Filmmaker and rock star Rob Zombie is bringing a passion project to life with a new feature film, The Munsters. The PG-rated flick will be new territory for a director known for vulgar scripts and gratuitous violence. Zombie works with many of the same actors for his projects, and one such actor is Daniel Roebuck.
Rob Zombie recently announced that Roebuck will star as The Count—aka Grandpa Munster—in the upcoming film. We talked with him about his casting and helping bring The Munsters to a new generation.
Horror Geek Life: When I first heard the news that Rob Zombie would be bringing The Munsters to the big screen, my first thought was that you needed to be in this movie for more than thirty seconds.
Daniel Roebuck: (Laughs) Rob and I have often joked about the brevity of my roles, and I have personally often joked that other directors actually put me in their movies as a star and not the guy who dies in twelve seconds. With this role, Mr. Zombie is in the black as far as I’m concerned. I think what most directors find in me is an actor who is prepared and excited to be there. I really do think that goes a long way when they know they’ll be spending a couple of months together. I really don’t know what he’s thinking, and I’m not trying to put words in his mouth. For all I know, there were thirteen guys ahead of me who turned him down and then settled on me. I don’t think that was the case, though.
HGL: I knew you’d be great for Grandpa, but also Herman. But Jeff really is an underappreciated performer, so it will be great to see him run with it.
Daniel Roebuck: Everything fell the way it should have, and Jeff (Daniel Phillips) is perfectly cast. He will be so entertaining on Herman’s part. Sheri (Moon Zombie) is so delightful as well. I actually auditioned years ago for the part of Herman in one of the TV movies that didn’t turn out so well. It just wasn’t meant to be. I’m glad I didn’t land the role of Herman, and I’m not trying to talk down about that particular project, but it’s not what Rob’s film will be.
HGL: When the cast was announced, the internet went crazy. And with that, the naysayers came out in droves, immediately spouting off negative comments about the film, with Sheri focusing much of the negativity. Have you heard or read about any of it?
Daniel Roebuck: I don’t want to give any of that negativity any sort of value, but the simple fact is, there’s not a better person in Hollywood, or anywhere else on the planet, who should be making The Munsters movie other than Rob Zombie. It’s gone through the hands of so many other people, and I know Rob wasn’t just looking for something to attach his coattails to. He’s a huge fan of it, and being a life-long fan approaching this material, it really is as good as it gets. I know Sheri, and nobody works harder than Sheri Zombie. I’ve written a part for her in a movie I wrote and directed, as well as another film I co-wrote and co-directed, so that’s what I think of her talent. I think she’s terrific, and I absolutely love working with her.
To the naysayers, why give it any credence? Once the movie comes out, they’re more than welcome to have an opinion on it but if we are just going to burn books before reading them, how does that make us look as a society? It would just show that we haven’t grown. We should evolve, though I’m afraid we may be devolving, but we just need to give things the time they deserve.
HGL: I’m a big fan of Zombie’s The Lords of Salem, and part of why that film was so successful to me was the chemistry between Jeff and Sheri. They had something special going on and brought out the best in each other. So, hearing they were cast as Lily and Herman, I hope that the same chemistry will carry over to The Munsters.
Daniel Roebuck: That’s a really good point of view. I re-watched The Lords of Salem a couple of months ago and made it a point to call Jeff and tell him just how great I thought his performance was. Sheri’s character was up against all these witchy things, but Jeff’s character was like the unappreciated hero. That film just sucks you deeper and deeper in. Just like the film sucks in Sheri’s character, the audience gets sucked in too. That film is so far removed from the other ones Rob has done. Ang Lee has directed like twelve different kinds of movies and when Rob Zombie is done, he’ll have done the same thing. He’s not only naturally talented but he’s a cinephile as well. I think this all will lead to him having a very long and successful career in the many different mediums he participates in.
HGL: What was going through your head when Zombie informed you that the role was yours?
Daniel Roebuck: When he first called me about it, I honestly thought I was being Punk’d or something. My wife Tammy and I were driving to a wedding. She was actually wearing a Lily Munster shirt in the car when Rob’s name popped up on my phone. She and I looked at each other, and, let’s be honest, when rockstars call, you answer. He’s a busy man, and I don’t just call him up to chat. He told me what he was doing and asked what I thought about doing it. I couldn’t believe it was real! If it wasn’t, I may have driven off the road and into a tree.
