Things Might Be "Miserable" on Some Movie Sets For Casper Van Dien, but He Wouldn't Have it Any Other Way
Casper Van Dien as “Russell Cody” in the action thriller,THE FLOOD, a Saban Filmsrelease. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.
The journeyman actor has done it all, from Bugs to Gators, from Blockbusters to Indie projects, and while the journey continues, van dien stops to discuss his new action flick ‘The Flood’.
*Please note: This interview was conducted prior to SAG-AFTRA taking strike action.
As the actor’s strike continues on, and many performers fight for a living wage and the rights they so richly deserve, here stands Casper Van Dien; a testament to the journey that so actors go through if they are fortunate enough to have a long career. As his daughter, Grace, who has become a face in the industry thanks to her break in the last season of Stranger Things, Daddy-Van Dien can serve as a mentor to help guide her through the ups and downs of being an actor.
The man has worked with visionary filmmakers such as Paul Verhoven and Tim Burton, he has worked on major blockbusters and featured in films that have audiences packed into multiplexes in the hot summer months, and now, as a seasoned veteran, Van Dien works on smaller, yet no less visionary projects. Case in point, Brandon Slagle’s The Flood, a film that can be described as “Con Air meets Lake Placid.” Slagle is a director Van Dien has worked with before, and apparently enjoyed the experience. In fact The Flood reunites Van Dien, Slagle, costar Lois Mandylor, and a handful of other costars
Casper Van Dien as “Russell Cody” in the action thriller,THE FLOOD, a Saban Filmsrelease. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.
“I love everybody involved with it. Great group,” reveals Van Dien. “I’ve worked with Louis before, the same director, and the same producing team.” The way Van Dien describes it, it’s almost as if this troop of indie filmmakers, when working together, are transported back to their roots as a camp of enthusiastic film-loving kids, borrowing their Dad’s camcorder just to make a movie. In short, they’re having fun with it.
In The Flood, Van Dien stars as Russell Cody, a convict who’s being transferred along with a busload of other criminals, when, naturally, a hurricane comes sweeping through the route and the guards on the bus have to make an emergency stop at a small town Louisiana Sheriff’s office. While the cons are all being re-caged to wait out the storm, another storm is brewing when the station floods, and a swarm of blood thirsty alligators make the night even more difficult to survive. If that weren’t enough, there’s another pack of bloodthirsty monsters, a renegaded group of criminals, armed to the teeth who infiltrate the sherriff’s station looking to breakout Cody. The night quickly becomes all about who can trust who, what secrets is everyone hiding, and can they work together to survive.
But there’s obviously a lot to independent filmmaking, and it’s rarely glamorous. When asked what it was like shooting The Flood, which naturally looked hot, wet and miserable, Van Dien simply replied “Hot. Wet. And Miserable. We're in these buildings that they're having to make these buildings that have had rats and then they had to waterproof them and fill them with water, and the water would start out clean… in the morning. Then you're getting dunked under it, snot comes out, people are going in and out with the equipment and clothes on... And so the water went dirty real quick. ”
What’s lost on the reader of this article is the fact that Van Dien is talking about all this alleged ‘misery’ with that trademark million dollar smile of his. Granted, no one would want to be in the conditions he describes, but the impassioned way Van Dien has always talked about his projects, regardless of the budget they may have, how much revenue they take in, or the size of the paycheque he cashes when it’s all over, he does make it seem fun. Van Dien can easily be compared to any of the great teachers some students are lucky enough to get over the years - the ones so full of passion and love for the subject they teach, it becomes almost contagious.
“I would love to do big blockbusters [all the time], but I have a lot of fun doing all these independent movies too. They’re a lot of fun for me,” Van Dien reiterates. When asked about recent character pieces he’s taken on in the past couple of years, Van Dien seems to relish the opportunity to feast at the buffet his artform presents. “I just did Mad Heidi where I got to do a Swiss-German accent because I played the Dictator of Switzerland fighting against lactose intolerance in a Grindhouse type film, which was amazing.”
[L-R] Louis Mandylor as “Rafe Calderon” and Casper Van Dien as “Russell Cody” in theaction thriller,THE FLOOD, a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.
What’s absolutely amazing about watching Van Dien in this point in his career is not only when he gets to try new things, like playing a stoic con in The Flood (even though Van Dien would tell you, as a Florida-boy, he knows enough about ‘gators that this movie-monster felt like a piece of home for him), but more importantly, when he gets to try new things and it succeeds. CGI Alligators are no big deal at this point. The man, early in his career was battling massive CGI bugs or headless horsemen, so using his imagination is no big deal. Van Dien shrugs it off so easily he simply states that part of acting is simply “childhood innocence” or the “job of every actor”. However, take an independent film such as Daughter, where Van Dien reached into a different part of his persona, far from childhood innocence. Seeing a star you admired in massive blockbusters really push themselves as an actor and succeed is a great experience. “I have all these different opportunities, like when I had Daughter, where I just play the most disturbing character. It was a lot of fun to do.”
Yet once again, when he’s playing a cult-like patriarch that murders young women, just like he did working in possibly rat-infested and swampy waters, Van Dien still manages to find the fun. “With [Daughter], I part of my hair down the middle, and my wife and my kids were like ‘Oooo, gross!’ and I thought… ‘perfect’. They were so disturbed by the way I look, which for me is simply putting on the character.” To hear a veteran actor talk about so many things that seem insane to people outside the industry as everyday experiences is exactly why Van Dien remains a favorite for those who remember the big blockbusters. Now those same fans can watch these stars at home, battling alligators, looking hot, wet, and miserable and enjoy the fact that he’s still having fun.
The Flood is now available In Theaters, On Demand and Digital.
Click below to watch the full interview:
