Interview with an actor,Or- Bill Oberst, Jr. is the coolest guy on the planet.

So I wrote to Bill Oberst, Jr. a while back and asked if would be interested in doing a little Q&A thing for my blog. He kindly agreed and this is the result. :)

Also,for more info about Bill Oberst, Jr., you can check out these links:

Bill Oberst, Jr.-Screen, stage and television actor
Bill Oberst,Jr-IMDb
@billoberstjr on Twitter

After the jump, the Q& A! :D



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Q: What are some of the biggest challenges in acting? 

A: The biggest challenge is getting the job! Being a self-supporting working actor is a business with a 98% unemployment rate. I did theater for 14 years and have been doing film for 5 now. My motto is "Don't bitch; someone else always wants your job if you don't." 

 

Q: What is your favorite role, so far?

A: Onstage it has to be the role of Jesus Of Nazareth in the touring stage piece of the same name. On film it is the role of Father Simon in director Jourdan McClure's Children Of Sorrow. Diametrically opposed roles, yet connected by a single universal truth: people need to be loved. Jesus told them that the Creator of the entire universe loved them. Father Simon told them that no one else in the whole world loved them, except himself. Jesus told the truth. Father Simon lied.
 

Q: Are you comfortable with watching yourself on the screen?

A: I am, but not for entertainment purposes. I only watch with an audience to see if the performance worked. Believe me, an audience will tell you in a heartbeat. Watching by myself is of no value at all. I can't judge. All I see is acne scars and a big nose.
 

Q: What is something that you know now that you wish you knew when you were just starting out as an actor?

A: Three Michael Caine tips, all eye related: (1) When the camera is on you and you are looking at another actor, don't look at both eyes; focus on the eye closest to camera only. (2) Don't blink if your character is supposed to be strong; practice until you can not blink for a whole minute. (2) Abstain entirely from sexual gratification and alcohol for the duration of a shoot - both will make your eyes look weak on camera. Suffer for your art, you know?
 

Q: Is there a particular role that got away? - One you really wanted, but wasn't chosen after all?

A: Yes. In early 2009, I was one of a group of unknowns presented to director Samuel Bayer for consideration as Freddy Krueger in the remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street. After Robert Englund announced he would not reprise the role, New Line Cinemas put the word out that they were looking for an unknown Freddy. My manager got me in the group. Then Jackie Earle Haley entered the picture and New Line decided to go with a name after all. And he was wonderful, of course. When I began to be a bit more known for horror films, a producer at a party told me, "You know, you'd make a great Freddy Krueger." I just smiled politely.   

Q: What's the worst part about being an actor?

A: The uncertainty. 
 
Q: What's the best part of being an actor?

A: The glorious satisfaction of doing what you know you were born to do. 
 
Q: What has been the hardest part of your career?

A: Balancing being a good man with being a public figure. The two are often at odds.

Q: Where do you see yourself in a few years?

A: On a horror movie poster in some misfit kid's room, with his mother screaming "Take that garbage off your wall!" If they have posters by then. Maybe a hologram. Just as long as I am helping a misfit feel better, I'm good. Monster movie posters helped me get through my own misfit childhood.
 

Q: Does your mother wish you'd done something else, instead of acting?

A: No, she has always strongly supported me acting, as has my father. Mom wishes, however, that I would not kill so many people. My two Hallmark Channel movies or my docudrama as General Sherman or the movie with Robert Loggia as Saint Peter (even though I was a demon tormenting him, at least I didn't kill him;) those are the kind of roles for Mom to see me play. Neither she nor my Dad are horror fans. I remember Dad walking past me when I was about 15 years old; I was using Mortician's Wax to make myself up as The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame; and he said "You're a weird kid, Billy." Not much has changed. 

Q: Who has influenced you throughout your life?

A: Some people I never met...Ray Bradbury, Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, Forrest J. Ackerman. And some I knew and can never forget...my grandparents, my high school drama teacher Judi Peterson, the preacher who told me what a vocation is, the librarian who let me check out more books than I was supposed to at one time.  
 
Q: Do you have a guilty pleasure(or two)?

A: Well, I don't smoke (anything) or drink (except an occasional Chinese beer) or use drugs. I can't eat unhealthy stuff or stop working out because I have to keep this ripped creepy-guy look for business. I'm shooting a lot (see above.) So that eliminates most outlets for guilty pleasures. About once a month I have a soda. That feels pretty guilty.
 

Q: What is your favorite childhood memory?

A: Being alone in the woods on Saturdays. I'd ditch my bicycle and walk for miles. Funny how the best childhood memories are the simplest ones, aren't they? I'm glad that I grew up in a disconnected world. There was room in my head to dream. 

 

Q: What are some of your favorite hobbies outside of acting?

A: I hike in Griffith Park. I work out. I read a little before bed each night. And boxing; I enjoy hitting the bag.
 

Q: What's your own definition of happiness?

A: Peace with one's God. Peace with one's self. Knowing who you are and that He made you and that He doesn't make mistakes.
 

Q: If you weren't a celebrity what do you think you'd be doing instead?

A: Preaching (God help that poor congregation)

 

Q: What do you want to be remembered for?

A: When I was a boy I would hear the old people talk about whoever among them had died recently. If the deceased were male, and if they respected the person, they would say "He was a good man." That's what I want. I just want someone to say "He was a good man." I've been working on that one for a few years now.
 

Q: Do you ever get nervous on the set?

A: Yes. It's an excited nervous, like before a big date. The camera really is a lover. Each time you meet her you get a little nervous about whether she still wants to look at you.
 

Q: What do you think about your fans?

A: I am a fan myself of the same kinds of films, so I consider us to be co-fans. The only difference is that I am in the darned movies, so I have a big responsibility not to let them down. The audience is my boss. Fans are my boss. That's who I work for. 

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Bonus Questions! (just something a little fun ;) )

Q: If I gave you an Elephant where would you hide it?

A: In my pants. There's room. 
 
Q: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you like to have with you?

A: A Bible, my glasses and a lifetime's supply of Chinese food.

Q: What is your favorite color of socks to wear?

A: White. I only wear dark ones when I have to for events and stuff. 

Q: Boxers or briefs?(for the ladies ;) )

A: I have a pair of boxers for ceremonial occasions. I am otherwise unencumbered.

 

Q: What kind of cookie would you be, if you were one?  
A: Oatmeal with raisins. Sensible, healthy but with just a dash of sugar.

Q: Do you have a favorite restaurant?

A: Anyplace in this world with with Chinese food and Tsingtao beer is good with me. Here in LA I love Bird's in Hollywood and the Pig And Whistle down by the Egyptian Theater. For coffee and such I am a Bourgeois Pig man. I'm not much on fancy.
 
Q: What was the best thing before sliced bread?

A: Yeast.
 
Q: Dogs or Cats?

A: Dogs. Cats know too much.

Thank you again Bill, seriously-- I really appreciate you taking the time out of your(very) busy schedule. You are awesome. :)