SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN ‘INTO DEAD STUFF NOW’
The creators of Ash vs. Evil Dead wait all of 34 seconds after new guest star Lee Majors appears before the inevitable Six Million Dollar Man references start flying.
Besides the Bigfoot jokes and a “better, stronger, faster” riff, Majors promises “a bloody good time” in the second-season premiere of the Starz horror comedy (Sunday, 9 p.m. on Super Channel).
The opener introduces Majors as Brock Williams, dad to Bruce Campbell’s Evil Dead mainstay Ash.
Brock is definitely a departure from Majors’ most famous roles, 1970s bionic good guy Steve Austin on ABC’s Six Million Dollar Man and ’80s heroic stuntman Colt Seaver on The Fall Guy. “I got to say some bad words, which I’ve never done,” says the 77-year-old Kentucky native.
Majors was too busy doing family action dramas back then; his first role was in the 1964 movie StraitJacket, and Joan Crawford “chopped my head off with an axe before the credits came on.” But between his new gig and the up- coming video-game adaptation Dead Rising, “I’m into dead stuff now.”
Evil Dead is a gory show. How messy did you get?
In the third episode, I get my first taste of the blood machine. That was unexpected. (Ash is) chainsawing somebody and I get splattered. This little machine is down around your belt buckle, and once the chainsaw started, they threw the blood all over me. I didn’t have a chance to close my eyes; it was up my nose and everywhere else, and you have to stay that way for the next six hours when you’re filming. It’s icky stuff, man. And when it dries, your clothes feel like cardboard.
That’s definitely different from your previous shows.
When I started on Big Valley (in 1965), if we shot somebody, they’d say, “Oh, that’s too much blood,” even if it was a couple of drops around the bullet wound.
What did you and Bruce bond over?
The fact that he’s young and I’m old. (Laughs) I call him Son and he calls me Pop. I don’t like Pop, but I let him get away with it.
Are Deadites worse to deal with than Bigfoot, alligators and other things Steve Austin faced?
I think so. These guys, you keep killing them and they keep coming back. But (Ash) has some funny lines when he retorts back to them.
Who would have been the better dad, Colt or Steve?
I would say Colt Seaver. The Fall Guy was much more to my personality. I got to inject a little humour into that show whenever I could, and Six Mill, there was nothing funny about it. They just ran my butt off and we filmed in such desolate places like rundown utility plants and abandoned Air Force bases. Try running through the woods with bell-bottom pants. There was a lot of tripping involved.
They’re developing a Fall Guy movie. Are you in for a role?
I would love to. They have me in mind. But I wouldn’t go in to just stand there and be recognized. If it’s something significant, sure, I’d be there.