Wizard World Minneapolis 2016 Interviews with Barry Bostwick & Lou Ferrigno

Earlier this month, Wizard World brought their unique brand of star-studded fun to Minneapolis, and I had the great pleasure of speaking with both Barry Bostwick and Lou Ferrigno. Bostwick reflected on the cultural impact of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and revealed whether or not he'll appear in Fox's reboot, while Ferrigno talked about his gritty new action movie, Instant Death, and also discussed his love of Frankenstein.

You can read both interviews below, and be sure to check Wizard World's official website to see what celebrities they'll be bringing to a city near you:

• http://www.wizardworld.com/

Interview with Barry Bostwick:

You were recently back on the set of a musical in Darren Lynn Bousman's Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival. Did that remind you of your experiences on The Rocky Horror Picture Show at all?

Barry Bostwick: Well, he [Darren] was such a fan of Rocky Horror. He was a real fan of those musicals—Jesus Christ Superstar and Rocky Horror—anything that had some real color and was larger than life. And I think that’s what brought me to his attention.

I actually auditioned for Repo! [The Genetic Opera]. I remember standing around in somebody’s office, singing a song around a pool table. I auditioned for the lead guy [Nathan / Repo Man] in that, but I know why he didn’t cast me—they cast Anthony Head. He was really good.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Looking back, what was it like watching it with an audience for the first time?

Barry Bostwick: Well, when I first saw it with an audience, I was more fascinated with the audience than I was with the film. To see their connection to it and to see how they were so obsessed with it, and how they had found their community and how it had changed their lives in many ways. The film stands on its own feet as being a really good movie, and it was made by really clever, talented people. Richard O’Brien is a genius.

It’s similar to when I did Grease [the stage musical] originally. The guys who wrote Grease—I was always quite shocked that they never had another hit. Grease was so good, but it was so much about their lives, the guys who wrote it, because they grew up in Chicago and they were in a gang. They knew those people. And in a way, Richard O’Brien, who did Rocky Horror, it was about his community. He knew those characters. He knew them so well. All of those people—Jim Sharman, Tim Curry—they were all at the top of their game. I was very fortunate to work with them.

Fox is coming out with a two-hour TV musical reboot of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. What are your thoughts on them doing a new take, and will you be appearing in the reboot? 

Barry Bostwick: They came to me months and months and months ago and asked if I would want to be involved, and I said, “Sure,” and then they never got back to me. I think that they hadn’t quite formulated what it was. They were fishing around to get people involved in it, because they hadn’t quite sold it yet. They’ve been trying to sell that thing for ten years, and they finally got it done this year because they cast Tim’s part creatively, and because they got Tim involved playing The Narrator. So Tim brings some of the old to the new and brings the fan base along with him, and the curiosity aspect.

I’m really interested to see it. What it’s about is so important. The more that you can get that word out, the more you can get people to see it and become more tolerant in their lives with themselves and other people, the better off we are as a society. It’s about the loss of innocence and the transition in life and that will never change. That’s why every thirteen-year-old wants to go see it.

Do you have any upcoming projects that you can tease that you’re excited about?

Barry Bostwick: I have something on YouTube now called Inside the Extras Studio, where I interview so-called extras. It’s really fun. We started our second season last week. Every Thursday we open up a new one—four or five-minute pieces—and you can go to InsidetheExtrasStudio.com or Mildly Fearsome Films. We just did nine or ten more episodes and we’re rolling it out once a week.

I have a movie out called Three Days in August, which is a serious film about a family issue. We shot that in Texas. It’s about adoption and the adopted child trying to find what their life is all about by bringing together the birth parents and the parents that raised them.

I just finished a film called Aaah Roach. It’s about roaches that take over a college town and I play The Exterminator. I like to surprise myself. I did two episodes of a show that’s starting in June called Still the King with Billy Ray Cyrus. It’s a half-hour comedy. I play a swinger. I walk around most of the time in a speedo. And I don’t know if anybody wants to see me at my age in a speedo, but it’s funny.

Interview with Lou Ferrigno:

You have an action movie coming out called Instant Death and it looks like a great film for you. What can viewers expect from that project and what attracted you to that role?

Lou Ferrigno: Well, it could open a lot of doors for me because it’s something that I’ve never done before. It’s a great combat film. You see a lot of emotion and a lot of revenge. I had 25 fight scenes. Everything I wanted to do as an actor is in this film.

Is this type of kick-ass role something you want to do more of in the future?

Lou Ferrigno: Definitely. And I enjoyed doing comedy on King of Queens and I had a blast on I Love You, Man. I enjoy doing the comedy because I like the instant gratification.

With the Marvel movies in full force, fans have fallen in love with the iconic character of the Hulk and revisited your show The Incredible Hulk. Why is the Hulk so endearing to audiences?

Lou Ferrigno: In the bigger franchise, the Hulk is so likable because everyone knows the Hulk for his anger. In a way, he releases their anger, but obviously it doesn’t do for us what it does to the Hulk.

When you were growing up, were you a big fan of Universal monsters or horror movies?

Lou Ferrigno: Huge. I loved Frankenstein. I worshipped Frankenstein my whole life. I felt like Frankenstein, especially the original Frankenstein. When you watched him you could feel—most villains you love, but Frankenstein, even though he killed the girl by accident, you feel sorry for him because he doesn’t mean to be the menacing monster. The original Dracula, the original Frankenstein, and the werewolf. Those were my three favorites growing up.

They are moving forward on new Universal monster movies right now. Is that something you would be interested in doing if given the opportunity?

Lou Ferrigno: Oh yeah, definitely, I would love to play one of those characters. I love Frankenstein and I love those guys.

Do you have any upcoming projects that you can tease?

Lou Ferrigno: There’s a movie that came out with me, Paul Sorvino, and Judd Nelson called The Bandit Hound. It’s on Netflix and Amazon. It’s a children’s movie, like Home Alone. We go around kidnapping dogs. You’ll have to check it out.