by Mike Schoonveld:
He was only 11 years old when he got the role of Billy Hill in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, but Jeffrey Landman isn’t just an actor. He is an artiste. Having a magnificent stage presence, he has starred in such productions as Les Miserables, Falsettos, Annie Get Your Gun and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, to name a few. Aside from his stage acting, he has done some television work on shows The Magic School Bus, Gulla Gulla Island and Saturday Night Live. Not only can he act, but he can sing, too. He provided back-up vocals for singers Gloria Estefan, Little Richard, Maureen McGovern and Michael Jackson.
Jeffrey also holds a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts!
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jeffrey and am very pleased to have him in our 35 Years of HALLOWEEN retrospective here at DarkMedia!
Mike Schoonveld: Jeffrey thank you so much for joining me here at DarkMedia as we celebrate 35 Years of HALLOWEEN!
Jeffrey Landman: I’m happy to be here!
MS: Tell us about how you got the part of Billy Hill in Halloween 5?
JL: I was performing at the time in Les Misérables on Broadway, and my agent sent me to an audition for Halloween 5, on my 11th birthday. After two call backs, I got the job and flew to Salt Lake City to start shooting. All within two weeks!
MS: Very nice! And a nice birthday present! It was your first feature film role. How excited were you, being so young, to know you were going to be in a movie?
JL: I was beyond thrilled. However, being so young, I am not sure I understood the scope of it at the time. It wasn’t until the movie opened and I went to the local movie theater where I always went to see movies that I fully understood how major it was.
MS: When you finally knew how big this movie was, what was your reaction at that point? Did it give you a good feeling knowing you were in something so big that had a huge following?
JL: Even that was a bit of a shock to me as well. Being so young, I was unaware of how beloved and cherished the Halloween movies are. I knew about the legacy of the films, but I don’t think I FULLY comprehended their impact until I was a little older. I just thought it was cool to be in a horror movie!
MS: Did you watch any of the other Halloween films before shooting?
JL: The night before I flew to Salt Lake City, my family and I watched Halloween 3. Needless to say, we were quite confused. When I arrived on location, Danielle Harris had a copy of Halloween 4, which had not yet been released on VHS. So I watched it with her and it clarified things for me.
MS: That’s awesome! So after watching that, you knew what you were getting yourself into. Were you at all scared on set?
JL: I was never scared of Michael Myers or anything like that. As far as I was concerned, it was just Donald Shanks in a mask. The scary stuff mainly involved some of the stunt work we did: we were really running in a field with a car chasing us, and stuff like that. The stunt doubles were not used as much as people might think.
MS: The chase scene in the field, in my opinion, is probably one of the most intense scenes in the film. How long did that take, if you can recall, to shoot that scene?
JL: I love that sequence so much. I don’t remember exactly how long it took to film, but I remember spending a lot of time in that field/farmhouse area. Between the party scenes, the barn scenes and the field chases, we were there at least a few weeks. The car chase was originally much more graphic and was one of the reasons the film initially received an X rating. Billy being hit by the car was supposed to show more, the car rolling over me, etc., but was deemed “too much” due to Billy being so young.
MS: I had heard Halloween 5 received an X rating for its more graphic content. I’m glad they didn’t show Billy getting run over. That might have been too much to see, even for the fans.
JL: I should track down the footage if it’s still out there – maybe a “director’s cut” special edition DVD is in order!
MS: YES! I think so! You and Danielle had very good chemistry on screen and the moment she gives Billy a kiss on the cheek is a very touching moment. Your reaction was absolutely adorable. Was that written in the script or was it a natural moment that just happened?
JL: I think the script said that Billy blushes, or something to that effect. I love that moment as well, and it really sets up later in the movie when Billy puts himself in some pretty dangerous situations to protect Jamie, as much as a 10 year old can. My first on screen kiss at age 11! Rock on!
MS: YEAH! It was a very sweet moment. I still get a little smile when I watch that scene because you played Billy with such depth and soul and you made him human, somebody we really cared about.
JL: Thank you very much!
MS: What is the one lasting memory have from being in Halloween 5?
JL: When we were filming the car chase, it was movie magic at it’s finest, and I am so grateful to have been a part of that entire sequence. As an 11 year old, it was so exciting watching trained stunt drivers smash through a fence at full speed, blowing up a car by smashing into a tree head on and drive through a massive mirror (that’s how it looked like the car was right behind me: movie magic). We were all invited to watch that stuff happen and it was special and awesome to be there.
MS: That’s amazing and really fun to hear, and the scene was shot beautifully. You guys did a great job on that!
JL: I can only take credit for my running.
MS: But at least it was you running and not a stunt double! I think when actors perform most of their own stunts, it makes it more real.
JL: I fully agree. And as a performer, I feel a greater sense of pride about that part of the movie.
MS: And that’s one of the greatest accomplishments for being an actor! You have an impressive body of work, especially on the stage.
JL: At the time I started work on Halloween 5, I was appearing on Broadway. After shooting the movie, I went right back to work on the stage and in the recording studio, which is where the majority of my work has been since.
MS: Do you prefer live acting versus being on a film set?
JL: To me, they are completely different skill sets and I love them both for various reasons. On stage, there’s the immediate response from an audience, which is electric. However, on film, you have the chance to work until you are perfect. And film is less limiting in terms of what kind of stories you can tell. Either way, I just want to get the story across.
MS: Anything you are working on now?
JL: I have a few fun projects in the pipeline, but nothing I am able to talk about yet.
MS: Great! Hopefully DarkMedia will be the first to know?
JL: I promise you the exclusive!
MS: Excellent!
JL: I will be at the 35 Years of Terror convention this November, so come see me there!
MS: You already answered my next question! Haha! Any other conventions planned after 35 Years of Terror?
JL: No others set as of right now, but I am trying to work out a few possibilities. I really love doing conventions. It’s so great getting to spend time with fans and meeting everyone!
MS: How excited are you to attend the 35 Years of Terror convention?
JL: I am thrilled! There are a few other guests that I have not seen at conventions before that I am excited to see, as well as the fans. I especially love the Halloween-based conventions, for obvious reasons.
MS: Halloween is probably the biggest series to have such a large audience and it only seems to grow with every convention, DVD release, etc. I have had a lot of readers who messaged me about who they would love to have me interview and your name popped up quite a few times so this is a major treat! Is there anything you want to say to the fans?
JL: Thanks for all of your support/tweets, etc. Keep enjoying the movies! PS – you can find me on twitter @jeffreylandman.
MS: I was going to ask about twitter! Jeffrey thank you so much for joining me here at DarkMedia as we look back at 35 Years of HALLOWEEN. It has been a great privilege, and I thank you so much for this interview!
JL: My pleasure – hope everyone has a great Halloween this year! It’s almost time!
MS: I think I might go as a pirate!
JL: HA!
DarkMedia contributor Mike Schoonveld covers mainly movies, and there’s nothing that gets his blood going like a good horror film, old and new. When he’s not writing or watching horror, you can find him catching re-runs of television shows like I Love Lucy, The Simpsons, and Reba, among many. Last year, Mike was able to flex his writing muscles by submitting a screenplay to the Shriekfest Film and Screenplay festival where he was a finalist for “Best Feature Screenplay.” While he didn’t win, that hasn’t stopped him from pushing forward to establish a screenwriting career in horror. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @horrorguy30, Stage32.com and you can check out his blog at horrorguy30.blogspot.com.
Mike is currently working on two scripts: Slicer: The Sauk County Massacre (formerly titled Hell Weekend) and The Haunting of Willow Falls Manor.
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