On February 28th, the HollyShorts Film Festival will be airing the most recent installment of their monthly screening series, and with two films starring the legendary actress Adrienne Barbeau, we wanted to put a bit of extra spotlight to celebrate her incredible life and career. It was a delight to hear from Adrienne, and those who can make it to the screening itself will be able to be present for a Q+A session as well. A big thank you to Adrienne for taking the time out to speak with us! For those able to make it to Los Angeles, you can get tickets for the screening here and see it all in person!
You started your career on Broadway, which included working on Fiddler, as well as your award-winning performance in Grease before jumping onto the screen in Maude. What do you remember about the transition from stage acting to film and television?
Adrienne Barbeau: What I remember is getting on the set of Maude and being a nervous wreck because I thought everyone in the cast was more experienced than I was, more talented than I was. I didn’t understand the medium at all. I’d just come from the stage where I’d created a larger than life character with a different walk, a different accent, and a voice that could reach the balcony without a mic. It took about six weeks for me to understand that I’d been hired because Norman saw something in me that was exactly right for the character and I didn’t have to “act”. When we did our first musical (Maude was hosting a telethon) and I was singing and dancing, suddenly I was in a familiar milieu and I settled down and started having fun.
You’ve carved out a place as an icon in this industry over the course of your career. Is your legacy and the mark you’ve left on film and television something you think about?
AB: The first time I read the word icon in reference to me I was dumbfounded. I don’t think of myself that way. I think of myself as an actor who’s been able to earn a living for her entire life doing what she loves. And boy, am I grateful. But as for a legacy or a mark on film and television, well, I guess I was one of the precursors to all our great women action heroes these days; that’s pretty cool.
Continuing on your illustrious career, you’ve done a lot of work in multiple genres, most notably in comedy and horror. Does your approach to the role change any when working within a different genre of acting? Does that apply to voice acting as well?
AB: No, I don’t think so. At least not within the live action genres. With voice acting it’s a little different – sometimes you’re all alone in the studio, not knowing much more than what’s on the page you’re given to read. One of my favorite roles was a 90-year-old French maid on American Dad. They told me I’d be doing a sex scene with Carl Reiner. I couldn’t wait to get to work. Unfortunately, Mr. Reiner was not in the booth.
One of the films that will be featured during the HollyShorts Monthly Screening is a bit of a cult classic short film of yours, Alice Jacobs Is Dead. With the film celebrating its fifteenth year since its release, what do you remember about the film, and what do you think about its legacy in terms of horror shorts?
AB: What I first remember is that my agents thought I was nuts to even consider doing it. “Why?” they asked, “It’s low budget, it’s a short, why do it?” Well, I loved the script. And I was very impressed with the director’s (Alex Horwitz) reel. And even though it would be my first chance to play a zombie, for me it was never a horror film. For me, it’s a treatise on Alzheimer’s.
You have a second film in this screening as well, with Oddities. Can you talk about this project a bit more?
AB: Dash Hawkins was a close friend of my son Cody when they were in high school together 22 years ago. He gave me a call and asked if we could meet for coffee to discuss a project he was producing. It sounded intriguing. I read the script, looked at the director’s reel (Tyler Savage) and said yes, once again.
You’re not only a celebrated actress, but a notable author as well. What about writing interested you, and how did you apply your deep connections to the horror genre to that work?
AB: Well, they say “write what you know”. My first book was a memoir, so that was easy, but when it came time to write the Vampyres of Hollywood series, it actually wasn’t the horror genre that informed me. The only horror films I see by choice are the ones I’m working on. But…what I do know is acting. And my Armenian heritage. And detective novels (I devour them). So I created a 450- year-old vampire who is a scream queen and the head of an independent movie studio, and also the head of a clan of A-list actors, all vampires. Write what you know.
Given the variety of your work, is there anything that you still haven’t gotten a chance to do?
AB: I used to say I haven’t done any circus performing. Then the National Tour of Pippin came along and there I was singing a song, hanging upside down from a trapeze with no net. That may have fulfilled the list.
What else is coming our way from you in the near future?. Can you talk about this project a bit more?
AB: I’m hoping to bring the series version of my second book Love Bites to the small screen one day, and I’m looking forward to the release of Demon Detective, starring Dustyn Gulledge, Vivica A. Fox, Dani Scott, Tom Virtue, the great Doug Jones, and me. I just attended the screening and I loved it.
Once again, an immense thanks to Adrienne for her responses, and for the incredible performances she’s graced us with over the course of her career. Oddities and Alice Jacobs Is Dead can both be seen at this month’s HollyShorts Monthly Screening, both in person at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Los Angeles, or virtually on BitPix.
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I have always loved her! She really is a fantastic actress
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