Ep 286: Interview w/Robert Brian Wilson from “Silent Night, Deadly Night” (1984)

As Billy in the original “Silent Night, Deadly Night,” Robert Brian Wilson dons the Santa suit, chases the naughty with an axe, and makes good on his promise to “punish” them. Tune in to hear all about playing the OG Killer Santa in this 1984 horror classic, how he felt about all the controversy back then (and when his feelings changed), and the story behind why he isn’t in the remake that just hit theaters.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hello, welcome to Happy Your Time. My name is Tim Murdoch.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
And my name is Matt Emmert. Now we sure hope
you haven't been naughty, because today's special guest might have
to punish you. That's because he played Billy aka the
quintessential Killer Santa in nineteen eighty four's Silent Night, Deadly
Night and went on one of the most memorable Christmas
Eve killings breeze in horror history. He also had recurring

(00:34):
roles on the eighties soap operas Santa Barbara and Generations,
and then, after taking a break from acting, returned to
the screen in thrillers like The Wrong Roommate and a
Nanny to Die For. Please, welcome to the podcast, Robert
Brian Wilson. How's it going.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
It's going great. Thank you. That was a great introduction.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Thanks mate, Thanks, thank you, and happy holidays. This is
the perfect time. We were so grateful to get some
of your time. And you know, we read that you're
so cow native and didn't actually pursue acting until you
were discovered by a talent manager. So what kind of
activities were you involved in at a young age and
had you ever considered going into acting when you're growing

(01:15):
up right right.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
No, Matt, I had never considered it. It was never
something that you know, I went to mom and said, hey,
I want to do that. You know, I watched my
Sheriff TV like we all did when we were kids.
But no, I I didn't have any any aspirations to

(01:38):
be an actor. And like you said, it was kind
of one of those things that happened. I was. I
was discovered in Palm Springs with I was out there
on a spring break with my girlfriend and I got
discovered there.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Oh my god, please tell our listeners the whole story,
because we've heard it before, but it's such a good story.
It's like every actor's dream. So can you tell us
that whole story of how you were discovered?

Speaker 3 (02:01):
Right right? And it's interesting that you say that, because
you know, I never put that together. It all just happened.
It was just my story, you know. Now, now that
I've told the story a few times, people are like, no, way,
you know, does that really happen? You know? So yeah,
here we go. My girlfriend and my my we were
at the time. Again. Now she's my wife of thirty

(02:25):
seven years. Okay, so we'll get to that side of it.
And family and all of that. But it all started.
We were on a spring break in Palm Springs and
we were having a dinner at there was a Mexican
restaurant in town. It's called Los Casuels. I think I
could be wrong.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
I've been there.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
It's right there, it's right on the main Yeah. Yeah,
so everybody's been there, you know, it's been to Palm Springs.
And we were there and we had a great meal
and just you know, having a great evening. And as
we stepped out of the restaurant, a gentleman came up
to me and said, are you an actor? And I
was like, no, I'm not. And I don't remember exactly

(03:12):
how it went, you know, but he said that he
was a manager in town and that he was he
could he could I don't know if he used the
word sell me in Hollywood, but he could work me
in the Hollywood world as an actor. And I asked
him how he came to know that, and he said

(03:34):
that he'd watched how I interacted with my girlfriend that
night at the at our meal, you know, just the
conversation and how I interacted with the waiter and then
lo and behold, how I handled paying my bill at
the end with the person there at the cash registered,

(03:56):
and I said, so, what was it that that you
you saw that? And I think I may have had
a margarita or two, so I'm I'm I'm stating it
now very like calmly, and I might have been maybe
pretty sarcastic, and I might have said like, so, what's
up with you, dude, Like why don't you just leave

(04:17):
me alone?

Speaker 2 (04:19):
You know, I want to know what your girlfriend was.
Was she like, uh, let's go as well.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, but you know, she was very intrigued with the
whole idea of this guy from Hollywood, you know, just
you know, knocking on my door. So and I actually
at some point, at one point I said, you know,
she's uh, you know, maybe it's not me, maybe it's her.
You want you know, she's she's done modeling. He goes, oh, no, yeah,
she's beautiful, and yes we can work with her too,
you know, but what I saw and I said, again,

(04:46):
you know, so what was it that you saw, dude?
And he said, yeah, I saw how you interact with
those folks and how you listen to them. And you know,
when you interact with folks, you look them in the eye,
and he goes, when that happens, and I see that
just out and someone does that, naturally, I can that
will transcend the camera the lens if you will, he says,
So when people listen and look and watch other people,

(05:10):
it's it's it's what we looked for. And I said, wow, okay.
So went back to a hotel room and took his
business card and flipped it across the room and went,
what of the world was that? And my girlfriend said,
what are you talking about? I said, really, Hollywood? Seriously
and she said, no, seriously, what like, we're in college

(05:33):
and you're not really sure what direction you're going in.
Maybe maybe this is the direction you should go, and
maybe you should not just flip the cart across the room.
And she went and found it, and maybe you should look,
you know, call this guy, and I did the next week,
and in that period of time, within a week, I
was in his office and we read a scene together

(05:53):
and I was not ready for that. It was way
beyond me. So he kept asking are you ready? Are
you ready? Are you ready? And half the way half
this thing was me going to his office going like,
who's this dude from Hollywood? You know? I've heard a
lot of stories.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
You know, you can't google him. Yeah, right, And.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
I'm kind of like, yeah, like what am I getting
myself into?

Speaker 2 (06:16):
I'm just going to ask, like, were you nervous that
first meeting going to the office. I'd be terrified, like
to kill me.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, yeah, I've never thought of it like that, but yeah,
I really at the at the end of the day, Matt,
I was. I was terrified, But yet I was also
the size I am, with probably about thirty more pounds
of muscle, and I knew that, like whatever I was
getting myself into, you know, I was okay. But with

(06:43):
that that angst and all of that, I went into
his office and nervous and scared and read the script
and we stood up in the middle of his office
and gave the exchange, and he says, oh, that was good,
you know, he said, yeah, okay, So like why was

(07:04):
it good? You know? I was a nervous as heck.
I could barely get the words out, you know. He goes, well,
I have to learn right out the gate if you
can read, Oh my gosh, you could have just asked
me anyway. He goes, no, but you can't, and you
understood what was going on here, he goes, and so

(07:25):
let's just do this one more time. And he said,
so in the middle there there's a little exchange where
it's kind of heated, you know where that is. And
I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, he goes. So what we're
gonna do is just you know, see how you how
you react in the moment. You know, let's just kind
of let the script be what it is. But that's

(07:46):
an argument, So let's just see how you live then.
And I said, okay, I didn't really understand what he
was saying, but we got back to that point in
the script, and he poked me, you know, and he
poked me on the check. And like I said, when
I was driving up there, man, I thought I might
have to take this guy and you know, pit him
against the wall or something. So he poked me in

(08:09):
the chest and that was all truthfully limited to me,
you know. And the second time he poked me, I
grabbed him by his like, look, he he was this businessman,
he wore this, he wore a you know, like a
sports coat in his office and whatnot. He's always really
you know, professional. But I grabbed him by his sports

(08:29):
coat and basically was pushing him across the room to
put him up against the wall. It just came out.
I didn't trust me. This was not my acting experience,
planned outcome. This was just something that happened. He freaked out, said.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
Stop stop stop.

Speaker 3 (08:48):
Okay, okay, you can do this, I said, And he said, no,
that's what I'm talking about. He goes, that's like everything
that I could ever hope for you. That's living in
the moment. I was like, holy shit, this is crazy.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
That is such a I would I would have loved
if when you did that with no knowledge of Silent
Night Dead the night you said punish And he's like, no,
but that's perfect. That is such a crazy but really
awesome story.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
Totally.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
I love it. I mean, I mean I'm not good
at memorizing lines. I mean, sure, I've got my SAG card,
but I mean, like, I'm not a great actor. I
mean I I would have been petrified. Oh my god.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
But that's we were just doing like a natural human response.
That's acting, you know, because you're being genuine to what
a human would do. So yeah, like and growing up.

Speaker 3 (09:46):
Which is after after you know, studying with a master
as I as, I was fortunate to do as time
went on in my career. That's what he was trying
to get us all to do as it was in
our exercises. Let's just be you and you know, let
you be and that's what we want to see, you know.
And I did it naturally. Then that man's office and

(10:07):
he just about had a moment, you know. But we
got along fine after that. But that's how it started.
Within a week's time, he had he had he had
a niece that had a thirty five millimeter camera and
she was working on taking headshots. And I had headshots
within that week. I also had a fictitious resume made up.

(10:32):
I had to have a resume, right, made up all
this He made up all this crap and put it
all over my resume and I'm like, whoa, yeah, yeah.
In Long Beach, I did some theater work and some
voice work and some others. I mean, I'm not kidding
you guys. I know, I make this up.

