Majors relishes doing ‘dead and dad’ roles
Lee Majors wants to point something out.
Though his best-known TV shows — the ’60s western “The Big Valley” and ’70s and ’80s action adventures “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Fall Guy” — had some rough-and-tumble sequences, they were fairly muted compared to what passes for physical conflict on the small screen in 2016.
In a wickedly inspired stroke, the folks at Starz cast Majors in the second season of “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” the campy, bloody, profane TV update of Sam Raimi’s beloved horror films. Majors steps into the shoes of Brock Williams, father of “Evil Dead” anti-hero Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell), with all the arrogant bluster one would expect from Ash’s old man.
The role has been keeping Majors away from his adopted Houston home, with press events in San Diego, Los Angeles, Austin and New York. But at 77, he’s clearly relishing the opportunity to fight the undead. Before the season premiere Sunday night, Majors talked about his past and present in television, and logistical issues that arise with fake blood.
Q: Tell us a about your involvement with “Ash vs. Evil Dead.” You seem to be at all the conventions these days.
A: Well, yeah, it’s interesting. (Laughs.) I was just at a conference in Austin for four or five days, and they had a film festival along with it. They screened the first two episodes of the season for about 200 people, and the fans just went crazy for the stuff. It’s bloody, and it’s horror, but it’s very funny.
I never thought I’d be doing horror — my entire career has been series that were a little more family oriented. They were action shows, but “Six Mil,” “The Fall Guy” and “Big Valley” were shows the family could gather around. This one, they asked if I’d be interested in playing Ash’s father. I didn’t tell them that I wasn’t familiar with the movies. I was familiar with Bruce Campbell from “Burn Notice” and some other stuff he’s done. And Lucy Lawless. It had a good cast.
So I thought I’d watch the first two episodes of the first season. Instead, I went through all 10 in one sitting. It just pulled me in because it was so funny. And Bruce, he’s a very underrated actor. It’s very hard to do what he does. So we got to go toe to toe a little bit, have some fun. There’s some animosity in the beginning between the characters.
Q: They give you some good lines.
A: Yes, I got some great lines, and some references to my Bionic show. Ash shows me his hand, and I say, “What the hell is that?” He says, “It was made special for me. Makes me better. Stronger.” And I say, “Faster?” Q: Was it different ap- proaching a role like this, in which your characteristics are connected to a pre-existing character like Ash?
A: Yes. And when I watched the first season, I could tell who Ash was and what he was about. So you come in with a similar temperament, the same attitudes. I wanted people to see him and think, “Oh, yeah, that’s Ash’s dad.” I tell you, this show could only be on Starz. It’s totally unrated. They just let them go. I’m from old-school television, where you couldn’t show any blood. In “The Big Valley” somebody would get shot, and they’d be like, “Too much blood! Take it off!” And here the four-letter words come fast and furious, too.
Q: So it’s safe to say this is the bloodiest show you’ve ever done? The blood eventually finds you, right?
A: Oh, yes. I don’t really get into the blood until the third episode. It’s fun, except I wasn’t quite expecting how it would happen. The chain saw started, and there was a machine underneath me, about belt high. And all of the sudden the spatter came. I didn’t close my eyes, so it got up in my nose and in my eyes. Now I know better. Close your eyes before it hits. They don’t tell you that. So you walk around all day in bloody clothes. It gets sticky, but it doesn’t really dry. And it sticks to your skin.
I made sure I cleaned up before I went to the hotel. We shot in New Zealand; fortunately, there’s a direct flight from Houston. But I got cleaned up and went back to my hotel and stopped to get something from the bar to take to my room. The bartender looked at me funny. I’d forgotten to get the blood around my neck. I got to the room, and my wife said, “You look like a mess.”
Q: From New Zealand … do you take a midnight plane to Houston?
A: (Laughs.) I see you’ve done your homework. Jim Weatherly is a friend of mine. We used to play flag football together. We were in L.A. and Farrah had to fly out, and she told him she was taking the midnight plane to Houston. He was with me when we dropped her off. He came back to my place two or three weeks later with his guitar and played that song. Gladys Knight told him, “We don’t take planes, and we don’t go to Houston.” So they changed it.
Q: You haven’t had much opportunity to do comedy. But you seem to be enjoying it.
A: Yes, comedy was the lure for this one. If it was just horror, I wouldn’t have done it. But they mix in the comedy, and I can’t stop laughing. But lately, yes, I’ve been playing a lot of dads. I played Garrett Dillahunt’s father in “Raising Hope.” And a few other dads. But dead is in now. In fact, I was just reading that in the Chronicle today. Horror flicks are doing tremendously. The story said nobody wants to see “Bridget Jones.” They want “Blair Witch 2,” even knowing it was bad. In November, I start filming “Dead Rising,” which is based on a video game. So that’s what I do: dead and dad.
Q: I’ve heard “The Six Million Dollar Man” wasn’t your favorite thing to shoot.
A: No, it wasn’t my favorite. “The Fall Guy” was my favorite. I had more fun doing that. It was lighter, and we got to inject some humor into it. But it was so hard and difficult to shoot “Six Mil.” Doing all the stunts and stuff.
Q: Do you ever think about how your career might’ve gone if you’d stuck with Harvey Yeary as your name?
A: No, not really. That guy and that name doesn’t exist anymore.