What was your attraction to playing the character of Leatherface?

Getting to be part of something as special as the sequel to a piece of film history residing in the Smithsonian was mind bending. I'd been pretty much on the road, acting with touring companies since early 1973 and several years later moving back to Austin, Texas and living at the poverty level, working in the restaurant biz as many actors do in order to act on stage at night and weekends. I did this for about 10 years there. I got a call from my agent, Sam Balkum at the Austin Actors Clearinghouse, about auditions for the sequel to something called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They were looking for someone to play Leatherface, and I fit the general body type/character description. I hadn't a clue. I'd never seen TCM. I had no TV, rarely went to the movies. I hadn't seen the original Saw before the auditions in 1986. So I rented a copy, and my mind was blown when I saw actors with whom I'd studied at the University of Texas Drama Department in this film! Among the people I knew were Bill Vail, the passenger in the minibus who gets killed early on, and the "Hitchhiker," Ed Neal, whose character eventually ends up as the Muppet in TCM2. I found TCM1 disturbing and brilliant. I'd never experienced anything like it. I felt excited and hopeful about my audition. I wanted to work with the kind of daring, original, psychologically savvy Director/Film Maker who could put something so unique together. Tobe Hooper, creator of The SAW, was an artist I wanted to collaborate with; he was into something way out on the edge of edges. That was attractive. I hoped I would be cast in his film. I auditioned and landed the role.

Did you do anything special to prepare for your role in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2?

I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't done horror before. I'd done a lot of intense stage work during the previous 20 years_everything from Sondheim to Shakespeare_and I frequently played characters that were powerful or scary, such as MacBeth and MacHeath (Mack the Knife) from Three Penny Opera. I'd also done a number of independent films where I'd also played passionate, forceful characters, characters with certain dangerous facets. I knew I had no dialogue in TCM2, so I had to find something else to work with to reach into all the dimensions I could. I was taking martial arts classes at the time, so kept on with them in order to build endurance and hopefully lend some intensity to my acting. I read murder/suspense/psychological thriller novels with crafty characters who were elusive and surprising. I delved into the writings of Carlos Castaneda for insights into the world of the Mexican brujo. I investigated romantic novels, films and poetry, since Leatherface was going to fall in love. I did the Hokey Pokey and turned myself around, in hopes that that was what it was all about. My general modus operandi is to work as closely as possible with the writer and director for input and insights, and I got a tremendous amount of guidance and direction from Kit Carson and Tobe Hooper.

The prospect of filling Gunnar Hansen's shoes must've been somewhat daunting, especially since the concept of replacing a key actor in a sequel isn't common.. Did you have any fears or concerns that your performance might not live up to the standard he set?

I don't think anyone can fill Gunnar's shoes but Gunnar. He is one of a kind and was magnificent in the first TCM. His artistry and commitment were inspired. His work revealed deep intention and personal sacrifice in his special world of the SAW. TCM was a work of art, sufficient, complete and whole unto itself. Davinci didn't go for a Mona Lisa 2, or The Last Supper: Dessert Course. Seems to me, trying to replace or out-do anything is doomed to disappointment and failure from the get-go. I just did my best to take from good examples of the past in order to be inspired and seek the best in the present. I might not be able to attain perfection but I could continually strive for it. Tobe was in the special world of his new film, TCM2, holding the space, and anyone who wanted to could join in and create there if they chose. The Special World of each script creates a different world. Different writers are imagining different audiences with different needs than those who came before. Rather than seeing TCM2 as a logical continuation of the first film, I approached it in the same sense as the Godfather films were attacked; I approached TCM2 like a brand new script. The Saw 1&2 scripts read very differently. The special worlds of these screenplays are more on parallel tracks than on the same track. Bubba was bustin' outta the family traditions and rebelling against the rules. Kit also wrote Bubba as a romantic, a total 180-degree spin from the original. Bubba wanted to open his heart, open his heart to Beauty. But Bubba he didn't have a clue how to do this, how to connect romantically with Stretch other than through guesswork and impulse. And the Family wasn't going to let Bubba experiment for very long at all. He was torn between his feelings for his tightly held Family, his only source of stability and nurturance, and the delicious modifying spark of humanity called Love that agonized in him for Stretch. Definitely an impossible, tormented struggle going on inside, trapped between a rock and a hard place. As Drayton warned Bubba, "You gotta choose between sex and the saw." Bubba, I felt, deserved the chance to stand in his own light. Kit and Tobe steered a new course for Leatherface, and they trusted me to get on board and ride it `til the end of the line. My intent was to launch headlong into this film, throttle wide open and slanting in a new direction true to the new story. I hope that to some degree I succeeded.

For any fans who might not realize this, two actors actually played Leatherface (you & Bob Elmore, who was the more vicious, stunt Leatherface). Are there any scenes Bob Elmore did that you wish you could've done instead?

