Q&A: Ronnie Gene Blevins Discusses THE NEIGHBOR and TWIN PEAKS Revival

In Marcus Dunstan's new film The Neighbor, Ronnie Gene Blevins plays a key role in bringing a nightmare to life next door to an unlucky couple. With The Neighbor now out on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD, and VOD from Anchor Bay Entertainment, Daily Dead caught up with Blevins in our latest Q&A feature to discuss a supernatural prank pulled on him by the cast and crew, working with Nicolas Cage in Joe, and a little tease of what to expect from one of his upcoming projects, David Lynch's Twin Peaks revival.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Ronnie, and congratulations on your work in The Neighbor. What attracted you to the role of Harley in Marcus Dunstan’s latest movie?

Ronnie Gene Blevins: The pleasure is all mine. I'm a big fan of Marcus and his movies, so I was elated when he asked me to be a part of the film. I read the script and was amazed at how entertaining and efficient it was.

Also, the bad guys had depth. There was a very strong connection and sense of family values amongst the bad guys. So often, bad guys are written as tropes. These guys had serious depth. All this was combined with the fact that Brett, Patrick and Josh are buddies of mine. So I had a lot of fun shooting.

All of the actors in The Neighbor show excellent range and really make this story and their characters come to life. What was it like working with Bill Engvall, Josh Stewart, Luke Edwards, and Alex Essoe?

Ronnie Gene Blevins: Well, Josh has been a buddy of mine for years. So we all had a good time. As for the other three… instant friends.

Looking back at your time on set, is there a funny or favorite moment in particular that stands out?

Ronnie Gene Blevins: Well, I'm a big believer in ghosts. So everyone in the crew were in on a very elaborate prank. They snuck into my room while I was away and opened all my drawers. They turned on the water. They thrashed everything.

At first I thought I was robbed. But I had just recently requested to move rooms because I thought I had heard freaky noises in another room. So that had me convinced that it was ghosts.

They didn't break it to me that they were the ones responsible for all this until my bags were packed and I was ready to quit the film. Literally, I was in the lobby with all my bags packed. They even had the hotel staff in on it telling me "this has happened before in that room."

Another memorable role that you’ve played is Willie in David Gordon Green’s 2013 film Joe. What did you enjoy the most about that role, and what was it like working alongside Nicolas Cage?

Ronnie Gene Blevins: Nic is great. He has no pretense about his work ethic or his love for acting. From rehearsal to shooting, you never doubt for one minute that he doesn't absolutely love what he does

With The Neighbor now out on home media, what projects do you have on deck that you can tease for our readers? Can you tell us anything about your appearance in the new season of Twin Peaks? Also, where can our readers follow you on social media?

Ronnie Gene Blevins: Oh man.. I have a good one, but I don't know if I'm allowed to say it yet. It's a remake of a very cool film being remade by one of my favorite directors.

Twin Peaks is going to be next level. It's going to be the best thing David Lynch has ever done. He's going to push the envelope like he never has before. I predict it's going to be massive, both by viewership and by critical standards. Its genre-bending, like nothing ever made. As far as my appearance, I can tell you that I'm in it. That's about the extent of it.

My Twitter handle is @ronniegblevins.

https://twitter.com/ronniegblevins
https://www.facebook.com/ronnieblevinsofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/ronniegeneblevins/

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In case you missed it, check out our The Neighbor interviews with Marcus Dunstan and Bill Engvall.