You may not recognize Robert Maillet right away. A lot of the time he is covered in scary makeup and wears wild costumes. If you have seen Sherlock Holmes and 300 (who hasn't?) then you have seen this larger-than-life actor perform in some of the biggest movies around.
He was the first Q&A at the 2011 Hal-Con Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Comic Convention. For a horror geek, it was absolutely amazing to get to know the man behind the makeup.
He began his career in wrestling in the W.W.F. and demonstrated his signature move "The Claw" on Inner Space host Teddy Wilson, which was quite hysterical and the crowd loved it.
Robert plays chokehold specialist Frankenstein in the film Monster Brawl which aired at the Toronto After Dark Festival this past fall.
"The legendary undead giant is resurrected once more to awkwardly lumber his way to victory and reclaim the monster throne."
His character takes on werewolf, "A vengeful and ferocious combatant, Werewolf was once a man who willingly transformed himself into a monster in order to eradicate evil."
To find out more about the film, my sister Shannon and Hexed podcast cohost wrote about how the film came to the Toronto After Dark Festival. So check it out!
I was so excited that after all this talk about supernatural creatures fighting each other, Robert took a moment to talk a little about how he feels about monsters in general.
One of the biggest benefits of going to a con is hearing people's behind-the-scenes stories when filming a movie. We found out while Robert was doing a scene in Sherlock Holmes he accidentally knocked down Iron Man Robert Downey Junior. Maillet was absolutely mortified, worried he had actually broken something.
Robert Downey Junior eased his mind by sending him some champagne. I got the sense that Robert Downey Junior misspelling Robert Maillet's last name on the card made him feel a bit better about the incident.
When they opened the floor up to questions, I had the opportunity to ask a Hexed-oriented one! I asked him since he plays so many supernatural characters, did he believe in the paranormal? He answered that although he has not had a personal experience himself, he does like believing in the possibility of the supernatural.
You can hear me laughing throughout his answer quite a bit. I was thrilled he talked about the movie Paranormal Activity! As someone who sits for hours in a makeup chair for the majority of his movies, he was impressed that they made such a scary horror film with no gore.
You know Shannon and I love CanCon so I was excited to hear that Robert's new movie A Little Bit Zombie was filmed in Sudbury:
"Infected by a virus during his bachelor party, a mild mannered HR manager attempts to fulfill his overwhelming desire for brains and avoid Max, the obsessed Zombie Hunter hot on his trail."
Zombie humour seems to be a genre that is growing and growing these days! I wonder if this is one my co-host Shannon the Movie Moxie will get to review?
I love the story Robert shared that occurred during the filming of 300. To save time, instead of sitting in a makeup chair for hours it was suggested he sleep in full body makeup on his back. In the morning he had to have someone escort him through the hotel to help prevent him from accidentally terrifying the guests. What a life!
Although he spoke about how much fun it is to play bad guys and that it is "fun to be decapitated," Robert was very charming. When I found out he named his greyhound in homage to Ripley from Alien, one of my favourite characters ever, I just could not stop smiling. When asked about the looming Zombie Apocalypse he answered, "Might as well join them." I laughed my ass off.
Most of all, his speech about not letting anyone tell you what to do or who to be was very moving for me. He said to believe in yourself and dare to be different. Wise inspiring words from a man who successfully plays some of the scariest monsters around, who has always loved genre films and is now living the dream and acting in them.
As a supernatural television enthusiast, I was so excited to hear that he is open to performing on the smaller screen. I would love to see him on Lost Girl, Supernatural, Haven...!!! So many shows to choose from. I have no doubt he would be scary and absolutely fantastic in any of them. And you know Shannon I would talk about them on Hexed!
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