3 FROM HELL is currently playing in select theatres! It’s been 15 years since we last saw Baby, Otis and Captain Spaulding drive off into a hail of bullets, set hauntingly to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.”
3 FROM HELL introduces a new character into the mix, Winslow Foxworth Coltrane, AKA, “Foxy.” The character I splayed by the brilliant Richard Brake who absolutely Killed his performance as Doom-Head in Rob Zombie’s “31.” Say what you want about that film, but Richard Brake was phenomenal in it.
I had an opportunity to chat with Richard about the film and what is what like being the “new guy.” You can check out our conversation, below!
Richard Brake – RB
Joshua Scafidi – JS
RB: How ya’ doing?
JS: Good, good. Thank you for the phone call!
RB: Yeah, no worries! Thanks for everything man.
JS: Absolutely! I wanted to talk to you about 3 From Hell! Out in select theatres now!
RB: Yeah!
JS: You play Winslow Foxworth Coltrane, AKA, “Foxy”
RB: Yup (laughing). Probably the best name of any character I’ve ever played.
JS: (Laughing) What can you tell us about the film without spoiling it?
RB: What I love about it is, it’s kind of a new direction for the series. This is a whole fresh new movie. That would be the most general I can be because any more specific and I’d spoil it for everyone.
JS: I’m glad you said that because one of the things that stood out to me in the film, I’ve seen it, they sent me the screener, the same thing. See I’m a huge fan of Devil’s Rejects, of the first one House of 1000 Corpse and one of my favorite things of those two films is how different they are with the same characters. So, I went in wondering is he going to do that again? And he did.
RB: Yeah, I think that’s one of the great surprises for people to come and see it. That’s been kind of the reaction I’ve heard from a number of people I’ve spoken to, like yourself who’ve seen the film. That’s what I love about Rob. He won’t make a film just for the sake of making money, he doesn’t need to. He does it because he wants to.
JS: I wanted to ask you, what was it like being the new guy to the crew?
RB: I was so excited A) to be working with Rob again and B) to be a part of such a great trilogy of movies that it overshadowed any nerves. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, so I was very keen to see that Foxy fit and connected with the other two and found his place in this world that he shares with Sherri and Bill.
JS: I was excited too. I’ve seen you in a bunch of things. I think the first thing I saw you in, you killed Batman’s parents. (Batman Begins)
RB: Yeah, yeah (RB+JS laughing) that was great! I was a big fan of batman. He was probably my favorite Superhero when I was a kid. If you can call him a superhero. That’s what I love about him, is that he’s a human being.
JS: So, that was probably the first thing I saw you in. When I heard you were in this (3 FROM HELL) I was curious like “how is this (new guy) going to fit” but I know you’re a very good character actor so I wanted to see what you were going to do. I went it to knowing nothing about “Foxy” and by the end of the film, I felt like “Foxy” earned his place.
RB: Thank you, I’m glad that you felt like that. A lot of it was how well Rob (Zombie) had thought out who Foxy was going to be even before we started filming. Because he didn’t have a lot of time. He had to do some rewriting to create “Foxy”. As he said in recent interviews, he wanted it to be the original three, Sid (Haig), Bill (Moseley), and Sheri (Moon Zombie) and then Sid wasn’t well enough to do the whole film so Rob had to think on his feet and he came up with “Foxy” and asked me to play him. “Foxy” is a completely different energy. There’s no attempt to try and recreate a character in like form, or anything like that.
JS: I didn’t realize that you didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.
RB: It must have been three weeks before filming, I got an email from Rob asking, “Are you available?” I said like I always do with Rob, that I’m available. He (Rob Zombie) needed me on this certain date and that was about when my last initial workday was on the film I was shooting in Spain, called “Feedback.” I went to the producers and the director, who’s a huge Rob Zombie fan, and I said, “please can you help, can you finish me on that day?” They did everything they could, they basically assured me they would. It was really great of them. Also, I was meant to shoot a movie “The Rhythm Section” with Blake Lively right after the film I was shooting in Spain and she hurt her hand in a stunt fight, so they had to postpone that until July. If those two things had never happened, I wouldn’t have been able to do 3 FROM HELL. I literally flew from Spain to London, got on a plane to L.A. and was doing costume fitting and filming after the weekend. So, I had very little time. That’s what’s so great about Rob though, he’s so open and free and so creative. I just knew that we’d find “Foxy” and that it would work, even though I had literally a week, if that to get ready.
JS: That’s crazy! What did you do to prepare?
RB: Luckily, I had some long flights, so I had plenty of time to work out “Foxy’s” history and figure out what his relationship was with everyone else. In particular, “Otis” and “Baby”. It all just clicked in the first day of shooting, and I feel like it just grew. It was not even a question of finding it. We found it on the first day. I did a lot of improvisation with Bill (Moseley) and really found “Foxy’s” place in that family. It was a really incredible experience actually, as an actor. As always with Rob (Zombie). It really reinforces my love of acting.
JS: What can you give us for background on “Foxy?”
RB: He’s very different than the character I played in “31.” “Doom-Head” was very controlled. Every word that came from “Doom-Head’s” mouth was thought through. What I love about “Foxy” is that he’s very spontaneous. He’s in the moment (laughing). Whatever comes out of his mouth, he hasn’t really thought about. He’s wild. He is a “Midnight Wolf Man.” Which is why improvisation really worked so well with “Foxy.” With Doom-Head, I dared not do any improvisation. It was so specific.
JS: I’m glad you mentioned “Doom-Head.” That brings me to my next question. They are very different characters, but in your opinion, who wins in a fight? “Doom-Head or “Foxy?”
RB: Oh, that’s a tough one! (RB+JS laughing) I think it would be a brutal fight. “Foxy” would pull some dirty tricks. At the same time “Doom-Head” would be well prepared on how to get “Foxy.” I couldn’t predict a winner, but it would go the full 12 rounds. (RB+JS laughing.)
JS: What’s next for Richard Brake?
RB: I just finished working on a T.V. show called “Brave New World”, an adaptation of the novel (Aldous Huxley), with Demi Moore and Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story). It’s really well written. It comes out next year on USA (Network). I had a movie come out which I would love to mention, “Perfect Skin.” It’s a British indie film, where I play the lead. It’s a really tense psychological thriller that got incredible reviews and won lots of awards at film festivals. It’s a film I’d love people to see. It’s on VOD now. I’m really proud of it!
JS: One final question for you Richard. If you could sum up “3 FROM HELL” in one sentence, what would be?
RB: You ask tough ones, man. (RB+JS laughing.) If I could sum it up, it’s… unexpected.
JS: Unexpected. That’s perfect.
RB: That was your feeling, right? You thought it was going to be this, and it’s like “oh, that’s not what I expected.”
JS: Exactly! I like it! Hey, I appreciate your time Richard, it’s been a pleasure!
RB: Thank You! Take it easy!
JS: You too, man!
Richard does a great job in 3 FROM HELL! Especially considering the crazy circumstances! It’s in select theatres now and comes to home video October 14th, just in time for Halloween! Be sure to check him out in Perfect Skin too, available on VOD! Let me know what you guys thought about 3 FROM HELL, if you’ve seen it! Keep posts spoiler free, please!
That’s it, for now, folks but as always, comment below! Until next time, keep on geekin’ on, my friends!
Joshua “Prometheus” Scafidi