Speaker 1 (10:48):
I believe it.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
I love that.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
In growing up, were you a fan of pore films?
Were any on your radar? Did any have a big
impact on you?

Speaker 3 (10:57):
Wow? No, really, you know I would say that, you know,
probably too early. But the Exorcists, the omen Yeah, you know,
I mean those were things that when I was ten
or twelve, and I'm not sure on the dates, but
those were the films that were kind of coming out then,

(11:20):
which were those were hard Man and it was it
was frightening as a kid to see that.

Speaker 4 (11:25):
Stuff children's Yeah wow, So yeah it was that was
That was my experience, but it wasn't something that I
gravitated too.

Speaker 3 (11:37):
And then here we are found me.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
Yeah. Well, so moving on to Silent Night, Deadly Night. Now,
first off, I just got to say, like Tim and
I absolutely love this film, and a lot of it
is because of your performance in it. Like not only
do we watch it every Christmas like many other people,
but we've also attended a ton of screenings of it.
We love this film. This was your first professional acting role, right,
our first film or first acting of all, I mean

(12:02):
not counting your fictitious resume of course.

Speaker 3 (12:05):
No first film, Yes, but I did to get my
sad card, I did a Matt Houston, which was a
prime time oh drama, and I did that to get
my sad card. I did actually two episodes of Matt Houston,

(12:25):
and I'm pretty sure they were before Soli Deadly Night.
I'd have to look it up, but I had a
couple of credits rolling and I was in the guild,
so and that's how that happened in order to do
Silent I Deadly NIGHTE.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
So what was the audition process like for Billy?

Speaker 5 (12:41):
Like?

Speaker 2 (12:41):
What did they have you do? If whatever you remember
of that?

Speaker 3 (12:44):
Gosh, you know, I really wish I could remember the
exact scene in the original script. I think the scene
was with the little girl where I asked her if
she'd been There were two scenes, and I think that
was the second scene if I asked her if she

(13:05):
had been naughty and she said yes, excuse me, no,
I have not, And so that was the scene. And
that was obviously, for you know, a young actor, difficult
to do. And so I'm being new to the everything.
I didn't have any any bag of tricks or any

(13:26):
any methods or I don't know what they do, you know,
I really didn't. But the process was the same as always,
I suppose back in the time where we all came
in at a particular time that was assigned to us
by our agent, and we came in with a headshot
in our resume and showed up. Sometimes you had your

(13:51):
portfolio book. It was like this book, this leather bound handled,
but it held all of your eight by ten So
like some agent might want to look at your pictures
or something just because maybe they you know, a lot
of times, you know, most actors I suppose, came in
real nervous or something that the agent was aware of
that are kind enough and had a big enough part

(14:12):
that you go, let's just chill this down a little bit,
Let's look at some pictures. Okay, let's do the scene,
you know, and so now the same process as ever
came in prepared that way, signed in many other people.
There was a day before so the list. You know,
as actors, you do peak at the list a little bit.
You're like, how many people are waiting for this? You know,

(14:33):
and you can there was like, you know, I think
every person of my type read for that role. I
mean I I was probably fifty six on the list,
you know, and there were there were forty the day before.

Speaker 2 (14:51):
Oh wow.

Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah, and a lot of competition.

Speaker 2 (14:55):
Y yeah, but that's amazing. When you when you first
got the role, did you have any hesitations about like
doing a horror film or playing a killer Santa were
you like all for it?

Speaker 3 (15:06):
Yeah, I was all for it. Yeah, got to the chase,
I was all for it, you know. I mean I
was working at you know, I was I was doing
scene work, I was doing doing everything I could to
really kind of sink my teeth into the foundation of
being an actor in the process and all of that business.
And uh, at the end of the day to be rewarded,

(15:28):
you're only hoping to get a job. And so I
got this job, you know, and I'm like, oh, you know,
and you know, everything that I've ever done in my
life and learned is like, man, whatever it is, whatever
you signed on, you got the job. Now go do
the best job you can do. And that's kind of
where my head's always been, and that's where it was.

Speaker 2 (15:49):
Then that's no, that's a great right, Yeah, that's a
good work ethic. So you know, your character, Billy is
incredibly traumatized as a kid after witnessing the murder of
his parents by a guy in a Santa Sue. So,
after you read the script and kind of learned about
your character's background, did you do any sort of preparation
for the role, or did the director, Charles lly Er Junior,
have any conversations with you about what he was expecting.

Speaker 3 (16:13):
Right, Matt, great question. No, I you know I did.
When it comes to like preparation and those types of things,
the best I could do was learn the words that
were on the page. And all I had ever done
up to that point was, you know, I guess my

(16:39):
process was to to to learn the words, to read it,
to get an idea of what this is. Learn the words,
and then have an idea of what this person why
they through the words, through what the author had given me.
The writer had given me who is this dude? And

(17:02):
and I had also learned it through hearing what other
people said about him and all of that to kind
of say, well, this is who Billy is. And that's
all I really went there with was like this, as
you'd mentioned in the question, Billy was traumatized early, and

(17:24):
uh so, yeah, that's really all I had and and
then it was just up to me to to kind
of go inside and find out what that meant. And
then how was that going to play out? I didn't know,
but I just knew that Billy was hurt, you know,

(17:44):
as a child, so it was going to be difficult.
And that's what you got, but.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
I think it's great. I mean, we've talked to people.
We we were just talking to to d Wallace in
an interview asking about like preparations. She's like, no, I
don't do any preparation because I just have to feel
it in the scene. And that sounds like something that
you do well considering out your that first meeting and things,
and so a lot of times I think sometimes if

(18:12):
you over prepare, you know, it looks fabricated, you know
what I mean.

Speaker 3 (18:16):
Yeah, yeah, And there's a fine line that I've you
know that I've that I think an actor has to
kind of try to find because and there's always yourself,
you know, I'm in everything that I do, So there's
that part of humanity that cannot be escaped. So I'd
never want to try to do anything outside myself because

(18:38):
that's truly an authentic and I know it's fake and
it doesn't work for me as an artist. So yeah,
I don't. Yeah, I don't need to do much preparation.
I've learned that over many years of how I am
as a person and how I can just look at
other people and feel pain.

Speaker 1 (18:58):
And what was it like filming in Utah? Like how
How long was the shoot? How long were you there for?

Speaker 3 (19:03):
I was only there for I'm going to say about
a month tim. I mean it was like it might
have been three weeks. It wasn't much. I mean when
you look at the film and realize how much I
actually did. You know, a lot of the story that
is associated with me was my little the Little Billy's
you know, and that was all shot before I got there.

(19:24):
So the extent of film that was laid down on
me was very focused in a period of time that
came after My Little Brothers had been established, after Little
Billy had been established.

Speaker 1 (19:37):
Did you ever meet the other little boys that played you?

Speaker 3 (19:40):
I didn't, No, I didn't.

Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yeah, hey there's still time.

Speaker 3 (19:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (19:47):
With the horror convention circuit, you never never know and
get these guys to it. You know. We also heard
we heard you mentioned in the documentary because we have
the Blu ray. It's called I think Sleigh bells Ring
the story of Silent Night, Deadly Night that Lillian Shalvin,
who played Mother Superior, became sort of like a mentor
to you during production. Can you tell us about your
relationship with Lillian and what she taught you while you

(20:09):
were filming.

Speaker 3 (20:10):
Yeah, yeah, that's great. I'm glad you brought that up
because it was going to be a part of that
whole you know what I did to prepare, And so
I did what I did, showed up there and met
Lillian at in Salt Lake or Hebrew Hebrew Utah, and
she said, would you like to get together a little
bit later and just kind of run through the stuff

(20:31):
that we do together, And I said, yes, I'd love that,
and so I went to her room and we broke
out our scripts, and I think within the first five minutes,
she realized that I did not have an idea of
really what I was getting myself into. And maybe that
was probably maybe that came out of some questions like, hey,

(20:51):
how many films have you done, and what your experience
and so forth. So I don't recall exactly how all
came down, but she realized in a short period of
time that I really was not equipped or not necessarily equipped,
but didn't necessarily understand what I was getting into from
a from a camera technique kind of perspective. So what

(21:15):
she started to teach me in that time that we
were there was that this in this particular shot and
it would suggest it in the script, you know, whether
what this shot or that shot, But I didn't know
what that meant. Has it related to the camera. But
she explained all of that to me. And then so

(21:36):
she would say like so Robert, and she had a
French accent. She's a lovely lady. She was great. I mean,
she looks like mother superior. She's a fantastic actress because
she was a great, like high high, high quality woman.
I mean she was just I actually after Heber, she

(21:58):
had a class in North Hollywood that she was teaching
as an acting teacher, and I would I attended that
on a number of occasions.

Speaker 2 (22:07):
That's awesome, was she Yeah? Did she have a ruler
and hit you if you did something wrong?

Speaker 3 (22:13):
No, that's what That's what I'm trying to convey.

Speaker 2 (22:16):
She was.

Speaker 3 (22:17):
She was so kind and so loving. Yeah, she was
a great woman. But she she she's she was very clear.
She would Robert like, right now, if you move like
this or that, you just you moved out of the shot.
And I was like, oh, she said, so in this
you stay still, you know, and you stay still and

(22:40):
that will be the best shot because they've got to
get you, you know, like okay. So she taught me
a lot because then in those like it just stayed
in my mind. I never discussed it with Oh, Lillian said,
you know, it's like no, when that part of the
script came up, I had it circled. And when that
came up, whether and I recalled very clearly because we

(23:04):
went okay, I got back up a little bit. The
intention was to go there and work through our pieces,
Lilian's pieces in my piece. As it turned out, she
offered her services to teach me and work me through
the entire script.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
Oh wow, it was thirty thirty.

Speaker 3 (23:24):
Five bucks an hour I had per dim I just got,
you know, that's my newfound money, and my per diem
went to basically hathbit I suppose to her for running
through the entire script with me. And one of the
scenes that I can recall very clearly that she coached
me on was the one where Billy came in and

(23:46):
he found just prior to him finding Pamela and the
other my boss in the store, not brit but the
other boss Andy kissing over there or him messing with her.
But it was that whole transition the Billity went through
and had the flashbacks of his mother and father and

(24:08):
that whole thing that she said, you just you stand
still and you stay right there and don't move. You
keep your camera, your head, your face, everything out here,
and let us see it. You know. She was great that.

Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yeah, you can really see it in your face. That's
the thing, Like a lot of people can do so
much with facial expressions, and you can see in your
face that you are, you know, going through these painful
traumatic memories, which I think is great because that, you know,
that makes everyone know, okay, he's about to snap, you know,
and you know, going in order kind of through your scene.

(24:43):
So I have to talk about your very first scene
because it's kind of funny because the camera introduces you
by doing this long pan up your body to show
everyone that Billy's now like a man. So at the time,
did you have any sense that the filmmakers were basically
framing you to be like a horror hunk? I mean, like,
and how do you feel today about being seen in
that light or referred to in that way? I've got

(25:04):
to assume it's a compliment.

Speaker 3 (25:06):
Yeah, definitely. You know, I never I didn't think of it.
I never thought of it that way until I started
doing horror cons about like, you know, ten twelve years ago,
and I never really thought of it that way that
I was that that's the way they shot it. But
in hindsight that shot yeah, hey, you know, and some

(25:30):
of the other stuff. But also I don't know if
the audience knows it, but or that initially Billy, you know,
like Santa, he had his beard all the way up
and around, and it was in the first day that
they said, no, no, this isn't going to be like

(25:52):
all those other horror films where we don't know who
this guy is. Take the beard and people may not
even realize that in the film. But my stuff is,
it's all that fake stuff is all pulled down around
my chin most of the time because they wanted to
see my face. And I didn't understand then what the
point of that was. I was like, oh, cool, that's

(26:12):
you know. I again, it didn't affect like how I
was going to do my work. I was already pretty
clear on that, so whatever they kind of like like
for me to have the experience to know, like, oh shit,
now I know what they're doing. Wait, the cameraman starts
here and comes dude, deep dada I'm like, ah, they

(26:36):
could probably play some other music and it would be
even better, you know. But anyway, yeah, in hindsight, Hey,
but it's a it's a compliment, I mean for goodness
in the making.

Speaker 1 (26:48):
I mean, we just watched it. The guy referred to
it goes, oh, it's a really dark comedy, and I
was like, I never looked at it as a dark comedy,
but now I do.

Speaker 2 (26:56):
Yeah, no, I can like that. And you know, there's
so many kind of coming. There's so many memorable scenes
in this film, but one that always gets such a
big reaction at screenings is the big montage at the
toy store while that song the Warm Side of the
Door is playing. So I've got two questions for you
about that. Number One, for all that footage, were you
guys all just like shooting random stuff one day, like

(27:18):
b roll at the toy store that they cut into that?
And Two, what are your thoughts today when you see
that whole montage with that song playing.

Speaker 3 (27:26):
That's funny as you bring it up. I've never really
thought of it like that, or you know. I love
the montage and I think it was it was all
pretty well scripted, like the way you see it was
all shot to be in and a part of that,
you know, that montage, it wasn't you know, it was
uh And and of course the order in film as

(27:50):
it is sometimes and sometimes not, but it was it
was not in order. And so as again a young
acter that doesn't know what the heck's going on, you know,
I just got to sit back and watch the film
when it came out and went like, that's kind of
the way we shot it.

Speaker 2 (28:06):
You know, that's so funny because I didn't know. Literally,
I was like, I was wondering when we see that scene.
It's almost like did they just say, like, hey, guys
do like toy store stuff, you know? Or because it
looks so like you guys are just like putting things
on shelves, you know, very every day.

Speaker 1 (28:20):
The one thing about this movie is that they have
all like name brands, like everything's like Kermit the Frog
or like like everything is like you wouldn't today. They
would never not have those items in the store because
everything is like copyrighted. So it's like you have this
me Iris toy store, which I'm assuming is not a
real store. It was I'm assuming it was a set.

Speaker 3 (28:41):
Yes, it was some sort of a store. It could
have been a paint store, Tim, you know what I mean,
I don't know. I don't know what it was before.
Someone someone that lived there could probably tell you, Yeah, no,
that was not a toy store, but at all, you know,
and it could have just been empty shell before we
got there. I don't think they had the I don't know,
but yeah, all those toys in there, Yeah you would,

(29:04):
there's a there's it's an amazing piece. And that that
Quentin Tarantino spoke about the film, and he speaks about that,
Tim that there's no way that you can do this film.
Oh yeah in this day and age because of all
of the copyrights and all of that business with all

(29:27):
the stuff inside the store and those toys, because just
be impossible.

Speaker 1 (29:30):
Yeah, I mean, like even today, like if you if
someone even even on a reality show has like is
holding like a coke up with tape and I'm like, oh,
that's so interesting.

Speaker 2 (29:39):
I know they would have about to blur out the
entire toy store. And in your film, you know, the film.
We had read that it was initially called Slay Ride
throughout production, right, do you know when or why they
changed it? The Silent Night Deadly Knight, which I actually
think is a better title, just because right when you
hear that, you know exactly what you're getting into, you know,
slay Ride. If you don I don't see the spelling,

(30:01):
it could just be like we're going on the ski.

Speaker 1 (30:04):
The broader that they had for sleigh Ride was kind
of cool, but nothing tops Silent Night.

Speaker 2 (30:10):
Tell Yeah, did you know anything about the title change
or when you were filming it? Was it always slay Ride?

Speaker 3 (30:15):
It was always slay Ride. It was always slay Ride.
And I had a really cool T shirt with that
original the initial Santa. I think you just mentioned it.
Tim Santa was on the and then it said sleigh Ride.
I had a T shirt for the longest time, and
of course I didn't appreciate it then, but it was

(30:35):
a cool T shirt. Yeah, it was sleigh Ride the
entire time that I was shooting it. And I don't know,
that's a great question. I know that probably Gosh Scott
Scott's I never know how to pronounce his last name correctly,
and I hate to do it wrong. Scott Schneid or Schneid.

(30:57):
He's the producer of Or. He was one of the
producers of the film back when and he is like
he is a silent night, deadly night. He knows everything
about it. So he knows like when the name changed
and why and all that business. I just can't tell you.
I'm p some fan out there knows.

Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yeah, No, I mean a lot of times they just
come up with that and don't tell the actors and
suddenly your movie has a different name. You know. Moving
forward in the movie, so you have this daydream sequence
where you and your coworker Pamela are kissing and lying
on top of each other naked. Now, this being your
very first movie, and considering I doubt back in the
eighties there were like intimacy coordinators. Was that awkward to shoot?

Speaker 3 (31:38):
Like?

Speaker 2 (31:38):
How did the director go about filming that scene and
not making it too uncomfortable for you guys?

Speaker 3 (31:44):
Right? Well, first off, I guess I have to say
that I saw that film. I saw that scene common
and because it was my first film, and I was
nervous about what this was. And when I saw that
and said nudity in the stage direction, and I went

(32:05):
to my agent and I said, what's this? You know,
like I didn't want That's not how I wanted to
start my career, you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (32:17):
Yeah, you know, yeah, you know, I mean, we interview
a lot of women and like that's we always feel
bad because they have to like go through that agent
and manager and like the audition and everything, and they
such a bummer.

Speaker 2 (32:31):
So what happened?

