Following the Nightstream Film Festival screening of Dinner in America, we talked with lead actor Kyle Gallner, who is currently on location filming Scream 5. He talked about these films, as well as The Cleansing Hour, which just released on Shudder, the NOES remake 10 years later, and Jennifer’s Body finally getting its due recognition.
Check out our review for ‘Dinner in America’ here!
Horror Geek Life: I covered Dinner in America for the Nightstream Film Festival last weekend, and it is a wild movie! How much fun was it to play Simon, and what most appealed to you about the role?
Kyle Gallner: Simon was incredibly fun, and permission to just be a maniac is not something you’re going to get many times in your life. The first thing that attracted me to Dinner in America was obviously the script; I thought it was really well-written. I thought Simon was a fun character and Patty (played by Emily Skeggs) was an incredibly unique female lead, and I was intrigued by their relationship. I like it being this story where it’s really about the two of them, it’s not Simon coming in and saving the day, but he helps her and she helps him. When I read the script, I enjoyed that relationship and how they complemented and helped each other. I also thought it was a unique way to tell that story.
HGL: Patty is definitely a fantastic female lead, and I appreciate that she’s so quirky and weird.
KG: I think that’s what’s so great is that it comes from such a wacky world. I mean, it’s obviously an elevated kind of world, but you’re watching these two people who, while they live in these extremes, are incredibly relatable because most people are kind of weird. Most people are kind of offbeat. Most people have felt like they’ve been stepped on, or have been outsiders, or haven’t gotten the respect or appreciation they’ve deserved in their lives. These are the things that these two characters are rebelling against, and they’re rebelling against being put into boxes in a way. They find that camaraderie in their rebellion and weirdness, and I think a lot of people see themselves in Simon and Patty. I think they have a lot of Simon in them or a lot of Patty in them, or a combination of both. I really do think Patty is an incredibly special and important character. Simon can handle himself, although he may not handle himself properly all the time. That’s another thing I love about this movie, we don’t pretend these characters are anything other than what they are. We don’t sit there and paint Simon as this like shiny penny because he is who he is, and Patty is who she is. I just I fell in love with Patty, even before I saw Emily (Skeggs) do it. But in a way, Patty was also my greatest fear because on the page, you think, Jesus, what does this look like? If Patty’s not played properly, this can come across as borderline inappropriate or upset some people. But I think Emily grounded Patty in such a special way, and she’s just an incredible character, and that’s testament to how amazing Emily is and how smart Adam (Rehmeier) was with his writing, editing, and directing.
HGL: I agree, and we don’t see enough of these character types in lead roles.
KG: I really mean it when I say Patty is an incredibly special character in the film world. I hope to see more offbeat type of female leads who aren’t always the sidekick. The weird girls are always the sidekick, and in this movie, we were basically two sidekicks that got to be the heroes. All of those things really drew me to this movie.
I love Simon as a character, and there’s this challenge of how incredibly abrasive and aggressive he is, but his moral compass is pretty much in the right place. He says some questionable shit, for sure, I’m not going to defend that, but that’s just how he operates. It’s how he gets a rise out of people. I think Patty confuses him, like why can’t he shake this person or get the type of reaction he usually gets? I think he pushes it a little bit further, but really, like I said, the moral compass is in the right place, he just has a lot of growing that he needs to do. That’s what you’re seeing the beginning of in this film. You’re watching that growth start to happen because Patty pulls that out of him. That’s not saying he’ll change overnight by any means, or suddenly be reformed. That fire will always be inside of Simon, it’s just how does he direct it as he goes on?
In playing that role, it’s like, okay, how do you keep this aggression up? How do you keep everything moving forward because Simon’s like a shark. He doesn’t stop moving forward ever. How do you do that, but also find a way to balance that he’s a hurt kid? He really does have a heart of gold, and he does mean well. He’s not a bad dude, you know, he just has his own shit he’s got to deal with and his own issues. I thought he was a really complex character and then coupled with the relationship with Patty, I thought it was just a really great challenge and great script. I Skyped with Adam and we really hit it off and he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew the script inside and out and really trusted Emily and me. It was an incredible work environment and experience because of that.
HGL: It is a wildly entertaining movie, so it seems that the challenge really paid off. I also wanted to talk with you about The Cleansing Hour, which just released on Shudder. Your character required a lot of range emotionally, and seemed physically strenuous. How demanding was it?
KG: Yeah, what you see on there is definitely what it was like– a marathon, for sure. Making that film was exhausting. It was emotionally taxing and physically taxing for everybody. We were shooting it like it was almost a play because we were basically on a stage, and that was the whole place. We moved very quickly and because of where we were, some of these takes were like six minutes long. The scene where she’s (Lane, played by Alix Angelis) choking and and he’s (Max, played by Ryan Guzman) pulling the shit out of her mouth, we just let that run so that whole take would be 6 or 7 minutes. So, yeah, it was exhausting, but everybody was really game for it.
