Thank God for voiceover work.
— Tony Todd
I'm also a blues musician, and all blues artists can trace their pain to the slavery fields of the Mississippi Delta.
I think people are getting more and more - unfortunately - inured to violence. People are like, less sensitive to things they should wake up about.
I only do television if it's something really good like '24.'
Actors are a funny lot. Sometimes they're not satisfied with where they are. I include myself.
I'm just happy that as an African-American man, that 'Candyman' has once again been given the nod to enter people's consciousness.
Even if you do a great performance, if you have a weak link in the film, that's all anyone remembers.
I did a film in Nairobi, Kenya called 'The Last Elephant,' with John Lithgow, Isabella Rosallini, and James Earl Jones. So I was in seventh heaven, alright? About a year later I get a call from my agent and he says they want to see you for this project called Candyman. I thought he was joking so I hung up.
October's a busy month for me. I usually find myself working but I also try to do one or two conventions in that period. Then whatever city I'm in, they want to drag me to their local horror theme park.
But 'Hatchet' I only had one day on it. You know, one scene, which I had fun doing. I enjoyed watching it.
People who come through television, if they don't get distracted, they learn how to shoot fast. They don't get shocked. And if they know how to adjust to that and they think outside the box, then they'll be fine.
There was a period where I did do a lot of television, but the luck of the draw worked in my favour, as they were all shows that were either fan-favourites or cultist things.
Voiceover is probably the toughest of all the markets to get into. Everybody wants to do it because it's again three to five hours work. You can roll in there with your bedroom slippers and robe on if you wanted to. And it's fun.
So I grew up watching film noir, you know the classic stuff. William Holden, Richard Widmark, Robert Mitchum, all those.
I was raised by my aunt and we bonded over the eight-o-clock movie on TV. We'd watch everything from James Cagney in 'White Heat' to Lon Chaney in 'The Wolf Man' and every Bogart movie.
Everything that's worth making has to involve some sort of pain.
I've worked with directors who have done it too much, particularly in television, you know, 'okay we got it, let's move on, next setup.' 'Well what about, we could maybe investigate?' 'Mmm… no, let's go.'
When Michael Bay called me, I'd worked with him before on 'The Rock,' and he called me and said, 'Tony, I might have something for you.' I said, 'Okay, you haven't called me in ten years!' He said, 'I've been busy!' I said, 'I've been busy too Michael, glad we could make our schedules match!'
I was going to Hartford High School and when the theater bug hit, it hit hard and it saved my life. It gave me focus, direction and purpose.
All of my contemporaries in L.A. are all graduates of either Yale, Julliard, Trinity. The best of the bunch come from that.
I wish I could do a black and white film.
My love is the theater.
