Interview with Horror Legend Tony Todd: Candyman

Tony Todd has become a living icon of the horror genre. While he has had many roles in other genres and on television, most of his fans recognize him for his roles as the Candyman in the "Candyman" series, his appearances in "Final Destination," and his starring role as Ben in the 1990 remake of "Night of the Living Dead." While covering the Motor City Nightmares horror convention and film festival, I had the opportunity to sit down with him and ask him questions about his past career and his future.

LVP: First off, what can you tell me about the current progress of "Night of the Living Dead: Origins?"

TT: Well, it is completed in terms of the vocals and in the terms of motion capture. There is as full team of animators working around the clock to get it done. I have not personally been able to secure the target date for the film yet, but I have been told that Sony is doing it, and it will be a full theatrical release. For me, I am anticipating it coming out since I am reprising my role as Ben, 22 years after originally doing it in the remake.

LVP: You, of course, played both the Candyman and Ben in the remake of "Night of the Living Dead." What are your thoughts on playing two of the most popular and strongest African American characters in horror history?

TT: I don't really look at it like that, because I do not think that the journey is over yet. I do not know if I have done the most popular role yet. I did a great little film last year in Richmond, Virginia called "Unbroken" which I think is my best genre work. It is a ghost story in which a man of the cloth does not have to do an outward exorcism, but an exorcism on himself. I think that this is some of my best genre work, but time will tell. I am absolutely honored to be associated with both "Candyman" and "NOTLD." You know that something is iconic when you can refer to it only by its initials.

LVP: I have heard that actors learn from every job they have had. What did you learn from your appearance on a 1989 episode of the show "Kate and Allie?"

TT: (Laughing) Talk about shoveling through my background to come up with an interesting question. When I was doing that, I was in New York City and it was just before I got my breakthrough role. That era represented a time in which I was battling with crowded subways, Times Square, and the entire energy that New York gives to a struggling actor. I had found out at the time that I was not particularly suited for comedy or live television but I was happy to have that job and to be treated like a profession. After all of the money that I spent getting my Master's, I was thinking that perhaps I had spent too much money to make a living at it. Here I was, one year away from being cast in "Platoon." That was technically my first film, though I had done.

LVP: What do you believe was your best work?

TT: I've got to say that I just wrapped production on what I think was the best role of my life. It is a movie called "Sushi Girl." Quentin Tarantino was a silent producer on it. The movie has myself, Danny Trejo, James Duval, Mark Hamill, Jeff Fahey, Sonny Chiba, Noah Hathaway, and Michael Biehn. It is a gangster movie about retaliation and adventure and I am absolutely stoked about that. This movie is hot, and is the hottest project that I have ever been associated with and I believe that it is going to reconfigure everything.

LVP: Do you see yourself in the future staying in the horror genre?

TT: No, I never have. I would say about forty percent of my work is in horror, but that is what I am often recognized for. My first love is theater, and I will be doing some more theater later on this year. As I said, horror and sci-fi are about forty percent of my work and the rest is eclectic mix of independent movies and I often get to change my identity as an actor. I do get type cast often, but when I got my Master's, I did not go to a horror class so to speak it was just the luck of the draw.

In retrospect, you would be surprised on how many people lobbied to be in "Night of the Living Dead" and "Candyman." There were a number of mainstream names. I was lobbied by the director of "Candyman" after he saw me in a movie with James Earl Jones by the name of "The Last Elephant" and he faced resistance from the studio at the time. He fought for me. It was the first, and one of the few times that this ever happened for me.

He told me that the movie was going to change my life. It was hard for me to grasp that since we had not shot a single frame up to that point. I told him that I would do the best job that I could for him. Later, people started coming up to me. It did not happen right away. It took about two years to soak into the public consciousness. Around 1996, people started to notice. I still live my life like a regular person, even though I do my grocery shopping after midnight, but at that time, I would go to a gas station and people would say something. To this day, it is still a phenomenon and people will run up to me yelling "Candyman...Candyman!"