Speaker 3 (32:32):
I mean, so I had him, I actually had him
say I was concerned about it. And he went to
the the production and said, you know, Robert's concerned about
the nudity. And they said, no, no, no, that's just
we put that because he's going to be they're going
to be laying on top of each other and you
won't see anything, blah blah blah. And and he said, well,

(32:53):
Robert wants to put something in the contract and say
that you won't be using any frontal nudity, you know
what I mean. And and so they, in fact, did
they put an addendum or a rider or something something
in the contract, a page that said that, you know,

(33:17):
they wouldn't be using any of that footage. And so
I ensured that, you know, I didn't you know.

Speaker 1 (33:24):
Yeah, it's called a nudity class.

Speaker 3 (33:26):
I just I don't know, I don't know, Hollywood man.
I just took the manager a year and a half
ago and picked them up against the lawler's office. I
have no idea what you guys would get me into here, man.

Speaker 2 (33:36):
I just think, yeah, like I just always think about
especially because we talked to so many horror actors and
who have had to do nudity, and usually it's like
one of their first films. And again back then, nowadays
there's like an intimacy coordinator that literally talks you through
every single step. But back then, I feel like they
were just like, take your clothes off, let's go.

Speaker 3 (33:54):
Yeah. Yeah, I mean I don't want to give it away.
But uh, you know, my very good friend Eric Freeman,
who plays my brother and Silent I Deadly Night too.
Oh yeah, Garbage Day.

Speaker 1 (34:07):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, we don't have garbage Day.

Speaker 3 (34:11):
Oh it's so cool. I love it too. He Yeah,
he talks about some nudity stuff that he's had to do,
and you know, he speaks very kind of freely about it.
So I'm not speaking out of school here, but it's like,
oh my gosh, it's like.

Speaker 2 (34:28):
Yeah, wait to go, kid, that's awesome.

Speaker 5 (34:33):
You know.

Speaker 2 (34:33):
So Billy Billy doesn't really snap until like we were
talking about the scene right when he puts the Santa
suit on, and he witnesses his coworker Andy sexually assaulting Pamela,
and it kind of like flashes back. Did wearing the
costume make it easier kind of for you to tap
into Billy's more homicidal side, Like did that help you
kind of know that that's when you were going to

(34:54):
be snapping or in that crazy state?

Speaker 3 (34:57):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (34:58):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it helps a lot. Yeah, it definitely
takes well. I can't speak for others, you know, but yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:08):
Was it uncomfortable to wear the suit.

Speaker 2 (35:11):
And run around during the whole movie? Like we not.
It looks like a huge, very hot but you know,
and Utah might be helpful because it's freezing.

Speaker 1 (35:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (35:21):
No, I didn't find it uncomfortable. I didn't. I can't
recall me like, O, well, I mean to take a break,
I needs water, you know. No that shit. No, I
can't recall. But you know, it's funny she said that
because there's a couple of scenes where I could see,
like I'm sweating, like holy shit, this guy back, get

(35:42):
take this, give this guy a break like in the
in those scenes, but it was very appropriate for the
scene like uhca crashing through the door and yeah to
take up you know there's that knotty couple on the
pool table. Yeah, I was sweating all over the place.
I can't.

Speaker 2 (36:00):
So you know, we've heard you mention that your favorite
kill to shoot was when you hunted down Missus Randall
in the toy store and shot her with the bow
and arrow. What made this scene so enjoyable for you
other than the obvious because he gets shoots with the
bow and arrow?

Speaker 3 (36:14):
Yeah yeah, well yeah, that's like the that's the that's
the finish, that's the capper. But but a lot of
the times the kapper is only a good capper because
of what led up to it. And for me, you know,
creeping through that store and hearing the silence of the

(36:34):
store and everything got quiet and you could only hear
the bells on my boots and me saying what I
was saying. It just felt so freaky, you know what
I mean? It was bad, you know, like I'm coming
and I had an axe raised, and you know I
was lost in it, dudes, I was lost in it.

Speaker 1 (36:55):
Was it a real axe?

Speaker 3 (36:58):
No goodness? God right, no, no, no, it was a
big old yeah. Uh yeah. It had a big black
rubber It looked great and it was heavy, you know,
so you didn't it didn't feel like you're just with
a like a plastic whiffleball bat or something or plastic.

(37:21):
It was. It was the real deal, you know. But
it was just creepy creeping through the store. And it
reminded me of playing a lot of the stuff that
I that I pulled from was my childhood that you know,
trauma and we all have it, you know, but was

(37:42):
just and that particular wasn't It wasn't traumatic. It was
just about me playing hide and seek. Yeah, and then
I that I knew where someone was or I knew
they were close, and uh yeah, that was that was
a recall for me. And so that whole thing led
up to the firing of the bone and arrow, and
that's very active and fun and.

Speaker 2 (38:03):
It is a.

Speaker 3 (38:07):
Ye, she's so great, wasn't she great?

Speaker 2 (38:11):
Oh my god, that's so quotable. Yeah, And speaking of
memorable kills, there's also what might be the most iconic
scene in this film when you impale poor lenea quickly
on those dear antlers. Now, what was it like filming
that scene and working with Lennea, who literally had to
be topless the entire time.

Speaker 3 (38:30):
Yeah, how about that, Well, that was a new experience.

Speaker 1 (38:41):
In Utah.

Speaker 2 (38:42):
Oh my god, you're like, I wonder how many people
had to put nudity clauses in their contracts on this film? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (38:51):
Wow, Yeah, No, it was great. She is she's she's like,
I've got to know her a little bit, you know,
because she does these horror cons and it seems like
I know her a lot better at this time. But
strangely enough, we've only crossed paths on like three occasions,

(39:13):
and most recently in Hartford, Connecticut, I got to spend
some time with Lennea. We took some pictures together and whatnot.
But going back to the day, to that scene, she
was just like all in as an actress, she she

(39:35):
knew what was going on, but through it all she played,
you know, just a wonderful role. And you know, of
course that role propelled her into many, many, many more
roles in the horror world. Yeah. It was a it
was a excuse me, a physical scene and so there

(39:56):
was and and she she played it very well. I
mean everything you see her, all that squirming and flailing
and whatnot she was doing. There was a stand in
there for me that.

Speaker 6 (40:10):
They asked if I wanted the gentleman that was there
for the stand in, who was also the guy that
threw the axe and stuck it in the wall.

Speaker 3 (40:21):
He was one and the same and he did some
of the work. But I'm as I recall it, and
I can. I think you can tell by the shots
I did, every darnare everything. I think the only thing
that might have they might have put him in is
when you were fully seeing just the back of Billy

(40:43):
and Linnea up here and him holding her and you know,
pressing her onto that. But all that wrestling and fighting
and throwing around in the living room there around the
pool table was was mostly me, and it was it
was fun. Uh Leo, who was a young man that

(41:07):
was flipped around in there and having the fight with me,
great great guy. He was all in. So the physicality
of it and Linnea, the physicality of it all in
and so that's why you get such a fun scene there,
you know.

Speaker 2 (41:24):
Yeah, that was the next question. Yeah, that was the
next Our next question about the fight with Leo Gettar,
because he's kind of the only character in this movie
that really puts up a fight. So you guys are
like going at it before you throw him through the window.

Speaker 1 (41:36):
Was that all.

Speaker 2 (41:36):
Choreographed or and and did you get to do most
of that or was that more of a stunt man?

Speaker 3 (41:42):
That was a little of both of us. But I recall,
you know, like it wasn't so choreographed. I don't think
it was. It was kind of like, you got to
be here, you gotta be there, you got to be
here and then and some of that the stunt was
the jet in that played the sunt man or the
second I don't know how to refer to him. I

(42:03):
want to give him all his respect, but he was
in a part of that. And perhaps some of that
was choreographed. I know, to grab him by the pants
and the shirt and throw him out the window, that
had to be something that was easily captured within the frame.
So that kind of stuff I don't recall exactly. It's
been a minute, but yeah, a lot of this stuff

(42:27):
was just stay in this space and you know, fight
till you get into this spot, blah blah blah. And
again they were both all in and of course I was.

Speaker 1 (42:38):
All three of you. It's a fantastic scene. And my gosh,
that guy in the cold with the glass on him
good job.

Speaker 3 (42:44):
I know every time I see that shot, I'm like Leo.

Speaker 1 (42:51):
Cool in the Bullies, you know, the sledding Bullies and
your famous scene, the classic scene where you jump out
with the acts. How is that to film?

Speaker 3 (43:00):
That was great? You know we really haven't talked about it,
but before I got caught up in Hollywood. You know,
I to this day, I still i'm I'm I'm a
I love sports. You know, I come from a sports family.
My father was a professional baseball player. My oldest brother

(43:20):
or my second brother, was a professional baseball player. His
son is a professional baseball player. I love football with
such a passion. Uh. You probably don't know another person
that loves football and the intricacies of the game as
much as I do.

Speaker 1 (43:38):
My dad.

