomplished stage actor. What can you tell us
about that aspect of your career, and in what ways does acting on stage
differ from acting in front of the camera? Oh that's all a
different world! I toured the world with a show, The Visionary, which
lasted 5 hours every night and we had over 40 actors plus dancers, mimes,
fire... It was 1995 and I was much younger! The energy that stage requires
is unbelievable. I did a few off productions here in LA too! I love when
I can be in a play! I feel the moment and you have a completely different
relationship with the audience! I just love acting now, I guess, and it is
always a very emotional experience for me.
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Your main influences as an
actor? Daniel Day Lewis,
Brando, Klaus Kinski. Your favourite movies?
So many… Citizen Kane, La Dolce
Vita, There Will Be Blood, Doctor Zhivago, Petulia,
2001,
The Misfits, Meet Me in St. Louis,
Rosemary’s Baby... too many!!! Some movies you have
really deplored? I don't talk about
stuff that offends me… I just try to forget! Anything else you'd like to talk about and I
have simply forgotten to ask? You are extremely well
prepared! We covered so much! It's an honor! Thanks for the interview!
Thank you!
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amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find Domiziano Arcangeli at adultvideouniverse.com