After it sank in, I had the epiphany that I’d been preparing for this role my whole life. I’m in this movie because it’s God’s will; it’s where he wants me to be. I created a character when I was twelve years old, and I named him The Count. Rob told me the character in the script was named The Count. It’s a funny vampire named The Count, and when I was twelve, I was a funny vampire named The Count. I bought my first tuxedo when I was ten or eleven. I made my mom take me to this place called Boutique at the Rink, and I needed a full tuxedo with tails. Then I had to have my grandmother make me a cape and collar. She didn’t understand the collar thing, but I drew it for her. I mean, it was a Dracula collar, so what’s not to understand? If Lugosi needed it, then I needed it, too. So, she made it.
HGL: I don’t know how much you can say, but given how iconic Al Lewis was as the character, what do you hope to bring to the role?
Daniel Roebuck: I think that wherever Rob wants this character to go is where we will go. I have a particular talent for mimicry, which is why I’ve played Jay Leno and Garry Marshall, and I’ve played any number of other people who are real who I would play as they are. Kevin Burns did the documentary Al Lewis: Forever Grandpa. There’s a Facebook group with the same name, and Al Lewis will be forever Grandpa. There’s been several other actors who have played the character in between Al Lewis, and now me. All were good actors, but having the opportunity to do it in a feature film will be good for me because I’ll have longer to work on it. The fact is, you can’t get to Grandpa without going to Al Lewis. He and I are both similar; we both have this East Coast sound, and I don’t know. Since I’ve been preparing my whole life for this, I think I’ll do a pretty good job.
Let me put it like this: Jeff, Sheri, and I are not playing Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, or Al Lewis. We are playing Herman, Lily, and The Count, which is an easier way for us to approach it. Al Lewis was a brilliant comedian, but what was unique with Al is that he played Grandpa throughout his whole life. He would play various iterations of the character in different films and shows consistently, and that’s just where his life took him. Fred and Yvonne’s lives went in different directions, but Al would revisit Grandpa often, regardless of what he was doing in theater at the time. My journey into the life of Al Lewis began with the memoir I Married a Munster: My Life with “Grandpa” Al Lewis written by his wife Karen. I couldn’t say we were friends, but I had met him several times. We shared a mutual friend, Kevin Burns, who passed away last year, so I was around the actual, physical person that was him, so it was good for me. I also did a movie years ago with Fred Gwynne.
HGL: Disorganized Crime!
Daniel Roebuck: That’s right! I was able to spend months with Fred, and he really was my friend. We had such a great time, and he was such a good man. Boy, did he ever have a wickedly funny sense of humor?
HGL: Did you ever tell him how much you loved The Munsters?
Daniel Roebuck: I did, actually. I brought in my Herman Munster doll for him to sign. I might be the only one who has one and I might have been the only person to have the courage to do it. He couldn’t believe I had it, and he knew that the toy used to talk, but mine didn’t. He actually went through and said every line the doll used to say. Then he signed it for me. Everyone talks about how he hated The Munsters, but I don’t know that he did. I just think that he and Al were upset Universal didn’t include them in the ongoing revenue stream of the show. They’re gone now, so we’ll never know for sure, but I think that certainly had an impact.
When we did Disorganized Crime in, I think, ’88, it was only about 25 years after the series had ended. It really doesn’t seem that long ago, and I remember every single day of filming. It really wasn’t that long ago when Fred and I worked together, and it had only been eight years since he last played Herman in The Munsters Revenge. He went back and did that TV movie, so he couldn’t of hated it that much, right?
HGL: No. I can see how it could cause frustration over time with people only wanting to remember him for one character, but I’m sure he must have had some fondness for Herman. He did revisit the character quite a few times.
Daniel Roebuck: He may have been too close to see it, but Herman Munster is one of the greatest characters ever created. Not just one of the greatest television monster characters but also one of the greatest television fathers in the history of television. From that aspect, he’s unique, maybe in the top ten and in the top ten of most memorable characters on TV. He and Al, Herman, and Grandpa are right up there with The Honeymooners as a great comic pairing. They were two guys who just knew exactly how to play off of each other.
HGL: I was just recently watching some of the episodes, and it’s just crazy how funny they are still. The show holds up.
Daniel Roebuck: To this day, you can watch them and still crack up. I know there was talk about recycling some jokes as the show went on, but some sixty years later and re-watching them, it doesn’t bother you at all. There were only a few more episodes of The Munsters than there were of The Honeymooners, yet we still pull so much laughter out of the both of them, they’re timeless. They were such brief runs, but they’ll last forever.