Speaker 3 (43:40):
Okay, let's talk. Let's go to get me in your
fantasy league. Okay, that's great. No, I absolutely love the game,
and so that's how I was. I was. I was
trained in sports. I that's how like I think a
lot of my just a plan as an actor, show

(44:02):
up on time, ready to go. You know you asked
about the Santa suit. You know, I was most comfortable
with shoulder pads and a helmet, so the Santa suit
was nothing, you know, like and and also that you
to go back to what you talked about. When I
put that uniform on to play football, I became something different.

(44:22):
And so that was an easy transition to even just
put on the Santa suit, because when I put on suits, like,
I'm allowed to be someone else.

Speaker 1 (44:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (44:35):
But yeah, get back to the question. I'm sorry it was.

Speaker 2 (44:40):
Oh, we're just asking the scene when you decapitate the
guy that's led, how did they film that? Because it's
such a fun yes, scene, yes.

Speaker 3 (44:47):
And so that's that's where I went on the tangent
because it was such so linked to athletics. To jump
out of there with the acts that I've described and
to swing it, it felt like just an old athletic move,
you know. And they were very concerned that how it

(45:09):
was going to work, and this and that, and so
the cameraman he actually got on that sled, the same
sled that the kids were on. Okay, he this elderly,
wonderful gentleman I want to call him anyway, he was
the director of photography and a German gentleman. Anyway, he's

(45:32):
sitting on that sled with this and back of the
day these cameras were you know, like I don't want
to exaggerate, but you know it was pretty heavy and
pretty big, and it had this ass end on it,
and then the lands, you know, and he's sitting all
hunched up in this on the sled pushing down the hill,
and he said, you know, Robert, I don't know if
he's referred to me as Robert or Bob. He goes, Bob,

(45:53):
this is a very tight shot. He goes, So you know,
when I'm coming and I see this jump out, you
know I am going to be shooting like this, and
you have to swing the axe right over the camera.
He goes, but if you miss, no, you know that's
not good. And I was like, I got you, man,
And so we did it a few times, and you

(46:14):
know every time I whistled that axe right over his head. Wow.
But I you know, I really did. I'd liked it
all things. You're like a dancer or an athlete. You know,
once you find where your feet are going to be,
and once you've established where your elbow and that thing
is going to be, there's not there's not a lot
of range of error. Yeah, you know, so I felt

(46:36):
confident in it and I let it rip and it shows.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
And it looks like it doesn't look like you're holding back,
you know, it looks like you really swinging at hard.
It doesn't look like you're being like precise or anything.
So it's great, let's go. So, of course that brings
us to the big finale when Billy shows up at
the orphanage to kill Mother Superior, and spoiler alert, right
as you're swinging the axe down at her, a policeman

(47:01):
shoots you did right in front of all those kids.
Merry Christmas everyone.

Speaker 3 (47:05):
So drama.

Speaker 2 (47:07):
Yeah, I know, so we see that sequence in slow mo,
but I'm wondering, how was that actually shot? Like did
you have to do a bunch of takes just swinging
the axe down toward Lilian.

Speaker 3 (47:16):
Yeah? Yeah, and then it got It was kind of
like they wanted to make sure and gets as clearly
as they could and and I like the shot, but
it did feel that's a shot that did feel awkward.
I don't know that's because the way they wanted me
to have the axe coming down. Something felt awkward about

(47:37):
that shot. And I don't know if it shows, but
every time I see it, I'm like, hmmm, I would
has taken my normal cut now, but I love that
scene and I've been saying now forever that. You know,
they go like, oh, and that is at the scene,

(47:59):
that's the scene where Billy died. I go, no, man,
I'm right here.

Speaker 1 (48:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
And also, you know, you never know in horror movies,
just a couple of bullets doesn't stop a killer.

Speaker 1 (48:10):
So you will never die.

Speaker 2 (48:12):
Yeah, you never know, you know.

Speaker 1 (48:14):
And and when the film was wrapped, was there a
premiere or what were your thoughts seeing this movie on
the big screen for the first time in thirty five
millimeter right?

Speaker 3 (48:24):
It was uh wow, great, tim man, it was mine.
It blew my mind, like on on weird different levels,
like as an actor, you're looking at your work and
I didn't understand that it was there was a lot

(48:44):
of comedy in horror, and so I was uncomfortable with
the film. When I watched it. We watched it it
was like a at the screen actors. It was at
the director's guild over on Sunset, and yeah, it was
quite an event. I brought my my family because you know,

(49:09):
I was excited. It was my first film. I was like,
holy shit, you know, you know, mom, dad, you know,
everybody that said, like, what is he doing? He lives
in Hollywood? Now, what's going on with Bobby? I got
a film? Come check it out. Look, it's a starring role.

(49:30):
How about that?

Speaker 2 (49:32):
Yeah, what did they think of the film? What did
your family think of the Filmily thought.

Speaker 3 (49:36):
Dude, My father was so disappointed because yeah, it wasn't
like He's like, like, what did you do? Boy?

Speaker 2 (49:49):
Really? I mean I'm sure you you told him beforehand. Look,
I'm playing a killer Santa, right, Like they had a warning.

Speaker 3 (49:55):
Oh yeah, but they'd never seen anything like this, like
a lot of the public.

Speaker 1 (50:01):
Yeah, well that's the thing, like he breaks the mold
of the typical horror film because it's like no one's
safe in this movie, Like characters are introduced and then killed.

Speaker 2 (50:12):
Yeah, well, you know the film. Obviously, many people who
know the history of this film know that it ended
up causing a ton of controversy when it came out
because at the time, a lot of people just didn't
like the idea of a movie about a killer of Santa,
especially during the holiday season. So and then after less
than two weeks, Try Star pulled it from theaters. So
back then, how did you react to all the controversy,

(50:34):
like what were your thoughts on what was going on?
And do you think it was warranted?

Speaker 3 (50:39):
Wow, let's see, I did. I guess, like I guess
To get to the point of the question, how did
I react to the controversy? I did not. I probably
I reacted as honestly as I could, I guess. And
then you have to put what is as honestly as

(51:02):
you could into perspective, because this is how it goes
as a young actor. You're trying to get jobs, and
then you get a job that a lot of folks
would say, Wow, I would love to have that job.

(51:23):
That's a really cool job, and I thought so. And
then the film came out and it got canceled and
thumbs down by Siskel and Eber and every periodical out
there and anybody that could speak about Hollywood was speaking
negatively about this film. And as again to put this

(51:45):
into perspective as a young actor, like did I just myself? Yeah?
And so then you answer questions that people ask you
as honestly as you can. But I say, honestly with
the perspective of is this the end of my career?
And if I answer this question wrong, am I going

(52:07):
to get canceled too.

Speaker 2 (52:09):
Yeah, it was cancel culture before cancel Culture.

Speaker 3 (52:12):
Yeah, yeah, right in now. So, I think my answers
through the years have been varied. Varied, have been varied, Yes,
because wrong or right, you try to protect what you've
been trying to pursue. And in hindsight, you know, after

(52:37):
thirty years and watching the reaction of folks watching the
film at the Egyptian Theater at the thirty year anniversary
and coming to realize all the love for this film
and then what I went through thirty years prior when
it got canceled, it's quite a mind shift how I
perceived the film for thirty years and how it affected

(52:59):
me as an actor. And yeah, so I don't you know,
I don't recall exactly my response, but I don't know
that I was like in like, hey man, shut up.
You know it's our right to make whatever we want.
You know, you don't like it, stick it, don't go

(53:19):
see it. I didn't take that road. I went like,
hey man, maybe it did push the limits. Maybe it
was advertised at the wrong time. You know. I was
that guy, And that's not very popular when the producer's
out there saying say everything positive about this thing that
you can and I'm like the guy going, I don't know,
you know, maybe it was wrong, Maybe.

Speaker 1 (53:40):
I was wrong. Well I always think I mean like look,
I mean I don't have children, but I was like thinking, like, well,
it's not the movies are made and it's almost like
a television show. You can either turn the channel or
not buy a ticket. So it's like no one's forcing
anyone to go. Yeah, if you don't like it, just
don't go see it. If you think it's inappropriate, don't
bring people who it's not good for. But I did

(54:02):
try to get tickets to the Egyptian and it was
sold out. It would be yeah, I know, man.

Speaker 3 (54:10):
Okay, but hey here we are.

Speaker 2 (54:12):
Yeah, I mean, is that That's what I wanted to ask,
because I know you've mentioned that for a while you
kind of disowned this film because of all the controversy,
and then you started embracing it again. And was the
Egyptian Theater what kind of caused the change of heart
or what would cause the change of heart for you?

Speaker 3 (54:28):
The Egyptian Theater.

Speaker 1 (54:30):
That's a huge theater. I mean, it's like it was
probably like a love fest of everyone loving this nineteen
eighty four film.

