Simon Phillips plays a werewolf hunter in Strippers vs. Werewolves
British actor Simon Phillips has made a name for himself in comedic roles and the ‘Jack Says’ trilogy. We caught up with him to talk 80s actors, strippers, werewolves and his other latest projects.
- Strippers vs. Werewolves will be in cinemas later this month, what can viewers expect?
It’s one of those films that does exactly what it says on the tin, so I don’t think anyone buying tickets for the film will be disappointed. It’s a horror comedy, and it was actually a lot of fun to make. If people have half the amount of fun watching it as we did making it they really will have a good time.
- So it’s quite light-hearted?
Yeah, it’s very light-hearted. There isn’t actually much stripping in it, so it doesn’t put off a female audience too much! They are girls who play strippers – wonderful girls like Ali Bastian, Coralie Rose, Charlie Bond and Rita Ramnani - but they don’t actually do actually do any stripping (much to my disappointment!)
- I think what springs to mind for many people when they hear about the film is Zombie Strippers, which also starred Robert Englund. Is it similar?
I have to confess that I haven’t actually seen Zombie Strippers, but because it’s got Robert Englund in it a lot of people draw the comparison. I think we’re a bit more boys vs. girls and a bit more tongue in cheek. And of course we’re very British. Most of the film was filmed in Croydon in South London.
- Tell us about your character in the film
My character is always the comedy sidekick because, to be honest, I don’t think people take me seriously!
Well it’s a bit of an odd one! I play Sinclair, who is an expert on werewolves, ghouls, goblins and vampires. He’s sort of a Van Helsing character. I inform the strippers how to beat the werewolves when it comes to the final showdown, so it was great to play.
- So you escaped having to wear the werewolf costumes?
Yeah, I didn’t get to wear the werewolf outfits. I was actually genuinely hoping they would let me wear one of the strippers’ outfits! They did let me one night at the wrap party...it’s a story I’ll never repeat [laughs].
- That didn’t make it into the film though?
No, that didn’t make it in to the film. Though there is probably someone out there with a YouTube link I’m sure!
- Robert Englund plays the character Tapper in the film. How was it working with him?
He’s a really charming guy and he really knew his stuff. Obviously with his Freddy Krueger background he’s no stranger to horror movies. He was a joy to have on set and I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing the head werewolf, because he did such a fantastic job. I really do love him; I hope I get to do something with him again.
- You’ve worked with some other big names recently too haven’t you?
Yeah we’ve got Airborne coming up quite soon which is a feature film with Mark Hamill, the guy who played Luke Skywalker. And, continuing our 1980s actor trend, we worked with Jean Claude Van Damme in UFO. We all have characters and actors that we grew up with, and we put these guys in our films because...well, we can! It’s a nice thing for anyone our age that remembers Luke Skywalker or Freddy Krueger, and the films that were big when we were growing up.
- It must be quite surreal working with these people now if you grew up watching their films?
It is a little surreal. Mark Hamill was an absolute gentleman and it’s great to be able to get these guys involved. I’d say the biggest problem I have is when you’re supposed to be doing a scene and you’re just staring at them. And they turn to you and go ‘Simon, it’s your line’ and you go ‘Dammit! Sorry, can we go again? I was just staring.’ But it’s a nice problem to have.
- So what are UFO and Airborne about?
UFO is an alien invasion movie set in the UK, but it’s a little more complicated than that. All the power shuts off, and nobody quite knows what’s going on. It follows a group of five friends and what they do now that they have no power and don’t know how to contact anybody.
We’ve not done anything like it before. There are a lot of special effects and blue screens. I saw some clips of it the other day and Dominic Burns, the director, has done a wonderful job putting it all together.
Airborne is a science fiction film. It is about an evil spirit that is let loose on a commercial plane heading for New York. I don’t want to give too much away but there’s something not quite right with this plane heading over the Atlantic, and Mark Hamill plays the air traffic controller trying to get a sense of what’s happening. It’s been a few years since we saw a heist movie on a plane. It was very fun to make but they always are. We have the best job in the world.
- You’re quite well known for comedy – do these roles have comedic elements?
Yeah, in every one my character is always the comedy sidekick because, to be honest, I don’t think people take me seriously! [laughs]. So yeah I play a comedic role in both Airborne and UFO, and in Strippers vs. Werewolves I play this Van Helsing kind of character with a gorgeous stripper girlfriend [played by Barbara Nedeljakova]. When you see us together we look mismatched. She is way hotter than me and I look kind of funny. I’ve been told I look like Justin Lee Collins – I’ve got long hair in the film - so that was the greatest compliment I’ve ever received!
- Aside from UFO and Airborne, what else have you been working on?
Later on this year there’s White Collar Hooligan, which is directed by Paul Tanter. It takes a look at hooliganism and is a bit more of a serious role. I’m still quite an amusing character but it’s more of a serious project.
As well as that I’ve just directed my debut called Riot, which is based on the UK riots in August last year. We just finished wrapping last week - it’s with the editor now and it’s still fairly fresh in everybody’s minds. I’m very pleased with how it went - every director needs a good cast and I had one.
- So you’ve been directing and acting - which side of the camera do you prefer to be?
I love all elements of it. Being an actor, being a director – it’s all story telling. Directors are under a very different pressure – you have to be on your game all the time. As actors it’s like ‘oh I’ve worked for 16 minutes today I’m shattered. Somebody get me a coffee!’ but as a director it’s a bit like ‘oh wow…I’ve still got to work.’
Strippers vs. Werewolves is in cinemas April 27.
White Collar Hooligan and Airborne are due for release in July 2012. Riot will be released in September this year, and UFO in January 2013.
Interview by Natalie Littlewood.