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Sundance Channel Host: We've got another exciting guest tonight, too. Ron Perlman. He has quite a cult following from the TV series Beauty and The Beast. Truly an excellent actor. He's also quite a cigar aficionado. So Ron is here (with his unlit cigar!) and as soon as the room settles down, we'll ask him some questions. Welcome to Yahoo! Chat, Ron!
Ron Perlman: Hey, everybody, it's good to be aboard! It's such a charming spot that it's quite palatable. Sundance is magnificent. I've been here once before, so this time I was mentally and emotionally prepared for the frenzy of these two weeks. And the weather's been great. There's been just enough snow to make the skiers happy and enough sun to make everyone else happy. Plus I'm told I'm in the hit film here! (Happy, Texas). That doesn't hurt either!
Sundance Channel Host: Could you tell us a little bit about Happy, Texas, the film that brought you to this year's festival?
Ron Perlman: Well, it's a low budget independent. In fact, an entire family mortgaged their lives to make this film. It's funny, smart material that attracted a lot of talented actors. And it got a production that galvanized a great deal of attention to it. And it's world premiere is here at Sundance which is an auspicious way to begin. And the response it received was overwhelmingly positive. I think the film is very much in the spirit of old screwball comedies. No hidden agendas or deep political meanings. Just great situations and whacked out characters winding their way through 104 minutes of cinema.
Sundance Channel Host: Is this the first Sundance Festival you've been to?
Ron Perlman: No, I was here once before with a film that exhibited here but was not in competition called Cronos. By a young, first-time film director, Guillermo del Toro from Mexico. A very elegant, very bizarre sort of vampire movie which was received here magnificently well. And springboarded Guillermo to deals in every sector of Hollywood. So Sundance has been "very good to me!"
Sundance Channel Host: I saw City of Lost Children. I loved it! What a wonderful film! Will you be doing more films like that?
Ron Perlman: Well, I love you for saying that. And I loved it too. And I can only hope and pray. How many films are like City of Lost Children. But if anything came my way like that again, it would be like lightening striking twice. I'm available to the idea.
Manolis Varnas: Ron, the show Beauty and The Beast was a real diamond in the 80's. Do you miss it and tell me why did Linda Hamilton have to die in the show.
Ron Perlman: I miss Beauty and the Beast every day. It was as special an experience as anything I've ever done in my life. 56 episodes was about 55 more than I thought we'd ever do, so I was grateful for every day I went and donned the makeup. And Linda went and got pregnant at the end of the second season, and all parties concerned thought it best if she went off and started a family. So we had to deal with her departure in one way or another, and the writers opted for that way.
Sundance Channel Host: Do you ever get sick of people still asking about Beauty and the Beast?
Ron Perlman: No. I'm just grateful that anybody asks me anything.
Sundance Channel Host: What, besides that, was your most memorable role?
Ron Perlman: I would have to say the character One in City of Lost Children was the most memorable. And there have been a few others. Salvatore in Name of the Rose. And Amoukar in Quest for Fire. All those guys became my good buddies.
tukman2 asks: Is being in The Magnificent 7 just to pay the bills?
Ron Perlman: Well it helps! It was a pretty distinguished film with Yul Brunner and Steve McQueen, so it has a lot of potential to be good TV. And I was fascinated with the idea of doing it --- and paying the bills! Who am I kidding? I have to say that the guys I'm working for, John Watson and Pen Densham, are two phenomenal guys to collaborate with and have fashioned a very enigmatic character for me to play. So it's become much more than just commerce.
Sundance Channel Host: Have you been going to movies at Sundance, and have you seen anything you liked?
Ron Perlman: I haven't gone to any movies in Sundance. I just arrived yesterday and spent the whole day rallying behind the Happy, Texas, cause. And today I've been doing a lot of press interviews and relaxed a little, going up to the top of the mountain. Contemplating donning the skis, but ultimately, my better judgement prevailed, and I decided to maintain my good health!
Sundance Channel Host: Do you prefer television, film, or stage?
Ron Perlman: I don't judge any of them in terms of their media value but more in terms of their level of engagement. Each of those experiences can be equally gratifying or equally terrifying or abysmal. I've done good and bad of all three. I just try to forget the bad and remember the good. But no, I don't have a preference.
Sundance Channel Host: How did it feel to win a Golden Globe?
Ron Perlman: Great! Whew. If you are going to win an award for television, you definitely want it to be the one where all the movie guys are there!
Sundance Channel Host: Have you checked out the websites about you?
Ron Perlman: No, I have never done that. I think what people are saying about me is none of my business! But I'm gearing up to it. In fact, at the end of this interview, I am going to have these beautiful ladies who are assisting me show me how to check out the website. I hear there are multiple ones out there.
Sundance Channel Host: What's up next for you?
Ron Perlman: There is nothing next for me right now. I'm talking about a number of different things. I just finished the order for 13 additional episodes of Mag 7, so I've just become available to entertain other projects, and I don't have one picked out yet. I enjoy these little moments, and I look forward to more! Thank you for tuning in!
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