Actor Damian Maffei
Damian Maffei is an actor of screen and stage. He has trained at William Esper Studio in NYC and when not working in film he can be found on the New York Stage. He has appeared in such films as Nikos the Impaler, Closed for the Season, and Ghost Lake. Maffei recently shot the lead role in Joe Lansdale’s Christmas with the Dead and is slated to appear in an adaptation of Brian Keene’s Castaways.
Can you tell our reader’s a little about yourself? What were you like as a kid?
I don’t remember being a particularly bad kid, but I’m told I could be difficult. As far as I know, it wasn’t until I was a teenager where I became a miserable, irredeemable bastard. As a kid, I had a phase where I went around pretending to be Godzilla, and then at some point I think I may have thought I was Godzilla. I would attack and topple inanimate objects. I remember one popular instance where I battled a large, plastic crocodile in a park. I won. People cheered. I think. My big G impression was also requested at the public pool several times. I got over thinking I was Godzilla eventually, as kids tend to do. After that I thought I was Gamera.
When did you first take an interest in acting?
I started picking up on better performances as I got a little older, separating them from people who weren’t doing much of anything, but it wasn’t until high school that I considered doing it. I took an acting class and it was mandatory that you audition for the musical, so I did. Got a small part but I opted to keep playing baseball. We can say there are no “small parts” but at that point I preferred to be playing first base. The next year I auditioned for Little Shop of Horrors, got the part as the voice of the plant, and fell in loving with doing this stuff, despite not being on the actual stage for the show.
Would you recommend the William Esper Studio to aspiring actors/actresses?
I would recommend it to serious actors/actresses who want to do the work. And it is a lot of hard work. But it pays off, and you can walk in there with some raw skills, and walk out an actor equipped to make some interesting choices, an actor who has the tools to do the necessary work. If you’re sensitive, or lack the ability to take heavy, constructive criticism, then Esper is not for you. Acting as a career choice probably isn’t either though, huh?
What do you think it takes to be a good actor? What advice would you give to others wishing to learn the trade?
I think you need to start off with a few screws loose. Although sometimes those same screws can bounce around and cause a lot of grief and instability with a good deal of success, as you can plainly see with celebrity tabloids. A good actor will make the interesting choices, and work off what other actors are giving them. A good actor will get that feeling when they know something is working for them,and when something is not. A good actor will also throw up the protective bubble when working opposite someone that can’t act, which is an unfortunate situation to be in.
Advice to someone wishing to learn the trade would be take your classes, be prepared, and take from those classes what you think works. Mix and match if need be. And keep getting yourself out there. For actors looking to sustain anything in film, I’d really recommend, while you can afford to, doing student films and short films. Often times these are folks working out the kinks themselves and if will give you the opportunity to learn your way around, see what you’re doing, and see what glaring problems there are with your on-screen performance, as opposed to your stage performance.
These will also give you some good stuff to go on an actors reel, something you just can’t do without today if you’re looking for work. Assuming you’ve got quality footage to put on it. And the ol networking thing, well… there is something to it. These people you’re doing the student and short films with can go on to doing bigger (and better paying) and you were there for them early on. Whatever job you score, show up fully prepared, listen, and do your job. If you’ve got some skills to go along with that, that’s a package that the people involved won’t forget, and they may look to you further down the road. Get involved with talented, passionate people and band together to fight the good fight.
Make your own stuff if you’ve got the equipment, or access to it. Be bold (not obnoxious or creepy) and make it happen.
What do you think you’d be doing if not acting?
I might be a park ranger. Or working with animals in some capacity (although some say I do that now… hey! Thanks, I’ll be here throughout the weekend.) I’d actually probably wind up doing what they do on American Pickers, except with a lot less success and more fighting.
You have worked a lot in the horror field. Were you a fan of horror flicks from early on? Why do you think they have such an appeal?
Oh yeah. My parents would take me to the video store and I would head straight for the horror. See, back in my day, in order to rent movies you would have to get up off your ass and go to a location where they had shelves of movies available to rent. Nothing like the mom & pop video stores with their shelves of horror vhs titles. Of course my parents wouldn’t let me get anything when I was very young, but I had my ways.
I would sneak downstairs and watch horror movies on tv at 2 in the morning (maybe this had something to do with me being a difficult child…) . And my older brother John would rent the occasional The Return of the Living Dead or Blood Feast and I would sit there and watch. I found ways.
Can’t be sure why I was attracted to them, still can’t. I suppose some folks like to be scared, some like the unrelenting gore. Others are just happy that it’s not them. To me there’s nothing like an effective horror flick that serves up some tension, atmosphere, and raises the hair on my neck. It doesn’t have to be filled with gore, but there can be some (or plenty) if it helps the film along.