Speaker 3 (54:36):
Right right, and I, you know, like I was so unaware,
and my wife, you know, went and we just walked
through the ticket you know, just like everybody else, and
we didn't know where to sit. We didn't know, you know,
we kind of looked in the theater and there's a

(54:57):
lot of people in there. And then one person walked
up and looked at me and was like you're him,
and I'm like, yeah, you know, and my wife looked
at me. You're like, holy shitty, recognized you. How about that?
You know? So I had no idea, and by the
end of it, everybody you know, I mean, and so, yeah,

(55:20):
it was a great Q and A. Afterwards, they had
this LP, this new LP with all of the yeah,
the music and all the added pieces, all the back
pieces that were left behind, and we signed a bunch
of stuff and for the first time in my life,
I'm signing autographs on behalf of this picture. And it

(55:44):
was like the line they finally had to just shut
it down, and people were just everybody was wanted you know,
I'm like, what the hell's going on here? And it
was at that time and this is great, I'm glad
you brought this up that I met David Dakoto. So
David Dakoto made it to the film and he's like, hey,
you know, I've been watching you. I watched this film.

(56:06):
I blah blah blah, you know. And he's like, you know,
I'm a producer a director. If you're ever interested, you're
still doing stuff. And I'm like, no, I'm not doing anything.
I work sixty seventy hours a week. And he's like, well, hey,
if you ever want to do something, you know, And
so right away I I took his card and I
called him and said, you know, put me on your list,
you know. And that was you know, again, what are

(56:28):
we at twelve years ago? Now I met David Dakoto
at that.

Speaker 2 (56:32):
And so he got rediscovered again.

Speaker 3 (56:36):
Yeah, well yeah, and so you know it's I worked
up until the last couple of years. I've now retired,
but I've been you know, David is such a kind gentleman.
I want to just you know, he's just he's been
so kind to bring me in to have faith that

(56:57):
I would show up and do my best. And in
the beginning I didn't know. Again, after not being in
front of a camera for twenty five years and never
really twenty five years prior being all that comfortable in
front of a camera, even though at the back end
of it I had some real solid training. It's a
different muscle in front of a camera. And so David

(57:20):
put me in front of the camera twenty five years
after the fact and threw me right into it. Wrong. Roommate, Yeah,
he said, man, he goes, you know, he goes, Robert,
he goes you twenty five years and you know, he
said it in front of the crew that was there.
He goes, this guy hasn't been in front of a
camera for twenty five years, and this is what you get.
And they're like, WHOA, all right, all right, you know,

(57:42):
and I didn't know. You know, I'm just doing the again,
just the best I can to bring truth to the
writer's words. And since then he's used me about eight
times in movies of the week, you know, guest roles
starring roles, so very gracious. And I can say that
as an actor, I'm more comfortable now in front of

(58:02):
a camera and delivering the truth to the writer's words
that I've ever been and it's because of David. So
I can't thank him enough, truthfully, because that was one
of those things that whether I ever do another role,
it doesn't matter to me. That was one of those
things as as a student of the game, as an
artist that I wanted to conquer and he's allowed me

(58:25):
to do it. So he's a wonderful dude. Wonderful dude.

Speaker 2 (58:29):
That's fine, all because you ran into him at that
thirtieth anniversary convention, thetieth good thing you didn't back, I know, no,
but that's so little things like that, Like if you
hadn't been in that restaurant in Palm Springs when you
were in college, we wouldn't you wouldn't have played this role.
Like it's a little things that are so interesting to
me in life, Like if you were change your plans

(58:50):
just a little bit, the whole path would be different,
you know.

Speaker 3 (58:54):
Isn't interesting? Yeah? What what is it? They referred to
I think one of the psychiatrists of our time or
of the time synchronicity.

Speaker 2 (59:04):
Sanchronicity, Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know. I wanted to ask you,
looking back on Silent Night, Deadly Night, in your opinion,
why do you think this film has developed such a
cult following over the last forty one years, Like do
you think it was the controversy that kind of sparked
the interest or why do you think it has become
such a beloved horror film over the years.

Speaker 3 (59:25):
That's a great question, and.

Speaker 2 (59:27):
There's no wrong answers bout it. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (59:31):
I've had now twelve years of being out and you know,
going out into horror cons and hearing what the fans
have to say. I don't know why or how, but
somehow we're all more aware of what trauma does to

(59:51):
our lives if it's not reconciled. And this is like
the epitome of what trauma does if it's not reconciled.
And it's something that resonates across so many people, from

(01:00:12):
people that watched it when they were my age, people
that watched it when they were twelve. It just goes
And I think that's the common thread that people have
come to me and said, like, your movie resonates because
I didn't like Christmas. And so then you kind of go, well,

(01:00:34):
what what what happened? You know, what was going on?
What happened? You know?

Speaker 7 (01:00:38):
And I talked to these folks, I want to know,
you know, and they're and then they'll they're honest, and
they say, well, you know, my father was abusive and
it got worse at Christmas.

Speaker 3 (01:00:48):
I'm Michael, you know, so I did the film. I
had no idea that it was going to strike a
chord in so many people in so many different ways.
I can't do anything about it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:02):
But that's great. I mean, but what you say is
totally right. I mean, obviously there's the surface level like
fun of a Killer Santa, but that's kind of the
surface level thing, the trauma explanation. You're totally right. I
never thought about it that way. How isn't there like
a stat that like depressions during the holidays. So it's
kind of just nice to see like a release in
a way of a killer.

Speaker 1 (01:01:26):
Did Did you happen to see any of the Silent
Night Deadly Night sequels?

Speaker 3 (01:01:30):
I saw a little bit of Number two, brother Eric.
You know, I love Eric Freeman, by the way, just
so everybody knows he's my guy. Man, I dig that, dude. Yeah,
I saw a little bit of too. You know, I
don't know, you know, you guys, it's hard to watch
even I've only watched one on a couple of occasions

(01:01:53):
where I've really sat down and locked in and watched it.
Only on like in forty two years, on two or
three occasions. Now you know, I've gone to the theater.
I've gone to premieres, and that's a different experience. I
like being with the audience. Hopefully I'll be going to

(01:02:14):
the New Beverly here in a couple of weeks. They're
going to be showing the film December fifteenth and sixteenth,
and I like to go there because that's a time
where I get to see the fans and say thanks,
but yeah, I've only watched a little bit of pieces,
bits and pieces of the others and heard about them
from many of the fans, and a lot of them

(01:02:37):
go when I ask that same question, Tim, They're like, well,
good because number four was this number four, Number.

Speaker 1 (01:02:43):
Five was freak o.

Speaker 3 (01:02:45):
I'm like, okay, yeah, that's probably why I haven't watched them.
But the true so and ideally Night fans have watched
everything over and over again. But their favorite favorites I
have to include is number one and two.

Speaker 2 (01:03:04):
I mean half of two is one anyway, that's true. Okay,
So the remake of Silent Night, Deadly Knight will be
in theaters by the time that this interview airs, and
I remember you saying at a screening that Tim and
I went to that a few months back, that you
were never contacted about appearing in the film or even
doing a cameo, which is such a missed opportunity, because

(01:03:25):
you know, fans of the original would have loved to
see you in any sort of role in this remake.
Did you ever consider reaching out to the new filmmakers yourself,
or what are your thoughts on how that all went down?

Speaker 3 (01:03:37):
Right? Right? Well, let's let's let's let's clear it, clear
it up. Scott Schneid, the producer who was a part
of the original, we had been in contact and he
had said that they were on the cusp, didn't want
to jinx anything, but they were on the cusp of

(01:03:58):
doing the remake, and there were a couple spots in
there that he thought would be right for me. So
I was excited, and then things were getting started on
the film. We had connected one other time after that
and again just wishing him well on the project. And

(01:04:22):
then the Palisades fires happened, and Scott lived in that area.
I was aware of that, so I put out I
hope everything's okay text email, and he responded and said thanks,
and he said that they were making the film in

(01:04:44):
Canada and that I don't want to misquote, but there
wasn't enough money in the budget to have me be
a part of it. So, you know, I was just
responding to an email and said, oh, you know, hey,
you know, wish you well. I hope everything goes well,

(01:05:08):
and that's how that went. But yeah, I'm with you.
I'm with you, and it's not just you. You know, for
twelve years I've been doing horcns and everybody's coming up
and saying, Hey, are they gonna do the remake? A
you're gonna do it thatah blah blah bah, they're gonna
do anything else, You're gonna do it? You know. I'm like,
I don't know, and they go, Wow, that would be
so cool. That'd be so cool. So I was all
in and all the fans were all in, and I

(01:05:31):
saw that as something that was maybe something after the
first thirty years of this film and after my first
year with this film and what I went through as
an actor and one that got canceled, and pretty much
only one in film history that someone on the other

(01:05:54):
side of that if they were going to do a remake,
that they might have it in their heart to include
me because it would probably be the only the right
thing to do. Yeah, that's so never contacted me.

