WasteOfTechnology.com » Interview: Dennis Hayden

Dennis Hayden is an actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as bad guys in some of the action movies of the 1980’s. His large stature made him a good tough guy in films as well as commercials and some TV. He has appeared in such movies as Die Hard, Another 48 Hours, Murphy’s Law, Sniper 2, Action Jackson, One Man Army and the Negative Pickup. He also produced and starred in the independent film, The Man in the Iron Mask. Over the years he has appeared with stars ranging from Bruce Willis, Charles Bronson, Jeff Bridges, Nick Nolte, Tom Berenger and Craig T. Nelson. Dennis was cool enough to correspond with me and answer a few questions.

You were originally a high school football star and then left college to head to Hollywood. What was it that made you decide you wanted to be an actor?
I grew up on a farm In Kansas with four brothers and a little sister. We all played cowboys and Indians and lots of make believe stuff. I went to a little country school, taught by Nuns. I remember when my mom took me over there to sign up for the first grade, the head nun look at me and said "Ew what a big one." I was tall for my age, so they didn’t give me any recess because they said I was too big to play with the other kids. So they made me stay inside while the other kids played, and they made me do little plays and skits and entertain the nuns. Later on my dad and my brothers came home from the dump with this black and white TV set, and we hooked it up and the first show I saw on TV was called the Whirlybirds about a couple of heroes flying helicopters starring Vestus from (later on) Gun Smoke. My brother Bill said those actors get paid good money for acting and me, with all my practice at school, my brain said that’s what I want to do when I grow up and get hell off this farm. Funny how life is, now it doesn’t seem like a bad place to be.

So one Day a friend came by the house and said I’m hitchhiking to California, do you want to come along. I said, “No I don’t like hitch hiking, but if you pitch in on gas I will drive you there.” So I quit my construction job and drove, to California. That’s another story and a long, long one.

What actors influenced you?
I was influenced by Steve McQueen, Charlie Bronson, John Wayne, Sterling Hayden. The amazing thing about it was I was staying at a resort hotel in Big Sir California and the guy next door to me had long hair and a beard, and had lots of cold beer. He drank Old Milwaukee on ice, so I partied with him off and on while I was there. His name was Steve and he was from Missouri next to Kansas, so I thought he was cool to put up with all my late night partying. One morning I was going to the jacuzzi and Steve was in there his hair was all wet and pulled back, and my friend looked me and said Dennis that guy with all the beer your partying with is Steve McQueen. I looked at him and said I will be damned it is. Much later on I got to work with Charley Bronson in Murphy’s Law.

“I played a drunk and got my Screen Actor’s Guild Card.”

How hard was it to start landing acting roles once you got out to California?
It was very hard. I became a carpenter, and did volunteer work building sets at the Met Theater, at the time on Melrose Blvd. There was this set decorator there named Pat McFadden. He also did some directing and had this play called All The Same that he said I would be perfect in, so I read for him. He liked me and I got my first acting role in LA, and then from there I did Bus Stop at the Met Theater.

I was told every lie in town on how people were going to help me get in the union and get some paying work. This went on for twelve years at least the lies kept me here, so I got lots of Theater practice before I ever got on film.

Funny I had a friend who used to come over to my house all depressed and say “Dennis tell me some of them old lies and make me stop thinking about the truth.” So I would tell him things like come on Ralph I talked to my agent and he said lots of stuff for us in the actors’ breakdown today, we’ll be working soon. (laughs)

I got my first paying job on a Shick Shadle Alcoholic commercial for Texas, I played a drunk and got my Screen Actors Guild Card and have done at least 50 national TV commercials.

How did you land the role as Shaker in Action Jackson?
My agent William Kerwin got me and interview, I went to the studio and a driver took me to the set to meet the producer, Joel Silver and the director Crag Baxley. The meeting went well and I got the job.

Among the all star cast in Action Jackson, it featured Sharon Stone before she was a huge box office name. A strapping man like yourself and a young blonde bombshell…any chemistry on the set between you two?
I saw her around but I had no scenes with her, I didn’t meet here till later on in a restaurant, and I was with another girl. We talked a bit…she was with another girl.

The hot wild girl on the set was Vanity. She could keep her clothes on the first time I met her in the makeup trailer she was standing there naked, I said, “Damn the Gods are good to me.” She has changed a lot I hear. I think she is a preacher, who would’ve ever thought.

"I like my ribs barbequed."

Does she look as good in person as in the movies?
She looked hot back then yes.

How about Carl Weathers? Is he as sexy in person as on the big screen?
Your asking the wrong guy if Carl is sexy. He was in great shape for the part he was playing.

In the words of Action Jackson, how do you like your ribs?
I like my ribs barbequed. Great scene transition.

One of your most memorable roles, to me at least, Eddie in Die Hard. How’d you get to land that role?
The producer, Joel Silver, liked my work from Action Jackson, and asked for me so the casting director had me come in and read for the part. When Joel saw me, he said to the casting director, “Hayden doesn’t have to read he is a great actor. I just wanted you, the casting director, to meet him.” That was way cool of Joel. Wish he would hire me again, guess he has probably killed me enough.

Aside from the lead terrorist, you were the last to be killed…technically making you the second most evil of them. What made your character outlast, oh say, Al Leong?
I outlasted Al cause my publicist at the time was marrying the brother of the writer of Die Hard, so she asked him to make my part longer.

