Standish913.com has been blessed to do an exclusive interview with...
"Bill Perry"!
Let's get into some exclusive questions...
STANDISH: You play the "Subway Gang Leader" in 1990's "Predator 2", can you tell us more?
BILL: For the Subway Gang, they were looking for stunt performers who had acting experience. I started as a stage actor so I knew I could do the acting…but I wasn’t sure they’d see me as a gang member. I was kind of a pretty boy back then and I am pretty short. I looked like I was more likely to get a Calvin Klein ad than a gang member. I was auditioning with a VERY rough-looking guy. I felt like there was ZERO chance that I’d get it, so I really just concentrated on having a solid audition and hoped the casting director would remember me. We had a lot of fun with it. I didn’t realize the director, Stephen Hopkins was in the room too. He thought it was very funny that the gang would be led by this tiny little guy.
STANDISH: You worked on Wes Cravens "The People Under The Stairs", can you tell us more? What was it like working with Wes & doing his web development?
BILL: Wes was a very nice guy. I actually did three different shows for Wes Caven, including my first-ever union job working on a Disney TV show. Wes did a lot of work outside of just horror films!
Wes was like a kid in a toy store with all the actors and technicians creating the scenarios he imagined. He enjoyed shooting the films a lot. He was usually very relaxed and seemed to really enjoy creating scenes he knew would shock, startle, or scare the audience.
When I got older and stunts jobs were harder to come by, I went into web development. Wes was looking for a web guy so he hired me and we worked together for a few years. He gave me full creative authority to create whatever I thought would be cool. That was a big deal for me because the site was so successful that I got recognized in the industry for that site and it led me to much bigger and better things. I owe Wes for two HUGE career firsts.
STANDISH: You worked on "Nightmare On Elm Street 3, 4, & 6", can you tell us more?
BILL: Being a smaller guy, I got a lot of work doubling for teen-age characters. In the 80’s there were A LOT of horror films and they dice up teenagers! At the time I thought all my work would be forgotten before long. As it turns out, they’re pretty much the most remembered of all the work I did.
I was Ira Heiden’s (Will Stanton, the Wizard Master) double (in Nightmare 3 for the scene where he fights Freddy and he gets chased down by the “wheelchair from hell”.
In Nightmare 4, I was Andra Jone’s double. Andra played Rick and I did some karate stuff for him.
In Nightmare 6 I did the opening sequence where Freddy is part of a “Wizard of Oz” nightmare and Shon Greenblatt is thrown out the window of his house into Freddy’s front yard.
STANDISH: You did stunts for 1987's "The Lost Boys", can you tell us more?
BILL: I doubled “The Coreys” for a couple of films back then. Lost Boys was awesome because it was so cool and edgy and fun. As vampire movies go, it really holds up to the test of time. I still watch it whenever it’s on.
STANDISH: You did stunts for "Home Alone 2: Lost In NY", what was it like being on set with Rob Schneider in the 90's?
BILL: Rob was HUGE back then! Not physically, of course..but he was on Saturday Night Live and was a very big deal. I did the scene where he and Tim Curry are chasing McCauley Culking through the plaza. Lots of fun!
STANDISH: When you worked on set of "Hook", did you get to meet Robin Williams? If so, what was that experience like?
BILL: “Hook” was the most elaborate production I ever worked on. The sets were HUGE!. It was a Spielberg show, so you knew everything was going to be bigger and more. Acting out being a lost boy attacking a pirate ship?!?! What could be more fun?
The scene I was working on was strictly stunt guys, so I never got to meet any of the actors.
STANDISH: You worked on 1988's "Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark", can you tell us more?
BILL: Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) was so funny. This was a step up for her from her TV show and she wanted it to be a fun spooky movie. I got to double Ira Heiden again (from NOES3) so it was fun to work with him again.
STANDISH: What's it feel like to be apart of the "Star Trek" legacy?