Speaker 1 (01:06:08):
So interesting.

Speaker 3 (01:06:09):
I didn't want any money. I wanted to do it
for the fans.

Speaker 1 (01:06:13):
Yeah, and that's why that's such a missed opportunity.

Speaker 2 (01:06:18):
Yeah, totally, that is such a just because again I
was just gonna say that when you said they didn't
have money in the budget, I had this feeling that
you were going to say I didn't need that. I
just wanted to do it for the fans, you know,
A cameo and it would connect the two. Was good.
Like I remember when they did The Night of the
Demon's remake and they had Lenea quickly do a cameo
in it because she was in the original. Now she

(01:06:39):
wasn't a big part of it. It was a new cast,
but like everyone who knew the original knew that she
was in it, and it would have been the same
with you in the remake. So that's just so well disappointed.
Just know the original is the best. Thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:06:55):
That's so kind. Yeah, I know, I mean if you can't,
I mean, look, wow, you know, like, yeah, I don't.
It's not something I would do.

Speaker 1 (01:07:07):
Right right, and on a on a lighter tone. I mean,
I'm a huge soaps fan, and I noticed that you
were in an episode of Dynasty and you got to
work with like huge megastar Heather Locklayer. I mean, granted
you assault her in the scene, but how was it
like working with Heather Locklear on Dynasty episode the bracelet?

Speaker 3 (01:07:31):
Right? That's so cool. You've got that right on timp.
You know what, that was a great That was a
great gig man, because I was just like, you know,
starting to feel myself as an actor, Like, you know,
I was really like I thought, I knew what the
hell I was doing, you know, and so I got
that role and it was like you said, you know,

(01:07:53):
I'm kind of going after Heather, and she was. To
talk about Heather real quick. She was just down to earth,
very kind, very open, very relaxed, and you know kind
of like just kind of just just a professional, you know,
everything you'd expect and more. And then to do the scene,

(01:08:17):
I went in for a blocking session with the director
and he asked me, which was cool. You know, usually
directors already have in their mind or I don't know,
I don't have enough experience to say, but a lot
of the times, directors have it very clear kind of
you know, they've done their homework, they know what they
want to see, and they know how it's going to go.
And perhaps he already did know, but he wanted to
ask me what I thought and how this scene should go. Right.

Speaker 1 (01:08:40):
It was like it was a rough and tumble scene.
I mean like you guys were throwing each other around.
And also you also another a huge soappan You were
also on Santa Barbara and Generations.

Speaker 2 (01:08:51):
Yeah, any fun stories from working on those soap operas
because you had recurring roles on both, you know, right.

Speaker 3 (01:08:58):
Yeah. Santa Barbara of course was much more memorable than Generations,
just because Santa Barbara. I have a brother on the show,
Ted Capwell. I was Channing.

Speaker 8 (01:09:14):
And not great Mason Ted Channing Chase. Yeah he uh so.

Speaker 3 (01:09:26):
I read initially for the role of Ted, my younger brother,
and that was a great experience as an actor because
I was in there with the producers, the Dobsons, and
the writers and they were asking me to do all
kinds of wonderful stuff that an actor typically doesn't get
to do in a an audition and they're like, okay,

(01:09:49):
so do it this time. But while you're doing it,
the phone's ringing, and I want I want to see
we're not here in the I want to see that
you hear the phone, but do not stop what's going
on here in the scene. And as those little challenges
after you, you kind of you hear it, you know,
but this is more important, you know. And so they

(01:10:11):
were challenging me with stuff and I did the work
and I felt great about it, Like I thought, man,
I just got the role of Ted on a new
soap opera. I walked out feeling really good about it.
And they called the agent and said, we loved Robert,
but we just Philly's a little bit too old, too

(01:10:31):
mature for the role of Ted, because we're going to
try to write Ted more of like a fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen year old. And they said, but we have the
role of Channing cap Well. The only unfortunate thing is
that Channing gets killed in the opening episode of you know,

(01:10:54):
Santa Barbara, the opening episode, but we're going to bring
him back in many recurring roles and to establish why
he got a shot. And I'm like, you know, as
an actor, like that's bullshit.

Speaker 2 (01:11:09):
That's like the whole challenging, right, the whole miss Yeah, precisely.

Speaker 3 (01:11:15):
I think it was a little bit of a spin
on that, a little copy, and I was not like,
I was like, right on, that sounds great, you know, because.

Speaker 1 (01:11:24):
I all shows about you.

Speaker 3 (01:11:25):
Yeah, yeah, okay, you know, I wish I was still
doing it, you know. But it was a great role
and and and I love the all of the reoccurring,
you know, the comeback scenes where I had a scene
with my father and my mother and my brother and

(01:11:46):
you know, the neighbor across the street and they're like,
that's why they killed you, crazy beast, but nobody knew,
you know. So but it was just a first because
I had done a soap opera in New York, Search
for Tomorrow, but it was on its way out and

(01:12:07):
so it only lasted about a year. And so then
that went down and I was then back in l A.
And then I saw the set at Santa Barbara was
second to no other soap opera set on the planet.
They spent money, It looked great, Everything was fantastic. It
was the new set over at the Burbank. You know,

(01:12:29):
they're jumping it used to be yeah, exactly right there
just next to the studio there, and it was it
was wonderful and it was first class. Uh, Santa Barbara
was great. Generations another local you know, uh shot in
l A. Yeah, I mean I love Generations as well.

(01:12:55):
I you know, I just didn't get as much time
there to really sink my teeth into the character.

Speaker 1 (01:13:01):
The golden age of soaps.

Speaker 3 (01:13:03):
Yes, yeah, yeah, it was cool. It's cool.

Speaker 2 (01:13:06):
And you know, now circling back to kind of some
of your present efforts, because you know, you've come back
into we saw on your IMDb page a number of
thrillers and we just happened to notice that three of
the films you've been in over the last decade just
happened to star Vivica A. Fox. What is Vivica like
to work with? Are you guys friends? Do you both
keep in touch or did it just like, can you
end up in three films with her?

Speaker 3 (01:13:28):
It's just I think it's just happenstance. But she's lovely
and she's a very serious professional as well. But uh, yeah,
we've you know, you know, I respect the stars, you know,
I respect their their space completely, So you know, if

(01:13:50):
she gives a nod, then I'm there to nod back,
you know, and she does, and she's kind. And you know,
if I said goodbye at the end of the day
after we reredund shooting and David said, Robert's done, say goodbye,
you know she's not going to just go off and
walk off in the corner like who's that. She's She's
very kind, very professional, and it's just by happenstance. She

(01:14:11):
does a lot of the Lifetime network type of stuff
and so it's just just you know, I would love
to be your friend. She's a very kind lady.

Speaker 1 (01:14:24):
And here's the most important question you'll answer all day.
And Nanny to Die For Tom Sandival's in it. I
don't know if you follow Vanda pump rules, but did
you get to meet Tom Sandival himself?

Speaker 2 (01:14:36):
I did not because we wanted because we watched the
Nanny to Die For him. By the way, you were great. Yeah,
like I know you were talking about it had been
a while since you've been in front of the camera.
But you're so natural, like you can tell like you're
just very natural, and you it's real, it feels real,
and your performance and that's just very very it's very genuine.
And but we did notice that tom sandival scenes were

(01:14:58):
totally separate from you, so we did know if you
guys had met.

Speaker 3 (01:15:01):
Yeah, no, he was completely either he was done before
I got there, or his stuff was going to be
after I had left. I mean I did not get
to meet him, and I you know, I have three children,
and my sons were like, hey, did you get to
meet Tommy? And I'm like, dude, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:15:21):
So what are you up to today? Because I know
you mentioned you're retired, but does that mean you you
aren't doing any more films or would you be open
to it or what? What are you what's your thoughts
on the future for Robert Brian Wilson.

Speaker 3 (01:15:34):
Right right, right, Well, I was gonna do this film
called Silent Night Deadly Night, the remake, but no, no,
check it out. So, yeah, I'm retired and I love retirement.
I worked real hard for, you know, a good run.

