Interview: John Fallon (Dead Shadows)

SuperMarcey.com is proud to bring you this interview with DEAD SHADOWS star John Fallon.

DEAD SHADOWS is the new release film from Gryphon Entertainment, it will hit shelves July 22nd on DVD and Blu-ray (inc 3D). The film is a sci-fi/horror/action/thriller, one to excite audiences from director David Cholewa

We here at SM.com are delighted to bring you this interview, John is absolutely fantastic in the film.

Marcey Papandrea: For the uninitiated can you tell us a bit about what Dead Shadows is about?

John Fallon: It’s about a comet that passes over the earth which prompts humans to mutate into horrible creatures. We focus on the action in Paris, France.

Marcey: How did the role of John come about for you?

John: Director David Cholewa and I met in Cannes in 2005 or 2006 and became friends. He was a sales agent at the time and he told me that one day when he’d direct his first film he’d want me in it. So when he got Dead Shadows off the ground, he kept to his word, he called me up, offered me the role, I read the script, liked it, accepted and it was on! He’s one of my best mates today. Surviving a tough shoot will do that 🙂

Marcey: The role is one that appears to have been quite demanding physically and mentally, how did you prepare for that?

John: Physically I trained hard before the shoot to gain some mass. But once I got to Paris four weeks before the shoot, finding a Gym to sustain what I had gained was impossible (long story). So I figured, if I can’t retain the mass, I may as well be lean for the role. So protein shakes, red wine and French sausages became my diet. And crunches and push ups my work-out .

Mentally; what I liked about the character was that I had lots of room to create. On paper, all we knew about him was that he was a tough guy and owned lots of weapons. So I invented a back-story for him (I gave him a military background for example) which I often went back to in my head as to the WHY behind his actions.

Marcey: John is certainly a stand out character, how much of that was in the script and how much did you put into the role?

John: Well like I said, on paper he was a badass and that was pretty much it. The bulk of the character development was focused on the young lead (played by Fabian Wolfrom). So what I tried to do is convey that he’s a man that doesn’t like people and is a borderline sociopath. He is not a happy person as he lacks purpose. But once the alien invasion kicked in, suddenly he finds himself back in his element and finds purpose again. In terms of dialogue, I built off the fun lines that were there. David was cool with me tweaking my lines here and there and yes I wound up improvising on set.

Marcey: The film has a lot of FX, what was that experience like for you?

John: I wasn’t subjected to it as much as some of the other actors on the show, but when I had to deal with it, it went fine, you just work with it. This wasn’t the first film I worked on that was FX heavy, so I knew what to expect and to deal with it.

Marcey: What are you currently working on?

John: We’re presently finishing Post Production on an action film that I wrote and starred in called Billy Trigger. The flick also stars Fred Williamson and I am very happy with it. So once done, we will try to get it in a couple of Festivals and then lock distribution for it. Check out its official blog here: http://billytrigger.com/

Another action film that I wrote and acted in called American Muscle is also finishing up its Post. The flick stars solid gents Nick Principe and Todd Farmer. It’s an old fashioned revenge flick but with a Lynch-ish vibe to it. Should be interesting.

Finally, I am presently gearing up for my feature length directorial debut called The Shelter. It’s a supernatural drama and it’s set to star Michael Pare. We’re going to put out a crowd-funding campaign in the hopes of beefing up our budget and we should enter production in January of 2014. You can find out more about it on its Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/thesheltermovie. Cheers!

Sending many thanks to John for taking the time out to have a chat with us here, and we wish him luck with DEAD SHADOWS and the exciting projects he is currently working on. Please show some support and check out the links!

DEAD SHADOWS is available to order on DVD and Blu-ray, click the pictures below for details