“I Enjoy The Fantastical” Bill Moseley Interview For PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND

I was lucky enough to speak with Bill Moseley, one of the stars of Sion Sono‘s wild new film, Prisoners of the Ghostland while it was premiering at Sundance Film Festival. I [previously published part of the interview, but this is in its entirety. We spoke about what appealed to him about the character of “The Governor” his wardrobe, the kindness of Nicolas Cage, and more!

This interview has been edited for clarity. 

This is Kristy Strouse with Film Inquiry, Thanks for chatting with me today! I really enjoyed the film.

Bill Moseley: Thank you!

As someone who has played some very interesting roles, this is a different one for you. How would you describe the Governor to viewers?

Bill Moseley: The Governor is a kind of a badge. You know, when I approached the Governor, I saw him somewhere between, in the vicinity of Colonel Sanders and Foghorn Leghorn. I don’t know if you remember that cartoon.

Yes. I do!

Bill Moseley: Yeah. Okay, the last person I spoke with didn’t, and that’s me betraying my age, with an old cartoon reference. [laughs]. But the Governor is… he thinks he’s running the show and a lot of times, of course, you know, it ends up, he is. But, life has other plans for the Governor.

I think the Governor is happy in his work. You know he’s, he’s mean and ruthless and, you know, perverse and all the other things that one can heap on the Governor but I think he really enjoys this life. At least certainly up until the end.

Yeah. And you know I love his, his whole getup with the white suit, cowboy hat, and red gloves, some very terrific costume choices here that I loved.

Bill Moseley: Yes! They sent me about 30 different measurements. This was when I  had gotten the part. So many measurements; my wrist size, etc. And then when I got to Japan. The first time I met Sion was during the costume fitting, and I put on this costume that had been very carefully calibrated to my every contour and things were, you know, still uncertain. I was still kind of wondering who this character was. Yet, as I was putting on that costume it was really a big part of it. Then of course came the piece de resistance: the red gloves. And as soon as I put those on, I realized, okay so I am like a caricature of capitalism. And, you know,  I’m…pristine, except I have blood on my hands. That’s how I translated it. And as soon as I got that, as soon as I put the gloves on, that’s when the character came to me.

That’s amazing. Sometimes it just takes that extra touch! Was there any collaboration after, with Sion, regarding the character of the Governor?

Bill Moseley: Not really. But, my biggest concern was trying to get out all of those lines about Nic’s costume.

Quite the introductory scene!

Bill Moseley: There it was… so, so precise and it had to be there. You know what I like to do and maybe, call me a lazy actor, but a lot of times when I’m actually in the moment, you know, quote-unquote, I like to, you know, I try to find different ways of saying the same thing. A little improv. But when you’re doing something that’s scientific and specific there really is no wiggle room you can’t budge. And so, right before I did the part, my wife and I were on the Mekong River in Vietnam on a little boat called “The Princess.” And we were going up the Mekong River from Vietnam up to Cambodia. And I would sit on the deck chair. And I just kept pounding the lines about describing the suit [that Cage wears]. And when I got to Japan I would walk along the shores of a lake pounding those lines, and I was so excited when the day came and there’s Nic. He is wearing the suit and I’m there. Now it’s time for me to describe his exploding suit, and I had planned those lines so much that I think we got it in one take. That was one of those, moments, you know? Where you wipe the sweat off your brow because it’s so big. Thank you to the gods of acting and the cue for whispering those lines in my ear. But, you know, the governor is also one of those parts where it really kind of plays itself. And, which I’m also very grateful for.

We are too! You are used to playing sort of eccentric or odd characters, is that something you look for when you choosing a role?

Bill Moseley: You know, I look to see if it’s an authentic character or if it’s just some kind of a character that’s kind of cobbled together. I guess I look for something organic as a character. And with the governor…Certainly, the governor is very consistent. A character that one could imagine, In real life, so to speak. I suppose if the character speaks to me then I investigate further. I think maybe it comes down to more of the story than the character sometimes, and this story was so wonderful, and so fantastic. That, that drew me in, and then immediately, you know with the governor, again I started seeing characters like again Foghorn and Colonel Sanders, and when I pulled on the red gloves, and…the blood on his hands, it kind of all came through. For some reason that just, you know, a lot of times these characters just kind of happen, and don’t really see them. There is kind of a discovery process that takes place in evolution. That’s why I don’t really like auditioning too much because there’s such an evolution to the character, that happens with reading the script four or five times and sitting with a kind of an open-eyed meditation and letting the character kind of flesh itself out.

I can understand that. So, what was it like working with Nicolas Cage as “Hero”?

Bill Moseley: I was a little worried at first because I had met him doing Grindhouse.

I love those fake trailers!

Bill Moseley: I had also seen him at Rob and Sheri‘s [Zombie] wedding reception many years ago. And, of course, I’m a huge fan of his. That was right around the time I had just seen Mandy. And I thought, Mandy was so fun. It was so great. I love that movie! So, it was a little intimidating and certainly in my head, you know, it got more intimidating. But, when I got to it was right around Thanksgiving and Nic brought 30 or 40 cast and crew members out to dinner and we went to a traditional Japanese restaurant and there was geisha singing and dancing… it was fabulous and the food was gorgeous It was incredible. And Nic had just invited us right off on this impromptu Thanksgiving dinner. And then after we all went around and talked about what we were grateful for, and I thought it was just such a nice gesture. I really, really appreciated it.

I love that!

Bill Moseley: And really, whatever dread or fear that I had about working with Nic melted away and I just saw a really nice guy. When we got to the set we really had a lot of fun working together. He’s so nice and that’s always a relief, especially you know with an Oscar winner. He’s a big fan of Rob Zombie‘s work, and I think my work with him was what impressed him most. It all worked out great! Needless to say, especially when you see, Mandy or Color out of Space or it’s pretty much everything he does..he does what I do, and he just goes for it. We got along famously.

That’s fantastic. You mentioned Rob Zombie, and it does seem like in you career that you’ve went for horror-related projects a lot. Would you say that’s where your passion lies?

Bill Moseley: It is obviously my favorite genre, but I loved this even if it isn’t necessarily a horror movie. I enjoy the fantastical. I thought that was really cool. I loved what they did in terms of bringing the two worlds together. I’m also very happy in fantasy too. Though, I don’t even know if that’s what this is. It’s a whole thing. [laughs]

It absolutely is! Great performance, thanks again!

We want to thank Bill Moseley for taking the time to speak with us.