Do you think you could take Al Leong in a fight, one on one, with all of his karate training?
Personally, I am not the kind of guy you would want to fight. I grew up with three older brothers out in the middle of no where who beat on me everyday of my life. And my dad, who came back from being in the infantry in World War 2, was a total alcoholic and thought he was still at war and tried to kill me with a butcher knife every night. When I went to high school I got a job at night at a redneck dance hall called the Hill Top where I was the bouncer and fought many drunken cowboys all at once. I also ran a huge hog farm for a neighbor and my dad, broke horses, wrangled cattle. Joel Silver sent us to bad guy military type training classes for the Die Hard and I took the class in cowboy boots. The teacher, who has big military credentials, was so impressed he asked me if I wanted a job after the movie was over. I said, “No man I’m just an actor.” So, yeah I would put my money on me.

How about another co-star of Die Hard, Reginald VelJohnson? One on one, no holds barred…who is the last man standing?
ME!

"I would trade my locks for the hundred million dollars plus Bruce has made since Die Hard"

Bruce Willis was the name on the marquee as the huge star of Die Hard. But he had a receding hairline and has since been pretty bald. You on the other hand maintain quite a full head of locks. Do you feel as if you have the last laugh?
Not really. I would trade my locks for the hundred million dollars plus Bruce has made since Die Hard.

Seriously though, Die Hard is a film based on terrorism. With the terrorism that has hit so close to home the past couple years, looking back on it now, would anything have been done differently?
I don’t think so. It’s just a silly movie. I can’t believe they use Die Hard for an example. I was the poster boy for violence on TV. They used that shot at the end where I get shot between the eyes. I used to see it on the news. After the terrorist attack of 9/11 they pulled my national Volkswagen Passat commercial out of the tub because it was the one where we kidnap the Passat driver and then bring him back and apologize for it since we thought that the car looked like a million dollars. On the other hand they said Die Hard was one of the causes of terrorist attacks, so every body bought a Die Hard movie to see what the news was talking about, and ran the sales of Die Hard up. What a world.

Do you think another film like Die Hard, in terms of its concept would make it to theaters in this day and age?
Only if I starred as the good guy with all my long hair.

How did it feel being shot in the head at the end of the movie?
It hurt like hell. They used a blow gun with a waxed ball filled with fake blood, and every time Bruce would shoot his gun the effects guy would shoot me with the blow gun. He hit me in the eyes, mouth, all over my face. Everywhere except between the eyes where he was supposed to. Then we found out that he had shell shock from the being in Vietnam during the war which made him jerk when he heard Bruce shoot his gun and hit me in the eyes mostly. So we had to postpone that after torturing me for several hours and get a new effects guy another day and do it again. Even then we had to do it several times, nowadays you could add it with a computer.

You were featured on an episode of Who’s the Boss? Is Tony Danza as groundbreakingly intelligent as he seems on TV?
I don’t know about all that but he was very nice to me, and gave me gift basket.

"Believe it or not people still come up and say "you played Eddie in Die Hard," and say, "I got fifty buck bet on them assholes."

Do you ever have people coming up to you in public and commenting on your role in Die Hard or Action Jackson, or any role for that matter?
Yeah. Believe it or not people still come up and say “you played Eddie in Die Hard,” and say, “I got fifty buck bet on them assholes.” I guess cause I still have my hair (laughs) and still look a lot like my old self.

What big screen role do people seem to associate you with most?
The one I get the most fan Mail from is the role of D’Artagnan, in the independent film The Man In The Iron Mask. I get thousands of fan letters from all over the world. So many I can’t even begin to afford the postage it takes for them to go overseas. Our movie was stolen by distributors, and sold all over the world before we could even finish it. The nerve of some people blows me away. I got the fame from all the fan mail but no fortune came with it, not yet anyway (laughs). I also get letters from Die Hard and Another 48 Hours, One Man Army. I have to thank all the fans for all their support cause it sure helps a lot in slow times in the movie business.

In all your years of film, what role would you say you are most proud of?
D’Artagnan, The Man In The Iron Mask. I think one day when we get it released on the big screen, I will get my academy award nomination…What the hell am I talking about? I have been in the movies all these years and have never been even invited to go to any award show or even an award party for that matter, pretty tight little clique of people.

You’ve appeared in a few classic action flicks. You’ve worked with some of the same actors a few times and a few names. Anyone out there who you especially enjoyed working with?
I liked working with Bruce Willis, Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Tom Berenger. They’re tall guys that are not intimidated by my 6′4 structure (laughs). They dug a whole for us in Murphy’s Law so I wouldn’t be taller than Charlie Bronson.

"Unfortunately, I was one of the only ones in the movie going for a great performance." (on his role in One Man Army)

Any movies of yours out there that fans of films like Action Jackson and Die Hard might be missing out on?
Yes. I think they would like my work on an action B film shot in the Philippines called One Man Army. One of my award winning performances. Unfortunately, I was one of the only ones in the movie going for a great performance. I play good guy gone way way bad.

In The Negative Pickup I play a really bad cop, killing actors in that one. I play a bad senator in The Random Factor. Working on a film with William Richert, called The Vindicator. One of the funniest scenes in cinema is the one with me and Tom Hulce in the movie Slamdance. I use to go to the theater just for that scene.

It seems as if the trend of violent movies is long over. Why do you think this is the case?
I really don’t think it is over. They’re just not filming as many in the USA.

Do you think your days of portraying a thug of some sort and doing a lot of killing are over?
No they always need good actors to play bad guys to make the stars look good (laughs).

Can we expect more from Dennis Hayden in the future?
Yes most definitely. Check out www.williamrichert.com for The Man In The Iron Mask and other projects William and I are working on. And check in on www.dennishayden.com for what’s happening.

Lastly, any final message or words of advice to your fans out there?
Be honest,follow your dreams, and keep your day job just in case (laughs). And laugh a lot.