Gruemonkey interviews Johnny Lee (Coyote Hills, Weedjies:Halloweed Night)!!
Hello Grue-Lings,
Today we bring to you all a interview with a young talented actor, Johnny Lee.
Johnny Lee is an American Film and Television Actor. Major Marvel Comics and Star Wars guy. He has performed all over the united states. He is best known for the award winning short “The Gate: Nothing Is Coming” on Crypt TV and for his comic relief lead role in “Halloweed Night: Meet the Weedjies”. Let’s find out more about this young actor now with our interview below:
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GRUEMONKEY: Welcome to Gruemonkey Johnny. What made you wanna become an actor and what was your first gig?
JOHNNY: Thank you so much for having me Rocky, it’s a pleasure to be here. Let’s see… I’ve always admired actor/comedians that could completely captivate your attention… like Danny Kaye, and Dick Van Dyke they were and still are some of my largest aspirations. I think that’s where the idea first occurred.
My first paying gig was a musical called Too Many Girls I actually met my, now, wife working on that show. My first film gig was a few years later, I starred in a lifetime movie called A woman’s nightmare (The title has changed a few times since release, but you can find it I think, on my IMDB). I was pretty bad in it (laughs) but I am thankful for the opportunity Brian Skiba, the director, gave me.
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GRUEMONKEY: I’m sure you were fine in the Lifetime movie. I read you are a big Marvel Comics and Star Wars geek. Going to put you on that spot. What is your favorite Marvel character and why and your favorite Star Wars character and why?
JOHNNY: ALWAYS ready to talk MARVEL COMICS and Star Wars! Hands down, Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch part of The Fantastic Four hands down has been my favorite since I was six years old. Read just about everything with him in it. I loved how funny he was, he flirted with girls, drove cool cars, and made the best jokes, all while caring about his family. Plus we have the same name! Marvel comics, and the possible Fantastic Four Reboot for the MCU are some of the reasons I refocused my career from stage to screen.
Star Wars is a bit harder for me, there are so many favorites. If we stick strictly to the movies, I would say Obi-Wan in ROTS. But if we head into the video games, Revan from the Knights of the Old Republic takes the cake.
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GRUEMONKEY: Very good choices. Fantastic Four rocks!! I love that you were involved with a couple horror films. What are some of your favorite horror movies and why?
JOHNNY: I’ve been super lucky to get to work with some of the greats. I’m pretty new to the horror genre, I didn’t grow up on them. But the puppet master series is amazing, and I’ll shout out Hellraiser: Judgment cause a friend on mine, Paul Taylor, plays Pinhead beautifully.
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GRUEMONKEY: Hellraiser: Judgement was actually pretty good. A lot of die hard horror fans didn’t like it because Pinhead wasn’t Doug Bradley. You did a horror short for Crypt TV called The Gate Nothing is Coming. What can you tell us about the short and your character?
JOHNNY: This one was so fun, I saw it was a short based on a horror comic (being a comic guy) I had to be a part of the fun. I played Tim, a smitten high schooler. Tim and Sarah are escaping some pretty wild circumstances, they get mugged and are then saved by THE GATE. A Venom like demon who pulls his victims into the portal in its chest.
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GRUEMONKEY: Wow, that sounds awesome. I have to see it. Were you a fan of Crypt TV before filming The Gate Nothing is Coming?
JOHNNY: To be completely honest I wasn’t aware of it before hand. But I am now!
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GRUEMONKEY: What would you do to survive if you had an Unstoppable Monster like the one from The Gate Nothing is Coming, trying to kill you?
JOHNNY: Having seen the damage THE GATE can do, not sure there is any escape. Might try and be friends though if he is up for it, he seems like a cool dude.
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GRUEMONKEY: Good strategy. I would do the same thing too (laughs). I’m a huge fan of Charles Band and Full Moon Pictures. How did you get involved with Charles and Full Moon to film Weedjies: Halloweed Night?
JOHNNY: First off – Charles Band is a super nice guy, and what an eye for business and career longevity. I did a few auditions with Jessica Hughes the casting director for a lot of Full Moon projects. Then got to read for Danny Draven ( another fantastically nice guy) and Charles Band himself. After reading they offered me the part in the room, which is not very common… and ALWAYS awesome. Actors often have to wait a week or two to find out.
