Portrayal of Pinhead warrants swollen head
Horror Hall of Famer racks his brain over character’s
popularity
By Emily Forster
Daily Bruin Contributor
Sometimes, all it takes to inspire an actor is his costume.
At least that was the case with horror film star Doug
Bradley.
"I would say the principal inspiration for the part of Pinhead
in the ‘Hellraiser’ series was getting the make-up and costume on,"
says Bradley. "The moment that process was complete, I sat in the
chair and looked in the mirror. I couldn’t see me, only this thing
looking back at me."
In order to get a better feel for his villainous character,
Bradley needed to spend some quality time with his latex mask,
punctured with thick, gold pins, and his long leather dress.
"I asked everyone to leave me alone in the dressing room for
about a quarter of an hour," recalls Bradley. "I just sat with him
and got to know him. I started moving my head around, moving my
eyebrows. I started to talk and tried out a few lines. That was it.
It all came down to that."
Shrugging off his new Planet Hollywood jacket, a gift for giving
a set of interviews there earlier in the day, Bradley sips on a
vodka with seltzer water as he waits for his filet mignon at the
Four Season’s main restaurant, Gardens. He has promoted today’s
addition to the "Hellraiser" series, "Hellraiser: Bloodline," since
the beginning of the day with KLOS’ "Mark and Brian" morning show,
and now finally has a chance to relax.
Having just returned from filming the "Tonight Show," Bradley
quietly discusses his role as Pinhead, and horror films in general.
With his rich British accent, Bradley explains that the three to
four hours in a make-up chair is inspirational because it erases
his own identity.
"Although it is certainly difficult working with that make-up
and that costume, it also, in some ways, can be a great liberation
because you’re free to go and run with this new face." he says.
"If you accept that the basic idea of all acting is that you
want to make people believe that you are somebody else, then this
takes you there because you are literally somebody else. It brings
a great sense of liberation as an actor."
Although his make-up gives him freedom, it also gives him an
extra responsibility.
"As an actor, you have to make friends with that make-up,"
explains Bradley. "You have to be aware of what that make-up is
doing. What you’re doing with your own face may not necessarily be
what is reading through the make-up."
Acting in the mask has gotten easier, but Bradley found wearing
full Pinhead make-up on the "Tonight Show" hard. He is not
comfortable wearing Pinhead’s make-up while playing himself.
"It’s very difficult when people want to interview me when I’m
in make-up," says Bradley. "Pinhead is so very specific and
straight. It’s hard to pull away from that and be myself when I’ve
got his face on."
But it’s not surprising for everyone involved on the
"Hellraiser" series that people want to see Bradley in full
costume. He is, after all, a member of the Horror Hall of Fame.
Although Bradley claims that the "Hellraiser" movies are cult
classics because they encompass such a wide scope of subjects, his
friends feel differently.
"I think Doug (Bradley) is being a little self-effacing," says
Peter Atkins, writer of the last three "Hellraiser" screenplays. "I
like to say he was the first of the renaissance of eloquent
monsters. That’s why we have the fans that we do. Freddy and Jason
were scary, but silent. Pinhead was what the public loved."
A decade after his first experience as Pinhead, Bradley explains
that his wife approves of her husband’s unusual profession. But his
2-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son can’t echo their support,
since they have not yet seen their father’s films and won’t be
allowed until they reach puberty.
"Because of the sadomasochism more than the gore," Bradley says,
"I want to wait until (my children) have reached their own
sexuality before they see the films."
But just because Bradley plays an immortal demon with ultimate
power in hell, he can’t necessarily keep his children under
control.
"I’ll probably say to (my son) ‘Robert, OK, now you’re ready,’"
imagines Bradley. "He’ll be like, ‘Oh, Dad, I already saw that. You
sucked.’"
If his kids do catch one of the films from the "Hellraiser"
series, Atkins says they will see more than blood and guts.
"Despite the reactions the critics have to horror films, movies
like this have more intelligence than they give them credit for,"
says Atkins. "It’s hard to get a sense of the metaphysics in a
movie, especially with latex make-up and long knives, but horror
films deal with life, death and life after death. These were the
subjects of great art works before the age of realism."
Horror films may not get the respect they deserve, but Bradley
has still reached a level of success that he never dreamed horror
films would take him to.
"If someone told me on my first day of work on the set of the
first ‘Hellraiser,’ that I’d be eating at the Four Seasons and
hanging out on the set of the ‘Tonight Show’ with Mel Gibson, I
(would) have laughed in their face," says Bradley. "But here I
am."
Doug Bradley in "Hellraiser."
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