What was it like to work with Joe Lansdale on Christmas with the Dead? What did you learn from the experience? What is he like as a person?
Joe is great. He made sure I had my coffee when I wanted it. That everyone referred to me as sir (we had a faux knighting ceremony before filming), and that my contacts were moistened every 7 minutes. He has this ability to detect a tantrum about to be thrown, and swoops in with a preemptive cure. He knows what it takes to make a movie.
Maybe none of that happened, but the man’s talents know no end. He’s of alien intelligence and talent and his no-bullshit approach to everything is very refreshing. He’ll make a helluva director himself when he chooses to embark on such a mission.
I learned that even when you’re from East Texas you can’t get used to the heat of East Texas and that you might want to look elsewhere than shooting your East Texas movie in East Texas in the summer.
As it is a zombie movie, what are your feelings on them? Do you believe such things are possible?
I love a good zombie movie. I get that there’s just something about the whole zombie movement, and despite that it seems like everyone with a camera is pumping one out… a well done movie is a well done movie. I grew up loving Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, the fantastic gore of Day of the Dead. One of my favorite’s is Jorge Grau’s under-appreciated Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue. Beautiful flick with some really effective stuff in it. And that it was really only the second zombie entry of this type (after NOTLD) is pretty cool. Fulci’s Zombi has some great stuff in it, Shaun of the Dead is outstanding. There’s plenty of very cool zombie flicks out there, and it looks like there are a few more on the way.
As far as it actually happening… I get the feeling that the nature of human beings as a collective, the ability and want to keep exploring andcreating and tearing down, pushing the envelope, the competitiveness and lack of respect for things, perhaps. That someone will create something for the good of mankind that ultimately backfires and resurrects dead folk, I think eventually we can accomplish that. We’ll see if they run or not. 
What brought about the Bosco incident? Do you feel a little remorseful for that whole ordeal?
Bosco (or whatever the hell his name is) brought about the whole Bosco movement. It’s a typical story of someone that gets casts as a stuffed teddy bear simply because they are a stuffed teddy bear, has no real talent and yet still does no real work, just serves to delay what insignificant part they play in the film, then afterward bitches and moans about their lack of use. This is someone that wants to be a movie star and has no care or respect for the art. I would say that “remorseful” is not a word I’d choose to describe my feelings.
Any stories from the set you are at liberty to share?
I’m not really thinking of any at the moment. It was a perfect set, everyone got along, and nothing bad ever happened. There is something that, during one night of filming, we who were in “The Room” refer to as “The Room” and those who weren’t in “The Room” do not get to talk about “The Room”.
A fun tidbit: Director Lee Lankford possess the ability to, whilst carrying breakables, trip, land, roll, and rise in one fluid motion without a scratch on him or damage to carried items. Multiple instances. Quite impressive.
What was it like to shot Christmas with the Dead in Texas, in June with all that heat? Did you enjoy your time there? How does Texas differ most from New York?
It was like a sun simulation on earth. I did enjoy my time there, very much. I really enjoy shooting in the smaller towns, if that’s what your film needs, although Nacogdoches is by no means the smallest town I’ve filmed in, not by a long shot. It was really enjoyable to watch how into the movie the locals were, and how eager they were to participate in any way they could. Even if it meant standing around under heavy zombie makeup in that heat. It was impressive. Everything for the most part just seems to move at a slower, easier going pace than New York.
I have to say though that I ran into some poorly designed parking lots in my time there. There should be an entrance and an exit, or one that’s wide enough for both.
Were you glad to get home to a more temperate climate?
It gets pretty humid in New York, but it was nice to occasionally go outdoors and not be drenched by my own fluids within 2 minutes.
Are there any little known facts about you, that you’d not mind sharing with us?
I’m a huge fan of The Invisible Man and have a collection of goodies that backs it up.
What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
I hang out with my family, my wife and son and myself go out and cause trouble, and have family fun time. I hang with my son daily, which means I get daily doses of unpredictable fun and battling invisible entities. I also like to hang out with the dog, who my son also likes to hang out with. The dog likes us too, but could apparently do without some of the unpredictable fun and battling. Otherwise I’m an avid reader, watcher of movies, and fan and doer of geeky things.
Are you excited to be appearing in the adaptation of Castaways?
Very excited about Castaways, I think it’s going to be glorious. I remember reading it a few years back and thinking to myself what a great movie it would make. It’s got the potential to claw a place into the hearts and minds of many a horror fan, and I think the team on board is going to make something special.
What would you like to say in closing?
Well, speaking of Castaways it’s due for re-release in paperback and ebook form at some point this month (I think this month) from the awesome Deadite Press, so get your fill of literary Castaways before we assault you from the screen.