Gunnar Hansen: The Mr. Skin Interview

Let's talk about Murder Set Pieces. How did you come to be involved in the film?
I met Nick Palumbo, the director, awhile back. He had done a movie called Nutbag, and he approached me about doing Nutbag 2, which eventually evolved into a film called Sinister. I ended up working on the trailer for that.

Have you seen the final, unrated version of Murder Set Pieces? What was your reaction?
I have seen Nick's version of the film and it's very bloody, very gory and violent. And I have no problem with that. I also think it's a great-looking film. Plus, I like my role!

How was it working with director Nick Palumbo and co-star Sven Garrett?
Nick is very relaxed. I think he gets stressed when he's working, but he doesn't pass that stress along to the actors. Sven was good to work with. He really wanted to do well in the role, so he worked very, very hard. He and I had a few conversations about acting.

What would you say to people who claim that Murder Set Pieces is finally the one horror movie that truly goes too far?
Well, I'd say they're a little short-sighted. The movie is extremely violent, and it's extremely violent against women. My reaction is that if you don't want to see that kind of film, then just don't see it! Talladega Nights is a movie that I have no interest in and so, therefore, I'm just not going to see it.

You are a horror icon, of course, for being the one, true Leatherface in the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Have you seen other actors interpret the role? What is your opinion of their work?
I've seen all the Chainsaw follow-ups except for the most recent one, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (Picture: 1). But I saw Andrew Bryniarski play the part in the 2003 remake.

I'm not a particular fan of any of the films, but I have no problem with the actors. My problem is with the way Leatherface has been written.

If you look at Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Bill Johnson did a fine job playing the character as it was written. And, there, Leatherface was sexually conflicted. In the original, Leatherface, as I played him, was asexual. There's a scene in 2 with Bill stroking the chainsaw between a woman's legs and wondering, "Should I screw her or kill her?" My Leatherface would have just been thinking: "When do we eat?"

Bill was at a disadvantage because I was lucky enough to be the first Leatherface and therefore define the character. If he'd been in the first movie, and I was in the second, I'd have played it differently from him too. Each actor has to do that. And, again, I have no problem with any of the other actors who have played Leatherface.

The trouble comes from the script. Look at the 2003 remake. They botched Leatherface by trying to explain him. In the original he's a mystery, something not quite human, and that's what was frightening. Once they explained him, he became a kid with a skin problem attending Columbine High School.

It's like Darth Vader, who I think is the great modern Hollywood villain--right up until Return of the Jedi. Once they took his mask off, he was human. The mystery was gone and so was the character's power.

To me, the mystery of the family is precisely what's most terrifying about the original Chain Saw Massacre. When you think about that house, and the rooms full of thousands of bones, and you start wondering, 'Who are these people? How long have they been doing this? Why do they do this?' it's absolutely chilling!
Yes, and while the mystery is there, the family dynamic could not be more clear. In the original, the family is the heart of the picture. There seemed to be fifteen people sitting around as family members, but who were they? Where was the heart in the remake?

After The Demon Lover, you took a good amount of time off from acting. What did you do during that period?
Well, acting was never what I intended to do. Bob Burns, who was the set designer on Chain Saw, called me a few years later and said he was working with this new guy, Wes Craven, on a movie called The Hills Have Eyes. He asked me to fly out right away and play one of the killers. I said, "Not interested!" [Laughs heartily].

My intention all along was to write. I had moved to Maine, and I wanted to stay there. Eventually I realized that it was silly to keep refusing acting jobs. People weren't asking me to move to California to be a waiter and go on auditions; they were asking me to step right into the movies they were shooting!

The other factor that kept me away was that I'd had some involvement with a couple of producers who just turned out to be the real scum of the earth. All I could think was that I don't want to be in the business that's driven by this. I didn't want to become one of those people.

On Demon Lover, I met Fred Olen Ray and we kept in touch. Years later, he called me and said: "Remember how I wanted to go to Hollywood and make movies? Well, I'm now in Hollywood making movies!" And he asked me to work on a movie with him, which turned out to be Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers.

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers is a particular favorite here at MrSkin.com. What was it like working with Linnea Quigley (Picture: 1 - 2) and Michelle Bauer?
Ahh . . . Michelle Bauer! She and Linnea were great. How can you beat getting paid to spend several days with beautiful naked women? That whole shoot was fun. Michelle really liked to not have her clothes on, so she made the set a great place to be around.

Fred is an interesting director too. He is as relaxed as can be. He does a master shot for each scene and, if you miss a line, that's your close-up. So, as an actor, you learn to always miss a line. You think, "Which line would I look best delivering?" and then that becomes your close-up.

Who's been your favorite female co-star?
In most movies, I don't have a female co-star. I wish I did. Usually if there's an actress in a scene with me, she's half-naked and screaming and running through the shot.

There were beautiful women in a movie I made called Freakshow (Picture: 1) and we never met. It brings to mind a story about Chainsaw Sally. I'm in the movie, as is [legendary gore director] Herschell Gordon Lewis. At some point, I saw an article where someone asked Herschell what it was like to work with me, and he said, "Oh, Gunnar's a great guy, great to work with . . ." and I appreciated it, but he and I had never met!

Now, I've since met Herschell and we've become friends, but I thought that was such a great answer to that question.

Time to put you on the spot. Right off the top of your head, fast, name the three sexiest actresses of all time.
Just three? Okay, off the top of my head: Marilyn Burns (Picture: 1), Adrienne Barbeau (Picture: 1), and Diane Lane (Picture: 1 - 2). But there are so many more!

What's your favorite movie nude scene?
Well, it would have to be the ritual scene in Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers. It's the only time I worked in a scene with nude women, and you can't beat that.

We also had fun shooting promo stills for that film. At one point, I had the robe on with my hood up, with Linnea and Michelle, topless, on either side of me--pressed in very close. Now because of the hood, I had no peripheral vision, so I couldn't see them, but I knew that there was naked heaven right there alongside me.

Do you remember the first time you saw a nude scene in a movie?
I do. I was a teenager and went to see some European flick with my mother. I don't remember the name of the movie. Right in the middle of it, unbeknownst to me, there was this strip-club scene, with the actresses getting naked. I was deeply embarrassed, because I was there with my mother. I guess she sensed how uneasy I was, because she leaned over and whispered to me: "That's really what it's like in those clubs!"

A few years later, a friend's father gathered the guys together and showed us a stag film. That time I wasn't embarrassed. I was intrigued.

What are you working on now and what can we look forward to?
I recently wrote, directed, and produced a documentary titled Ntolonapmk. That's a Passamaquoddy Indian word that means "our relations' place." The movie was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. It's about the Passamaquoddy Tribe and their relation to the St. Croix River in eastern Maine.

As for acting, a movie I'm in called Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen comes out on January 23rd. It's a post-apocalypse drama. Chainsaw Sally comes out on February 27th. That's a nice film. Not a ton of nudity but some very nice views. And then, as early as March, I'll start working on Chainsaw Sally 2.

Thanks, Gunnar. And what's your official website?
GunnarHansen.com