I don't know if I'll ever be able to adequately thank Bob Elmore for the great work he did in this film. He took years off the back end of his life during that shoot. He is such a generous and gentle person. It was a pleasure and privilege to work with Bob. He brought to Leatherface a force like an erupting volcano, wrapped in a Texas twister, slagging everything in his path to "ash and gone." (Brief homage to Ann Maxwell's Fire Dancer.) And yes, it would've been exhilarating to have done everything myself, but the enormous time pressure from the studios, as well as the need to avoid the obvious dangers_such as me getting shredded during some buzzaarr chainsaw duel_definitely had an impact. It would've been fun and interesting to have done the duel with Dennis Hopper.

What was the best part of filming The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2?

There are so many great choices to select from on that topic, but briefly: Being on the set of the vigorous TCM2 hive and collaborating with a host of " high-creatives" every day was fantastic. That highly concentrated maelstrom of energy, resources, and experts in all the departments playing "beat the clock" 24/7, plying their craft and art forms, was riveting. Interacting with them in this special world with an imperative to "output or die" was incredibly stimulating. Meeting and joining forces with wonderful people like Tobe, Kit Carson, Dennis Hopper, Jim Seidow, Caroline Williams and Bill Moseley_getting to know and work with them was great. Plus, without the film, I wouldn't have the opportunity to meet and interact with all the fabulous TCM2 fans out there.

And the worst part of filming?

Oh Yeah. The Freakin' Brutal Texas HEAT!!!!!!! That was worse than the interminable Waiting. Couldn't go out in the Texas heat, it'd ruin my make-up and wardrobe. Make up took 4 hours to apply. Designed by Make-up Maestro Tom Savini and executed by the deft hands of Sean MacEnroe. The first seven weeks, I was in full drag cooped up in a tiny air-conditioned trailerette, my dressing room, wanting to go out and play but forced to stay in and go stir crazy. I spent countless hours in cramped quarters playing gin rummy with Bill M, filling up spiral notebooks with scores. The 2nd A.D. would show up and announce about every 90 minutes alerting me to get ready and get set cause I was up for the next scene. Only to have his next visit be a Twilight Zone loop repeat of the last visit over and over, time after time, day after day for Seven (7) weeks this went on. No but Wait, there was something worse: the "Bummer" crown goes to being stricken with pneumonia. To add injury to imprisonment because of the constant merry go round of temperature differentials of A.C. vs 100+ degree heat, stress, and in the underground "home" inhaling lungfulls of virulent bacterial crud, smoke, dirt, dust, Fuller's Earth, Hairspray, and effluvia from numerous imported actual human skeletons, I contracted the worst cast of walking pneumonia my doctor had ever seen. I was taking meds every 2 hours around the clock for a week. Yep, I would say that was the worst part.

What was your favorite scene in the theatrical version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2?

So many scenes from Saw 2 that I don't know if I have a thee favorite, but certainly one of them is at radio station K-OKLA. Stretch played by the extraordinary Caroline Williams being chatted up by Bill M's Chop Top. Ominous. Foreboding. Twisted. But then there's the scene where Jim as Drayton is testifying to the Gospel of the Saw intertwined with the Family History and the shame that was part of it. And Grampaw can no longer muster a hammer worth a damn and the Lefty is sawing the house down around them with Stretch breaking away to aboveground to safety leading to the climax, yeah, that's has its savory points too.

What was it like to see yourself on the big screen for the first time in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2?

I felt good about creating something with people I admired and cared about and hoped others would enjoy what we made together. I enjoyed everyone's work immensely and had a real good time watching the film.

Is there anything that you'd like to say to all of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Leatherface fans out there?

My thanks and gratitude to all the Far Out Fans for their appreciation and continuing interest. I look forward to meeting them at some of the Conventions coming up.

Do you have any new projects in the works that you'd like your fans to know about?

As far as TCM2 related stuff, I'm booked to be in Hamburg, Germany on December 6th for the MOVIE & COMIC EVENT. I'm communicating with and looking forward to hearing back from the folks at the Chiller Theatre regarding attending their Halloween CHILLER EXPO in New Jersey. More recently, I've been doing character voice work on interactive role-playing computer games. I worked on a collaboration between Microsoft (who brought you HALO) and Digital Anvil called "BRUTE FORCE." And I worked on Ion Storm's latest, DEUS EX 2. I also did the voice of The Guardian (a villain, of course) in a number of Origin Systems ULTIMA Series games. And, on the flip side, I've occasionally done the voice of God. Author Stefan Jaworzyn (pronounced Yah-wah-zhyn) has written a Companion to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre published by Titan books. Lots of interviews of folks from all the TCM films and more, and I think you can read more about it at titanbooks.com. Or send your comments and suggestions via readerfeedback@titanemail.com I'm also contemplating putting out a CD, tentatively titled "LeatherVoice." My website, Leatherface2.com, will carry details and links as they surface. And of course, I've got autographed photos that I am happy to offer to those fabulous TCM2 fans. They can email me for more information at Leatherface@Leatherface2.com. Thanks for giving me a chance to speak out.

"Saw Is Family: Breakfast Club Pose" Autographed By Bill Johnson	"Eye On You" Autographed By Bill Johnson
"Wagon Saw" Autographed By Bill Johnson	"Wagon Close Up" Autographed By Bill Johnson