We recently talked with veteran actor Steve Guttenberg, who discussed his career, his love of comedy, and his new pitch-black comedy/horror film Heckle.
Directed by Martyn Pick and written by Airell Anthony Hayles, Heckle stars Steve Guttenberg as Ray Kelly, Clark Gable III as Heckler, and Guy Combes as Joe Johnson. The story follows a famous stand-up comedian who encounters a seemingly insane heckler who starts stalking him obsessively. Then, his friends start ending up dead, which takes heckling to a whole new level.
The film is now available via On Demand and Digital from Uncork’d Entertainment.
Horror Geek Life: Hey, Steve, so let’s jump in and talk about Heckle. How did you get involved with this film?
Steve Guttenberg: This was a call out of the blue, really. I thought it was a really interesting role that I could do something with. I’ve always loved sci-fi. I did two pictures, one was Cocoon and the other was Short Circuit, and I love horror. They’re great genres. They really incorporate so many storytelling devices that are meant to tickle your brain. If they don’t, like with horror, you don’t get that scare, that suspense, so it takes some clever people to make these kinds of movies. With sci-fi, you can rely on the CGI or puppetry, things like that, whereas a movie like Heckle, it has a lot of flash in it because it has a lot of blood, so that ups the genre to slasher when you have that much blood. I just thought the guys did a great job on it.
HGL: What was it about Heckle that grabbed you?
Steve Guttenberg: Oh, the character, for sure. I also thought the story worked, but I liked the idea of playing an angry comedian and then being able to just go off on people. I was able to use a lot of improv and have a good time, and you know, shooting in London is great. You don’t have to twist my arm to shoot in London. To be paid to stay overseas is pretty fantastic.
HGL: Heckle has a good mix of horror and dark comedy. As someone who’s done a lot of comedy, was diving into the darker aspect of that genre especially appealing to you?
Steve Guttenberg: It’s great to be able to exercise more muscles. Yeah, I’m great at comedy. Comedy is something that I love. I love it in life, I love to make people laugh in life, my friends, family, colleagues, so when you get a chance to stretch out your muscles a little bit, something you don’t do, it’s great. Everyone is known for something. Whether it was years ago with Spencer Tracey, Boris Karloff, or Laurel and Hardy, everybody is always known for something.
As you get older as an actor, that’s how you make your living. That’s why John Wayne did all those war movies, but there were times early on in his career when he did lots of different pictures. Same with Humphrey Bogart, same with most actors. So you have your bread and butter, then you get a chance to do psychologically complicated parts that you want to do because they usually go to somebody else, so yeah, I was indeed thrilled to be able to do it.
HGL: When you landed the role as Mahoney in Police Academy and went on to successful films like Short Circuit, Cocoon, and Three Men and a Baby, did you ever find yourself pigeonholed? Or were you enjoying the ability to make people laugh?
Steve Guttenberg: I’d say a little bit of both. I knew that the system was taking advantage of my popularity and my talent, so I did try and stretch out. I did The Bedroom Window with Isabelle Huppert. But I think that when you are doing a lot of movies in a row, and everyone around you is benefiting, you know it… you really know it.
I think it was Nicolas Cage who said he had three different modes. He had action mode, drama mode, and comedy mode, and he did three or four pictures in each one, and he knew what he was doing. You can’t ignore the fact that, say, Keanu Reeves, who is a marvelous actor, is going to do Matrix 4 because he loves the role and the process of making that movie and that it’s an important piece of business. It’s show business. When I was doing movie after movie, I knew I went to the well too often at certain times. But I hoped it wasn’t going to hurt me as an artist because that’s what I am.
HGL: You mentioned The Bedroom Window, which you made in that stretch of many comedic roles. Was it hard to land that role, being known more as a comedic actor?
Steve Guttenberg: I had a great agent named Toni Howard, who’s one of the most brilliant agents in the business. She found the movie, and no one at William Morris, who was representing me then, wanted me to do it. They wanted me to go do some more comedies that were a bigger paycheck. This one really seemed like the right move to make. It was Dino De Laurentiis, who was a great producer, and Curtis Hanson, who was an unknown director but very talented. I think he had only done one movie before that, but everyone believed in him. Of course, he went on to do The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, L.A. Confidential, and 8 Mile, but yeah, that was a really great movie for me.
HGL: When you landed the role in Heckle, was that something you were actively searching for?
Steve Guttenberg: I had been actively looking. I’m always looking to stretch myself and pop up in a different hole. Jack Nicholson said years ago, you’ve got to pop up a different hole. So I was hoping to do that, and this picture came about.
HGL: What other projects are coming up next?
Steve Guttenberg: Well, there are two things I’ve been working on. I’m working on a TV series about me as a young actor in Hollywood. I’d probably play the narrator, and someone younger would play Steve Guttenberg. We’re just starting to talk about the development of that. There’s nothing solid yet, but some really top-notch writers and producers want to do it.
Then, I’m writing a book that we’re going to shop around to publishers soon about my experience taking care of my dad, who’s eighty-nine years old and on dialysis. There are thirty-five million Americans taking care of their parents, that’s sixteen percent of the population, but when you are a caregiver, you think you’re kind of alone because it’s not a group effort. We’re going to be shopping that soon to publishers, and I think people will really identify with that.
I want to thank Steve for taking the time to talk with us.