HGL: With Zombie’s film, what do you hope to see happen with it, or what do you hope audiences will walk away feeling?
Daniel Roebuck: I really hope audiences walk away feeling entertained and laughing. That’s all we really hope for making any movie, well, unless it’s a drama. If all goes well and people really like it, maybe we’ll get the chance to do it again. I just hope people realize that they’ll have a whole new version of The Munsters that can live and co-exist side-by-side with the original version of The Munsters. No one wants to replace it; we all love it so much. We just want to shine a spotlight on it with our approach, which I think is the best way to look at it.
HGL: When you saw the house on Mockingbird Lane for the first time, what was going through your head?
Daniel Roebuck: I love how Rob was just showing glimpses of their progress. Then, I was just blown away by what they’d done. Based on the photo he put out, you know I was able to stand in front of that house, and it was great. It’s as close to the original house as it could ever be. That street used to be on the Universal backlot, but it was moved to make way for Amblin Entertainment. The house has been moved and then built numerous times; he started from scratch, and it was done perfectly- just perfection. That house should give you an idea of the detail with which this brilliant director is approaching the material.
As a side note, my dear friend Kevin Burns, who I mentioned before was the biggest collector of The Munsters memorabilia (his collection is currently up for auction), died in September of 2020. Rob gave me permission to tell him because he knew how close we were. Kevin said to me, “You do understand that you’ll be playing Count Dracula in a Universal Studios movie, right?” That just really hit me. According to the series, he was Count Dracula and was referred to as such several times. That’s a big cape to fill, whether it’s Lugosi, Carradine, or Al Lewis. It’s going to be mine for now, and I’ll have that mantle for a little while.
HGL: And that is awesome! If anyone deserves that mantle, I honestly feel it’s you. Just from talking to you over the years, I know just how passionate you are about classic monsters, and I’m truly happy knowing that it’s you.
Daniel Roebuck: Thank you so much for that! It really is crazy, and every dream can come true if you stay focused on the outcome. Just don’t get frustrated with the process that takes you there. Look at me; I’m a character actor. The last time you saw a guy my shape and size play Dracula was Lon Chaney Jr. in Son of Dracula. He wasn’t even Dracula; he was the son of Dracula. I should watch that movie again, I may not be remembering that correctly. It’s so unbelievable, but it’s true, and it’s happening. I’m so very grateful to Mr. Zombie for the opportunity.
HGL: You’ve been pretty busy the last couple of years before all this news. You have a couple of films that have completed principal photography that you wrote, starred in, and directed. Can you tell me a little bit about those?
Daniel Roebuck: It really would be joyful to me to be able to tell people a little bit about that aspect of my life, too. People can go to A Channel of Peace to learn more about those films. The plan was to do this film, The Hail Mary, which I had been working on for years but couldn’t make a football movie when kids weren’t able to play football for real during COVID. We decided to do a different type of film. I pitched my daughter Grace the story, so we wrote it together and then eventually directed it together. There’s this great old actor named Basil Hoffman, he’s been in like a hundred movies, twenty of them nominated for Best Picture, I might be exaggerating by three. The guy has landed in some of the greatest movies ever made from 1977 to the present but never had a lead role. God put him in front of me, we gave him this part in Lucky Louie that we wrote for him, and made the film. I had the chance to show the film to him, then he went home to Heaven. I’m grateful we were able to capture his full potential. That doesn’t always happen in Hollywood.
This year, we were finally able to shoot The Hail Mary, which is in post along with Lucky Louie. They’re really coming together nicely. These films we’ve been doing, Getting Grace included, are basically about celebrating a relationship with a higher power. They hone in a little bit, but I don’t want to pound you over the head. I’m not trying to make Christian films; I just want to make entertaining movies that may lead you to think a certain way about faith. Lucky Louie is a mystery, and The Hail Mary is a straight-up comedy.
HGL: I’m looking forward to seeing both of them. I won’t take up any more of your time but thank you for talking with me. It’s always a pleasure and congratulations; it is so well deserved.
Daniel Roebuck: Thank you, my friend! I’ll try my best not to let anybody down. Please keep us in your prayers for those other films. It’s always an uphill battle, and I’m at the point where I’m trying to raise money to complete post-production. Thank you again for all your support.
