R.A. Mihailoff
Questions by Aine,
interview conducted by Larra
R.A. Mihailoff is probably best known
as the third man to don the mask of Leatherface but he has quite
a lot of other horror credits and he’s just a swell guy
in general.
Are
you freaked out by maggots?
Well, I don’t like them. But I’m not
really freaked out by them. Let’s face it, I mean maggots,
I don’t like them. Uh, yes, yes, affirmative.
Have you ever shaved your legs?
Yes I have. Early in my career I played an American
Indian, so I had to shave my chest as a requirement for the
role, and once I started shaving I said what the hell and shaved
my entire body except for a very specific region.
How was that growing back?
It wasn’t that bad.
Men have it better I guess.
No, men can just take it.
Do you follow the Texas Chainsaw Massacre
series?
Yeah, well, I stopped at number three actually.
Because?
Because I wasn’t in four or five (the remake).
Do you have
any plans to watch the remake?
If it plays on cable and I happen to be home I
might watch it.
In the third TCM you played Leatherface
and you brought him back to a more frightening 
character,
how did you feel about taking over the role?
I was completely comfortable with the idea, obviously.
It’s a continuing process. I was the man of the hour for
awhile and would be glad to do it again. I didn’t feel
intimidated by any previous performance, nor did I feel intimidated
by any following performance. I’m ready to step back into
the role at any time.
You had a different chainsaw, kind
of a super chainsaw in your film; how did it handle?
Same old, same old. Really the only difference
was the bar was a foot or two longer. It just added a little
more weight.
How was working with Viggo Mortensen?
Fine. I have nothing good or bad to say.
Tell me about your great battle with
Ken Foree?
Well Ken seems to think it’s a great battle,
to me it was just a fight scene. He has a distinctly different
memory if it than I do. It was a good one, but then again, I
think everything I do is good, so why should that be distinct
from anything else.
Can you go into some of your other horror roles?
Sure, the first thing I ever did was The Lathe
of Heaven, a science fiction movie. Then the next genre picture
I did was Leatherface, then I did another science fiction film,
I can’t remember the exact order, but I did Trancers III.
I did a fantasy film called Adventures in Dinosaur City. Then
I did another horror film, Pumpkinhead 2, and that’s all
that’s popping up right now.
You have a lot of horror credits,
is it your favorite genre to work in?
Ok, here’s the deal: I was a childhood fan,
so it was extremely gratifying. One of the turning points of
my career was in horror, and I would be perfectly happy to continue
a career as a horror star, but, I also am perfectly happy to
work in anything. I’ve done commercials, television, comedies,
it’s just working. But I have a special affinity for horror.
