Exclusive Interview: Chuck Campbell
Chuck Campbell had little interest in slasher movies or Friday the 13th when he was cast as tech geek Tsunaron in Jason X. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, the Canadian actor was thirty when he co-starred with Kane Hodder in the relatively high budget science fiction romp Jason X, the tenth in the long-running Friday the 13th franchise. In the decade since, Campbell has appeared in the likes of Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis and Sanctuary.
Chuck Campbell looks back on the making of Jason X.
What led to your involvement in Jason X and how did you prepare for the role?
“It was just another audition to be honest. I booked it and jumped in with two feet. Preparation? It’s Friday the 13th part ten. Can you run fast? Can you scream? Good enough. Preparation done.
The original script was much darker than the finished movie. How different was your character in the first draft to the one that you portrayed?
It was a smaller role in the beginning. After a couple of rewrites and some other character changes the role increased along with the dialogue. The character was always a smart ass/genius but by the end of the final draft there was fortunately more of him in the movie.
How did it feel to be working with such a sexy, young cast and who did you gel with the most on set?
Well I won’t argue that the other cast members were easy on the eyes. I have never fallen into the category of sexy. Everyone got along pretty well and there were lots of laughs everyday. I guess you really can’t ask for more when you are working with the same people for 14 hours a day. I really can’t say who I got along with best, but did leave the film without any enemies.
Were you fan of the Friday the 13th movies before you were offered a part in the tenth movie and how confident were you that a sci-fi Jason movie would work?
I had only seen the first one with Kevin Bacon. After talking with James (the director) it was a no brainer. He knew what he wanted to accomplish and had the right attitude in my book to attain it. Finding out that Toy Box was going to be involved with the CGI and visual effects made me feel like we were in good hands.
Looking back on Jason X, how enjoyable was the shoot, do you regret your involvement and how well do you think the movie turned out?
Jason X was a great experience for me at that time in my career. I still talk to some of the original cast to this day. I certainly do not regret working on it. You can’t take these movies too seriously, they are strictly for entertainment. It’s eye candy and cool deaths. Everyone involved in the movie realized this and just tried to make a fun horror movie that people would enjoy and at the same time not piss off the die hard Friday the 13th fans. As far as how it turned out? I was just happy it made it into theaters, the rest is gravy.
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