(01:15:55):
You know, I really dedicated myself to the game to
take care of my family and to make sure that
we were in a good space. And so retirement after
doing that, you know, you never there's never any guarantees
going forward that everything's going to be fine, but we
do our best to put things in place and With

(01:16:18):
all that said, you know, these last couple of years
of being retired have been very rewarding, very relaxing. It's been,
you know, time to kind of find myself again and
not just be lost in work and you know, sixty
seventy hours a week and the grind and all the

(01:16:40):
stuff that comes with that with family and friends, and
to be able to be free of all of that
and be able to focus back on the most important
stuff is is great. I feel very fortunate. But as
far as film goes and as far as Hollywood, I

(01:17:02):
live in Burbank. Dominic Mancini is my manager and he
he's he's the guy that's got me out of all
the horror cons. So if anybody wants to contact me,
he's he's Dominic man Sting at Full Empire Promotions. And

(01:17:23):
you know, at my at this juncture in my life
and after already cutting my teeth with Silent Night, Deadly Night,
you put a film in front of me and I'm
going to say, yeah, let's go. I can't wait, you know.
I mean, if I'm not going to do a film,
then I'm going to go do a play. I'm going
to do something in this in this world of of

(01:17:45):
of of acting, because I love the art. I love
to be able to lock into a character and look
my fellow after in the eyes and know that we're
taking it somewhere, we're actually doing it. There's that's pretty
good art man. So however it comes, whether I'm gonna,
you know, do it on a stage somewhere in front

(01:18:05):
of a camera, I'm wide open to it.

Speaker 2 (01:18:08):
That's such a great attitude. Yeah, yeah, such a great
attitude to have, and to be honest, like as you
know from horror coms, like horror fans are very loyal,
very dedicated to people. And for instance, when we see
a star that we loved from maybe years ago in
a new movie, we are one hundred percent into it,
no matter what the movie is. And so I really

(01:18:29):
think that filmmakers, if you're listening, like you need to
be in maybe some more horror movies, because I can
tell you there'd be a ton of fans that would
tune in jest to see you in that film. Just
fans from Silent I, Deadly Night and through the career.
Horror fans are incredibly loyal.

Speaker 1 (01:18:45):
I mean, like Matt and I always do our research,
like before we interview anyone. So I had so much
fun revisiting Dynasty Perfect strangers like I because I grew
up on those shows. I love it. It's so much fun.

Speaker 3 (01:18:56):
Well right on, right on, those are all, you know,
just a part of my experience, I mean, and and
thank you for doing the research. I do appreciate that.
It's just all a part of my path, and it
was It's a wonderful path. And I mean, and then
I had to walk away from Hollywood, you know, I
just you know that, you know, you just listen to life,
and you just know when you know, I had children,

(01:19:19):
and there was like it's okay, I you know, I mean,
I did this. I did that. At least I can
say I did this, and I did that. And then
I pursued, you know, a way to create a future
and some financial stability for my family, you know, And
so easily I walked away for priorities, for truthful matters.

(01:19:40):
And but yet I've really gone nowhere. I'm a trained actor.
I trained with Sanford Meisner, and the Meser technique is
now world renowned. I trained with Sanford. So I thank
you so much for your compliments about you know, what
I've done lately that you see an honest actor, someone

(01:20:03):
relaxed and just delivering truth. I don't know if you
said all that, but I like to say, like that.

Speaker 2 (01:20:10):
Well, that's exactly you put it better than me.

Speaker 3 (01:20:15):
Thank you. And it's an art I love so somehow.
You know, Look, when you're trained by a master in something,
it's not something that you just do when you pick
up a script when you're When you're trained by a master,
it changes your life and you see every experience as

(01:20:39):
one to listen, one to be honest in and be
as authentic as I can be. And if I can
deliver that on film, if I can deliver that with
you to the two of you, Tim and Matt, then
I can't. I can do no less and I can
do no more. That's all I want to do, just

(01:21:00):
be truthful and as an artist, I will bring in
the theatricality when necessary.

Speaker 2 (01:21:06):
Yeah, And I think people, watchers, fans, everyone appreciates that.

Speaker 5 (01:21:11):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:21:11):
We have one final question for you, Robert. We asked
this to every single person that we interview, and it
puts you on the spot a little bit. But and
you've already told us a lot that probably constitutes the
answer to that is, But what is one thing you
can tell us about your experience working on Silent Night,
Deadly Night that you've never told any other interviewer, publication, convention,

(01:21:32):
Q and A or podcaster. It doesn't have to be
a huge thing. It can be the smallest thing, but
just one minor details. Yeah, but just one thing that
you've never told about your experience working on this beloved
film from the past.

Speaker 1 (01:21:45):
You have a poster in your house, that's great.

Speaker 3 (01:21:53):
Oh, I've got a good one. And this is weird
that that's what actually flashed on me. But there's another
part of the story that I won't tell you know,
I'll tell you in private because it's it's not necessarily
all that positive, but it's cool. It's still a part
of my story, you know, but we're not going to
share that. But I'll share the part, the first part.

(01:22:13):
So when I got to Salt Lake, when I got
to Hebrew, I met the crew, I met the folks
that were doing this thing, you know, all the locals,
and they're like, hey, you want to go out to
the hot springs and hang out and drink some whiskey
and you know, smoke a little dope or whatever. I

(01:22:35):
don't know, you know, I make shit up, but I'm like, yeah,
so what I didn't know is that we were going
to be out there by the moonlight in these hot springs.
That happened just naturally out there. They're beautiful, but we
were all naked.

Speaker 1 (01:22:57):
I think I've heard that that dude plays, right.

Speaker 2 (01:23:02):
Yeah, maybe they were getting ready, getting ready for that
scene that you had to do with panel.

Speaker 3 (01:23:09):
You were with the contract. It was all that contract.
What was the addendum about? You know?

Speaker 2 (01:23:15):
Wow, so what a way to get to know the
people you're working with?

Speaker 3 (01:23:18):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:23:19):
Right, Wow, that's hilarious.

Speaker 3 (01:23:22):
That's hilarious. Yeah. I don't know why I flashed on
that because I was thinking about you. Like I said,
I was doing my homework and there were some other
stuff that was going on that that I You know
that it always comes about, you know, the crew, and
you know a lot of the fans never hear about
like that whole how that experience is. And and that

(01:23:42):
crew in Salt Lake. You know, you think, oh goodness,
you know the Mormons and all that, and they were
a wild group of fun and but they were very professional.
They did their jobs, and I think they had worked
with Charles Ellier Jr. In the past, so you know,
they all knew the game. But yeah, we they were

(01:24:04):
a great group. I had fun.

Speaker 1 (01:24:05):
So yeah, yeah, well it sounds like summer.

Speaker 2 (01:24:09):
Yeah, I'm just I'm just thinking, You're like, they're in
your swimsuit, you come out, hey have already they're all naked.

Speaker 3 (01:24:15):
It was kind of like that, you know, well it
was kind of like this, like so you walked through
this like chaining fence and kind of down you know.

Speaker 9 (01:24:25):
The hillside towards the water, and then everybody just got
disrobed right there at the fence, like you know, like
down have your toonies, and you're like, oh, this is
what's going on, you know everything.

Speaker 1 (01:24:40):
I'm like, oh wow, well, you know with that phrase
winning realm.

Speaker 3 (01:24:47):
Yeah, I don't know. It was fun. We had a
great time and and I guess yeah, that's how you
that's how you create a real team.

Speaker 1 (01:24:59):
Right off the bat. We love that.

Speaker 2 (01:25:00):
That's a great answer to this question. We've heard all
sorts of crazy things, so thank you for sharing that.
And you know, this has been such a such a
blast for us, Like we were so fortunate to be
able to get you to agree to do an interview
with us, because like I said, we've been big fans
of this movie forever. It's the perfect time right now.
And yeah, so thank you so much, Thank you so much. Time.

Speaker 3 (01:25:22):
You're both very welcome.

Speaker 2 (01:25:24):
And hopefully we will get to because we sometimes come
to conventions and things, and so we'll have to if
we're going to be at a convention that you're going
to be up coming and say hi, So hopefully we
can meet you in person sometimes. Yeah, great, my doll.

Speaker 3 (01:25:38):
Yeah, here's how about that? You know who who? Who'd
have thought? Right when those first came out. I was
kind of blown away.

Speaker 2 (01:25:46):
Well, thank you again, and we hope you'll have a yes,
happy holidays, have a great rest of your day, and
we'll definitely be in touch. Okay, thank you, Okay.

Speaker 3 (01:25:54):
Thank you Christmas, Happy Holidays.

Speaker 2 (01:25:56):
Thank you too.

Speaker 1 (01:25:57):
But thanks for listening to another episode of Happy Horror Time.

Speaker 2 (01:26:07):
If you'd like to support the podcast, please sign up
to be a patron at www dot patreon dot com
slash Happy Horror Time. As a patron, you get access
to all our bonus content, which now includes two new
bonus episodes every month, a monthly after show mini episode,
access to our Discord community so you can chat with

(01:26:27):
us directly, and the chance to review a film with
us in one of our bonus episodes.

Speaker 1 (01:26:33):
Patrons also get all our regular episodes ad free and
a day early our monthly newsletter, the chance to vote
in polls, and autographed Happy Horror Time stickers.

Speaker 2 (01:26:43):
I'm Matt Emmerts and I'm Tim Murdoch, and we hope
you have a happy horror time.

Speaker 3 (01:27:00):
Think Think,