To add insult to injury, I almost didn’t get to do the movie because I finished a job, I had three weeks, and then I was going to Romania. In the middle of that three weeks, I had to get my appendix out and I called Damien (LeVeck, director/writer) and was like, “Yo, I’m in the hospital getting my appendix out and I don’t know if I’m going to be cleared to travel.” They actually held off and I got permission 48 hours before I had to leave for Romania to travel. They also fixed a hernia, so I was all bandaged up. I was doing almost all of that straight out of an appendectomy and a hernia surgery, so we had to navigate that.
HGL: I’m really glad I didn’t know that because I would have been very anxious the whole time watching you! (Laughs)
KG: It was pretty wild. Also, cool little fun fact…the reason I got Dinner in America was because the DP who shot The Cleansing Hour was supposed to shoot Dinner in America when it was the cast before, and the movie fell apart. The DP told me I should look into this movie, which I got sent three years before and never read because I was super busy, and I still had the email from before, so the reason I did Dinner in America was because I did The Cleansing Hour.
HGL: Oh, I had no idea they were related like that! I understand that right now, you’re in North Carolina filming one of the most anticipated upcoming horror films, Scream 5. I have a feeling I already know the answer, but is there anything about your character you can tell us?
KG: NOPE! (Laughs)
HGL: I figured, but I would be horrible at my job if I didn’t at least ask!
KG: I said this the other day and everybody like gave me shit for it because they’re like, of course the actors have to say it’s good, but I don’t have to say it’s good, I can say nothing. I genuinely think the script is really good. It’s not the original, it never will be, but I think it’ll capture that energy and vibe and magic that the first one had. I’m excited for that, for sure.
HGL: Well, thanks for giving us something to hold on to, because this year is rough and we need it. Moving on to another classic horror franchise you’ve been involved in…the A Nightmare on Elm Street remake turned 10 this year. Looking back on that experience, what was the pressure like going into the remake of such a classic film?
KG: With A Nightmare on Elm Street, sadly, I think people were ready to hate it before it even came out, so that took a little bit of the edge off. (Laughs) There was some pressure to it but, at the end of the day, all you can do is make the movie that you’re making. It had its own pitfalls, and things were always changing and shifting, and it was kind of a tricky thing to make. I don’t think it’s necessarily as bad as everybody likes to say it is, but I do understand why people aren’t the most psyched about it. As actors, we gave it everything we had while we were there. It’s so crazy that it’s been 10 years. It’s just renewed all the shit-talking, and people are still so pissed 10 years later.
On the flip side, I’ve gotten so much support from the horror community when I got cast in Scream 5. I announced it and there was so much love, and that’s awesome. People have followed me from like The Haunting in Connecticut, Jennifer’s Body, and things like that. There is a lot of support and love there.
HGL: Speaking of these other roles, you have been in and out of the horror genre for over a decade now, and you have yet to be typecast. That seems to happen so easily in this genre, have you actively avoided being typecast?
KG: Oh, yeah. I’ve actively made very conscious decisions. After A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Haunting in Connecticut, and all that, I would get a slew of horror auditions or offers or people wanting me to read stuff. I also did Red State, which is also a horror movie. I’ve always been picky, not just about horror, but about everything, for the most part. Sometimes, a guy’s gotta work, you know? But I am picky about what I do because of what you said, it is extremely easy and I knew I wanted to have a career that stretched beyond just being in horror movies. I felt like I needed to step in and out, I couldn’t just do back-to-back. Things have to check boxes for me; I have to either be interested in it, or think the director’s cool, or the cast is cool, or whatever. Sometimes you take a shot and things don’t always work, or sometimes they work better than you could ever imagine.
In particular with horror, I’ve at least tried to pick characters that won’t always be the same guy. I enjoy character work, I enjoy doing different things and trying to shift and flow and change it up a bit. Especially now as I’m getting older, I feel like that’s a little bit easier when people are willing to let me do that.
HGL: With Jennifer’s Body, I’m sure you’ve noticed that it has also come back into conversations within the horror community. There’s a whole new love for it this year.
KG: It’s been really cool to see that. I do think people were apprehensive of it because it was a feminist movie. I think people were like afraid to give it a chance and found reasons to not like it. Diablo’s (Cody) script was awesome, Karyn (Kusama) directed the fuck out of it, and it’s funny, fun, and cool. I don’t know, maybe it was more made for this generation, you know what I mean?
HGL: Oh yeah, and I know a lot of it had to do with hating on Megan Fox, which was unfair.
KG: Yes, extremely unfair. People just fucking mean-girled her, and I don’t get the hate. When I worked with her, she was nothing but nice and really great to work with. I have nothing but nice things to say about Megan, but I do think she was weirdly stigmatized at the time. Things have been able to step back and chill for a minute, and I think people are finally recognizing it for the good movie it is. It’s about time.
We thank Kyle for his time. Be sure to check out The Cleansing Hour on Shudder now!
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