Monster Mayhem with Alan Maxson
Ghoulish greetings and slaughtertations my monster maniacs and welcome to another night of eerie entertainment. My next taunting treat is guaranteed to give you a real scare. Please introduce yourself and tell us where you’re from.
As my character from Christmas with Cookie would say, “Welcome ugly children of the moon!” Cookie would tell you he’s from the moon in the year 3978 but I suppose you want to hear from Alan and not Cookie. Probably much more boring but here I go! My name is Alan Maxson, I’m an actor and I’m originally from Bay City, Michigan.
When did you start acting and how long have you been doing this?
I started acting in the 8th grade and continued all the way through high school. I was a performer in one way or another during college. Whether it be with music or acting, I was always entertaining. Then I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry in 2007. From there I worked in front of and behind the camera, doing what I could to make money and make my way into the industry. Eventually I decided to take a career in acting serious and treat it like a profession rather than a hobby. And that is when the snowball started to role!
Can you tell us some of the films you’ve been in?
Yes! I’ve been in over 70 films/TV/commercials, about 45 of them I’m a monster or something unrecognizable. One you can watch right now is called The Woods by the YouTube channel Sugar Pine 7. I highly recommend that, it’s free to watch and one of my all time favorite performances as a monster. I was extremely proud of that one when it came out.
Another you can watch right now is Christmas with Cookie, there are 3 CwC movies available on Amazon Prime for free or for rent if you’re not a Prime member. These movies are super fun because they were filmed in the style of a bad b-movie. So they are very aware of how cheap and corny they are, it sure makes it fun to watch with a couple beers in ya! Ha!
How did you fall into these Monster character roles?
I sought out the monster roles. I’ve always loved monsters my entire life. The only action figures I ever wanted were the creatures, monsters and aliens. When new Star Wars toys came out, I never bought the human ones. Humans are boring! Haha.
Being the monster takes a lot of extra physical and mental training. It’s demanding on your body and you have to be great in very claustrophobic conditions. The first monster role I got was for a short film called Nightlight, and I had to pester the director for it. He had already cast the role but the actor dropped out last minute so he called me as the back up. Once I proved I could do it, and do it well, things took off from there. More and more filmmakers called asking me to be there monster. Then eventually I got my wish, that’s what I was known for and I now get so many offers that I have to turn some down because I’m already booked. It’s great!
Which character was your favorite and why?
I really have loved every character I’ve played but currently I’d say the creature from The Woods. He’s just so terrifying and kills like crazy! It was such a blast to play that character because of all the fun physical movement, stunts and awesome practical blood effects. That was truly a great time. And obviously playing King Ghidorah because, well… how can that not be fun! But I can’t tell you too much about that one… yet!
What is your most memorable experience working in their field?
Working on Godzilla was hands down the most memorable experience. It’s the biggest thing I’ve worked on to date. It has a giant built in fan base and it’s gonna be a huge block buster move next year. I’ll never forget working on that!
Which was your worst experience and why?
The worst experience I ever had was back when I was an editor. I cut a documentary for a very reputable company and they stiffed me on the bill. I did a lot of work and I ended up having to take legal action to get 3 months worth of paychecks. I eventually got paid but it should not have come to that. Other than that, most of my experiences are nothing but positive!
Can you share some of your upcoming projects with us?
One I highly recommend will air on AMC on Oct. 14th, called AMC Visionaries: Eli Roth’s History of Horror. This is a 6 part documentary series about horror films, so I know you all will love that! I play an awesome looking zombie in the opening title sequence of all 6 episodes. I’m very excited to see it.
Another great one coming out next year is called A Dead Dame in Hollywood. It’s a black & white film noir style detective movie, with a Naked Gun style comedy twist! I played the lead character (who is human!) named Stone Evergreen, who’s trying to solve the mystery of who killed his ex-girlfriend. It’s very funny and you get to see my real face for the entire time.
The final film I’d love to recommend won’t come out until May 31st, 2019. I think you all know about this one! I cannot wait to hear what you all say about that! It’s gonna be one hell of a movie that’s for sure!
If you had a choice to be a character of your choice, who would it be?
This is a tough question because I’d love to be so many of my life long favorites! My top two would definitely be an ape in a Planet of the Apes movie or an alien in a Star Wars film. I’d love to be a Twi’lek, Rodian, Sullustan, Bith, Wookie, Ithorian or any of the awesome original species!
In your own words, describe what horror is to you?
Horror is a genre of entertainment that brings an emotion of fear into you. It can be done with real life situations, fantasy, monsters, killers, and emotional situations. Really, anything that makes you afraid. That’s why I think it’s such a great genre; you can do anything with it. And if it scares you, it did its job!
What’s your favorite horror film?
This is a hard question as well because I love so many. So I’ll break it into two categories. For horror/comedy, it’s gotta be Gremlins or American Werewolf in London. Straight up horror, The Thing or House of 1,000 Corpses. I love those movies a lot!
If someone would like to know more about you or see your work, how can they?
They can follow me on both Instagram and Twitter at @Monster_Maxson and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/monsteractoralanmaxson. And everyone, please follow, tag and comment, I love hearing from all of you! I’ll also be at a number of conventions and panels over the next year so don’t hesitate to say hi, get a pic or ask for an autograph, I’d like to meet you all!
Thank you for joining me for your interview today on the Horror Tour Guide. Looking forward to watching you kick ass as King Ghidorah next year. Now it’s time for me to feast on your flesh. Say goodbye my tasty treat.
AHHHHH It hurts! Don’t eat my arm! Ughh that’s my stomach! Oh no! My intestines are being ripped out….ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!
Dead.
Official Site: http://alanmaxson.com/About.html
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monster_maxson/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/monster_maxson
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AlanMaxson
Amazon Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dinstant-video&field-keywords=Alan+maxson&rh=n%3A2858778011%2Ck%3AAlan+maxson