BILL: Star Trek (the original series) was a favorite show of mine growing up and it was kind of up in the air as to whether a new series would be accepted by the hard-core fans. It was a very slick, high-budget show for its time. I believe each episode had a $1,000,000 budget, which was unheard of back then. I got to be the stunt coordinator for an episode which was a huge honor. I was so disappointed to find out that Wil had grown about 6” over the course of the year because it meant I couldn’t double him anymore!
STANDISH: Out of all of your work, what's been your favorite project thus far?
BILL: My favorite project would be a toss-up between “Predator 2” and “The Return of the Living Dead, Part 2”. Predator was great because I got to see myself as me, instead of doubling someone else. It was a big-budget production. I got to meet and work with Bill Paxton, Kevin Peter Hall, and Maria Conchita Alonzo. So much fun. I really felt like my career was going somewhere when I did that film.
The Return of the Living Dead, Part 2 was great because I got to be a zombie!! As a stuntman, a zombie is great because you don’t die after the stunt… because you’re already dead. I got to do lots of stunts and the cast and crew were having a lot of fun making it.
STANDISH: Tell us a little about your overall mission, Bill -
BILL: My mission then was just to work. Anything. Anywhere. I wanted to do solid work and live out my dream of being in movies. I was very blessed to do exactly that. That’s pretty rare in life.
These days I’m finding that the fire to create is just as intense as ever, which is kind of a surprise. I thought I’d be chilling by now!
I had a horror book I wrote published last February and its sequel will be published in February of this year. I never dreamt or imagined I’d write anything, much less have it published, but here we are!
STANDISH: How does it feel to be such an inspiration in the Horror community?
BILL: I really enjoy meeting people who enjoy my work It’s great fun, but I take that very seriously in that I recognize how fortunate I was to have the opportunities I had in my career. I got to work with some of the best the industry has ever seen. How can you not feel grateful for that? When people admire the films I’ve been in, it means a lot and I love to tell them stories and background information they can’t get anywhere else. If that inspires them…well then I’m doing my job to pass the torch.
STANDISH: What can we look forward to in the future from you?
BILL: I’m hoping to write more. Horror is tough for me to write because I find that I have to DEEPLY imagine the story character by character, scene by scene; which means I have to go to some dark places and create some very disturbing stuff. To write it well means I have to “feel” it vividly enough that I can describe it clearly and in a way that the reader feels it as well.
STANDISH: Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
BILL: I’m hoping that my stories will make it to the screen someday. I try to create characters that the viewer cares about enough that you feel the emotions and tension and fear that they experience in the story. To see that on a screen would be yet another dream come true
STANDISH: Who are some of your mentors?
BILL: Wes Craven of course! I would interview Wes every couple of weeks for the website and we’d talk about how he viewed story writing and it’s impossible to escape that influence.
I’d have to give credit to some of my teachers and acting coaches. Learning how to create a piece of art that affects others is very individual, but great teachers helped me to discover how I could capitalize on my gifts and talents to create from my unique perspective.
STANDISH: During COVID, we all faced struggles, what was one of your main struggles?
BILL: I need an audience!!! Creating for no one is completely unsatisfying. Fortunately, by writing I learned about “delayed gratification”. Seeing reviews on Amazon and Spotify, or hearing from a reader about the book is like getting the audience's reaction in smaller batches for a more extended time. It’s different, but still awesome!
STANDISH: Where can fans find your work?
BILL: My first novelette is called “By His Hand” and it is published by Red Cape Publishing. The second novelette is “Out of His Mind” and it comes out in mid-February 2024. You can buy the paperbacks or digital versions on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Godless Books. The audiobook versions are on Audible, Spotify, Google Play, and pretty much everywhere! Being novelettes they are very short (about one hour each).
You can find both books on the Chilling App. Chilling is like Spotify for scary stories and short movies. It’s AWESOME and you can even listen for free (with ads).
STANDISH: Anything you'd like to include?
BILL: I’m starting to make guest appearances at horror conventions. I’ve booked a few this year already and hope to do more. I’ve had professional make-up artists and costumers recreate the screen-accurate mask and wardrobe from “Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs”, so if you see me at a show stop by!!
STANDISH: What are your social links?
Instagram:
@webscraven or @williamrperrystunts
Web: https://williamrperrystunts.com
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