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GRUEMONKEY: Wow, that is awesome dude. Congrats on that. If you watched Full Moon films, what were some of your favorites and why?
JOHNNY: Puppet Master, and Weedjies of course!
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GRUEMONKEY: Tell us what Weedjies is about and your character in the film?
JOHNNY: Weedjies, is like Gremlins go to Vegas. It is a campy love note to horror in the 80s. My character Claude is a geek who specializes in making wild strains of weed. He uses this skill to get invited to a Halloween party so he can try and win over the girl he loves.
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GRUEMONKEY: You would be the hit of the party if you show up with a lot of Weed (Laughs). What is your favorite scene in Weedjies?
JOHNNY: There is this scene where I get to dance pretty terribly in character, which was SO much fun to film… and personally… I think might be the best scene in the film! (Laughs). I feel like Danny Draven and I added so many lines and bits to the film throughout the process. It was great fun.
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GRUEMONKEY: You probably won’t win any dance awards or appear on Dancing with the Stars (Laughs). What’s your favorite kill in Weedjies?
JOHNNY: I don’t want to spoil anything… but there is a GREAT scene with two metal heads….
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GRUEMONKEY: I know exactly the scene your talking about. Great. If you and some friends were partying, drinking, smoking and somehow unleashed some creatures. What would you do to try to get them to go back where they came from? (Laughs).
JOHNNY: I think if you unleash creatures from another dimension you’ve probably hit your max. (laughs) Seriously though, a peace offering of Whataburger would be pretty hard to pass up… even for an immortal being.
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GRUEMONKEY: (Laughs) True. Tell us about your character and what about the show Coyote Hills?
JOHNNY: I play Lucas Kowalski, an outsider and sole-writer for the Daily Howl, he is son of the police chief and has a knack for getting into trouble. Might be my favorite role to date. Coyote Hills and a fantastic new sci-fi leaning teen drama. A cross between Riverdale and Stranger things. It’s dark, with some really nice humor, and we just premiered on the new streaming service Rivit TV!
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GRUEMONKEY: I love Riverdale and Stranger Things. I’m sure I’ll like Coyote Hills. Any funny or fun behind the scenes stories you can share with us that happened while filming Coyote Hills?
JOHNNY: Ah man, where to begin. We shot the show in Guadalajara, Mexico which was beautiful. However, having lived in Texas & California for as long as I have, I don’t speak a lick on Spanish. The vast majority of the crew were native Spanish speakers so it was their preferred language, naturally. Sometimes I wouldn’t know if we cut or were still rolling and would have to ask Vico (One of the other three leads) what was going on! Yikes. I swore I would learn some Spanish next time I filmed in Mexico, but just recently flew back out there to work on a Netflix show and sadly… I hadn’t learned a damn thing. (laughs).
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GRUEMONKEY: Learning Spanish is hard. Anything else you want to promote or discuss?
JOHNNY: Always! I am pretty active on Instagram and love to connect with fans and those interested in keeping up with my work. You can find me @JohnnyLeeIsMe. I’m always down to talk comics!
I also want to encourage you all to check out Coyote Hills at www.RivitTV.com, you can watch our pilot for free, don’t even need to make an account!
Lastly, go out to support your local comic shop and read a comic book if you can. Lots of shops will ship or curbside pick during the Quarentine!
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Speed Round:
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Celebrity Crush? Tom Holland, duh, have you seen how talented that guy is?
Guilty Pleasure TV show and Movie you are currently watching? I think I have watched Thor: Ragnarok forty times this year already. Also, Hard days night, That thing you do… aaaand the Princess Bride.
Who is currently on your playlist? Jack White, Nickel Creek, a lot of Motown lately… and the sound track to FROZEN II. It’s frankly, brilliant.
Hidden Talents or something fans and people might not know know about you? I studied Shaolin do kung fu and Tai Chi for quite a few years and I love to get back into it occasionally.
Favorite Karaoke song? Tequila – The Champs
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GRUEMONKEY: Thank you for the interview.
JOHNNY: My absolute pleasure, thanks for having me, and stay safe out there Super friends!
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