Bruce Campbell: From the "Evil Dead" Guy to the Hallmark Guy in "One December Night"

On closer career inspection there isn39t a film or television genre the actorproducer hasn39t dabbled in doing everything from westerns The Adventures of Brisco County Jr scifi Time Quest drama Burn Notice and video games as a successful voiceover artist He39s even dabbled in Disney starring opposite Herbie in The Love Bug 1997 and as the voice of Mayor Shelbourne in 200939s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs So when he had the opportunity to add Hallmark to those extensive credits he didn39t hesitate quotI hadn39t yet cracked the glass ceiling of Hallmark and acceptance into the 39pop culture holiday39 thingquot he laughed during a recent exclusive chat with MediaVillage quotIt was fun and I can39t wait to do another onequotI39ll be honest with youquot he continued quotIt39s the type of work that at this point as an actor you just like having scenes with other good actors in a good story It was time to put the chainsaw down and pick up a guitar That39s where I am in my career now I mentioned to a filmmaker friend that I was doing a Hallmark movie He doesn39t like a lot of modern movies and normally bristles at anything but he said 39Let me tell you Hallmark plays by the rules39 What he meant was they create a problem address the problem and solve the problemquotThey make you care about the charactersquot he added quotPut them through some stuff and see what happens My friend then said quotNine out of 10 times when a Hallmark movie is over you feel better and they39re remarkable at thatquot I39ve been in movies with twist endings dark endings scary endings bloody endings lots of special effects and it39s nice to do one that doesn39t have any of thatquotCampbell told me he wasn39t specifically looking for a holiday themed project so when the COVID pandemic and ensuing protocols shut down production on some indie films he welcomed the change of pace quotStuff just falls off the truck sometimesquot he shared quotThis thing came bopping up and because Hallmark is quite the machine they were like 39If you39re gonna do this we39re going right now39 The hardest thing about the whole shoot was doing a Christmas movie in September You39re sweating but hey there39s no fake blood so it was all good While filming I was looking at my other cast members and I39m like 39No no this is not uncomfortable believe me39quotIn the film Campbell plays Steve Bedford one half of the fractured musical duo Bedford ampamp Sullivan Gallagher pictured above with Campbell who after having enormous successamp160splintered amidst a bitter breakup ten years ago Enter upandcoming music manager Quinn Mumford who happens to be Mike Sullivan39s estranged daughter tasked with reuniting the feuding duo for a TV special In addition to navigating the complicated dynamics of the reunion Quinn needs to find common ground with Steve39s manager son Jason Dalton to create something beneficial for all involvedPlaying a member of a fractured musical duo required no research for Campbell quotI39ve probably read every actormusician autobiography out therequot he shared quotI39ve read about the multiple breakups of Crosby Stills Nash and Young This relationship is a lot like those guys where musically their harmonies are amazing but behind the scenes it39s discord like you can39t believe Often in the arts there39s that dynamic of people not liking each other Sometimes a volatile setup makes for good performances and chemistry It39s the same with Simon ampamp Garfunkel those guys did not always get along but when they sang together amp8230 how could they not work togetherquotWhen it came to performing opposite Gallagher who is an accomplished musician Campbell let us in on a little secret quotThey did not hire me for my musical skillsquot he laughed quotIt39s all movie magic Peter is a seasoned performer whom I called 39Broadway Joe39 during filming When I learned he was playing the other guy I was like 39Oh I39m good let39s do it39 But let39s be clear I actually gave him advice He39d come to me every day asking 39Bruce am I holding the guitar right39 I39m like 39Yeah just a little higher39 I taught him the word 39vibrato39 too That39s a musical term His voice just didn39t have enough vibrato it39s important that we get the record straight herequotIt was Campbell39s playful side that kept things light on the set especially when it came to the duo39s quotheatedquot scenes quotWe had a couple of scenes where we tussle with each otherquot he recalled quotWe kept getting dialed back The director said 39Too much Hallmark needs implied violence39 You had to moderate yourself to the material and get to what I call 39Hallmark mad39 We had fun though and I got to keep the bobble head of my character that was made for the filmquotDespite a new career opportunity via Hallmark Campbell isn39t retiring his beloved Evil Dead character yet He39s voicing Ash Williams in video games to be released in 2022 And should Hallmark come knocking again well he39s all in quotIt39s nice to work on something people will watch and ultimately feel happy at the end ofquot he said in closing quotI want to go from being the Evil Dead guy to the Hallmark guy and I think it39s possible with a few more I also did a survey it turns out 72 of Evil Dead fans are closet Hallmark watchers so Hallmark get ready for some Evil Dead fansquotOne December Night will be telecast Saturday November 13 at 10 pm on Hallmark Movies ampamp Mysteries as part of their annual Miracles of Christmas programming eventClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Bruce Campbell: From the "Evil Dead" Guy to the Hallmark Guy in "One December Night"

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Steve Gidlow

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Bruce Campbell: From the "Evil Dead" Guy to the Hallmark Guy in "One December Night"

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Steve Gidlow

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

Cookies