Tiffany Shepis: The Mr. Skin Interview

You got your first break at Troma Films. How did that come about?
Well, I lied about my age. [Laughs] I was fifteen and I told them I was seventeen, when I should have said eighteen. But the Troma gang was really great. It was for Tromeo and Juliet (1996). They had this part that was supposed to be for a big, huge bodyguard guy. But they let me do it, and I thought that was pretty funny.

And since then you've been seen in a lot of low-budget horror movies.
I love the genre, the fans are great, and just about all the people I work with have a real passion for this stuff. I think that some of my movies have turned out a lot better than some of the others, but we're always trying to make the most entertaining movie with very limited means. I might think The Hazing is better than some other movie I did five years ago, but then I'll meet three fans at a convention who love that one movie, so it's all good.

What about your a brief appearance in Detour (2003)?
Yeah, that movie was already finished, but the producers wanted to, I don't know, bring a few more "names" to the cast or something, so I got a call: "Hey, how'd you like to play a lesbian gal who gets slashed up real quick?" So I took a look at the scene and thought it would be fun. I asked if my friend Renee [Madison Cole] could play the other girl, and they were cool with it. I thought that movie turned out pretty good, but damn was that a hot time in the desert. We sweated our asses off out there!

Speaking of hot, you've done quite a few nude scenes in your movies. Do you remember which one was the first?
Well, the first nude scene I turned down was for one of the Witchcraft movies--Part Six, I think. I was too young for that at the time. I'm not exactly sure which movie had my first nude scene, but I'm pretty sure the first one I shot was for Bloody Murder 2 (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5). Sure, it was a Friday the 13th-type rip-off, but I think it was shot really well, and the movie turned out to be a fun time.

You moved away from horror when you showed up in Emmanuelle 2000 (2000). How different was that?
It was quite cool. At first I was wondering what I'd be doing and . . . how much of it, but we actually got to be funny in that. [Director] Rolfe Kanefsky just gave me a call and asked me to take on a little role in Emmanuelle. It was a fun, silly, sexy thing.

And then you veered right back toward the horror fare.
You know, I like the horror movies. I watched 'em as a kid; I go to a lot of the East Coast horror conventions and have a ball. Clearly we're entertaining some people with these movies, so that's fine by me.

You worked with legendary Scream Queens Julie Strain (Picture: 1) and Brinke Stevens (Picture: 1) in Delta Delta Die! (2003) (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4). Did they sort of take you under their wing as a "next generation" Horror Heroine?
Not exactly, but that's because I'd known them both prior to that movie. But it was great to watch them do their thing. Brinke and I have been "scheduled" to work together many times, but, you know, lots of movies fall apart before they begin. She's truly cool. Julie's very loose and very funny, while Brinke is a bit more on the serious side. But I had a great time on that movie, because I got to work with both of them at the same time.

Coming to DVD this month is another collaboration between you and director Rolfe Kanefsky.
It's called The Hazing, and I think it turned out really well!

Agreed. It's a little bit scary, a little bit funny, and you spend the entire movie in a skintight silver jumpsuit!
[Laughs] Yeah! That was a sexy little number, wasn't it? Well, the movie is set during Halloween, and they wanted me to be an astronaut. When we got to the costume place, which is a store in L.A. where all the hookers and strippers also shop, they had this big, bulky spacesuit thing with a plastic bubble in the front. I was like . . . um, no. But we can work with it. I said to Rolfe: I know that [co-star] Nectar Rose is supposed to be the sexy girl in this movie, but hello . . . you can't even see my figure in this! Let's tighten it up a bit!

The Hazing offers a one-two punch of blonde/brunette goodness!
[Laughs] Yeah, I just saw the DVD and I really am a little proud of that particular movie. It's quick, it's scary, it's silly, it's got Brad Dourif for cryin' out loud! And I also think my nude scene is one of the best I've done. Very sexy, kinda classy.

Would it bother you to be pigeonholed as "that horror girl who will get naked"?
Well, when a casting agent knows that you're open to doing nude scenes, it might get you a few more offers... but those aren't the sort of offers I usually follow up on. If you call me an actress who will get naked, fine. But I don't want to be the actress who's always undressed.

Less can be more.
Sometimes, yeah! Hey, you remembered the silver jumpsuit, right?

Do you have specific nudity stipulations in your contract? "Will do nude scene X and Y, no more and no less"?
Oh absolutely. I know way ahead of time what they want, so I can decide yes, no, or maybe.

So there's no kind of spur-of-the-moment, "Hey Tiff, we want to do a shower scene all of the sudden."
Well, not where I'm concerned, no. That stuff is all spelled out ahead of time, and the filmmakers I work with respect that completely. Otherwise, I'd walk.

Do you still get nervous when you have to shed some threads?
Not really. I mean, there's the one side that says, "Hey, you have a pretty nice body and people like to see that, so why not?" But of course there's still a vulnerability. I'm lucky to work with people who do the nude scenes properly, so I usually feel really comfortable.

What do you have coming out soon?
Well, there's something that's been slowly pulling itself together called UnConventional, which I think the fans will love. It kind of takes you on a "day in the life" of a few horror-convention regulars, like Gunnar "Leatherface" Hansen, low-budget genius Bob Gonzo, Chiller Theater guru 42nd Street Pete, and me! I think people who already go to the horror cons will dig it, plus maybe it'll introduce a few new people to our world. There's also Corpses which is another fun one from Rolfe Kanefsky, Home Sick with Tom Towles and Bill Moseley (both from House of 1000 Corpses), and one that I can't wait to see once it's finished. It's called Abominable and I got to work with some great actors like Jeffrey Combs and Matt McCoy and Paul Gleason. It was directed by Ryan Schifrin, who's the son of [Hollywood and TV composer] Lalo Schifrin, so we had all these serious veterans working on the movie. Some great filmmakers came in as a favor to Ryan's dad, and I think the movie should be pretty solid!

And The Hazing is due real soon, and so is a strange little comedy I did called The Deviants (2004). You'll be happy to know that I play a devout nudist in that movie. Plus it's actually pretty funny!

As a parting shot, tell us the one unsung actress you most admire.
Sherilyn Fenn (Picture: 1)! I've just always loved her. Damn was she good in Twin Peaks. She's brave and underrated and pretty unpredictable. She's so good that she makes Boxing Helena (1993) watchable (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3)!

All photos by Julie Strain, courtesy of Tiffany-Shepis.com.