With more than 200 TV and film credits to his name, veteran actor Michael Ironside has one of the most recognizable faces – and voices – in Hollywood. His resume includes everything from sci-fi fare like Starship Troopers to family-friendly offerings like Free Willy, but Ironside is probably best known for the villains he’s portrayed over the years.
In Turbo Kid, hitting select theaters and VOD outlets this Friday, Ironside portrays a megalomaniacal warlord who controls the water supply in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. But this Mad Max-inspired tale is a tongue-in-cheek homage to 80s genre films, where souped-up cars have been replaced by BMX bikes and our hero dresses like a video game character.
Earlier this week, we spoke with Michael Ironside via telephone about his seemingly endless work schedule, his experience working on Turbo Kid, and how he got involved with The Flash. Check it out below.
First things first, thanks for taking a few minutes for me today. I’ve been a fan of yours since I was a kid, with stuff like Top Gun and Total Recall and all that, so this is pretty cool to get a chance to chat with you.
Michael Ironside: So that makes you, what – 37?
No, I’m 33.
Michael Ironside: 33, alright. I usually tell people’s age by the films that they reference, because I’ve been around for a long time.
That’s actually one thing I wanted to ask you about. It seems like you’ve worked pretty consistently. Whether it’s been television or voiceovers, smaller films or bigger films, you seem to be constantly working. Do you ever just get worn out, and feel like you need some time away?
Michael Ironside: I do, and when I do I step away for a little bit. But I enjoy working. What else are you gonna do? Sit around and garden, play some golf? Eventually, it just gets kind of boring. It’s where I feel most alive, when I’m working.
I can’t sleep the night before a job – whether it’s a two-day guest star, or a six-month lead in a feature film – I’m just never able to sleep the last night before it starts. And my oldest daughter said “the night you can sleep before a job will probably be when you should hang it up.” And that’s a good measuring stick.
I’ve often heard musicians say that if they’re not nervous before walking out onstage, then something is wrong.
Michael Ironside: For me, it’s a good point of reference – I’ve got something at stake, I’ve got something to learn. The great thing about acting is that there’s always more to learn. I’m trying things now that I don’t think I was willing to try thirty year ago. The idea of being humiliated or embarrassed, or afraid to reach too far for something for fear of falling – now I kind of embrace that. I really wanna try new things.
Speaking of new things, I sat down and watched Turbo Kid last night. It had a sort of Road Warrior vibe, but it was like through the lens of Buckaroo Banzai.
Michael Ironside: That’s a really good cross-reference. In a good week, I get about five or six scripts. Most of them are derivative of other films and they’re not very good – once in awhile, I’ll get something that’s good. This one, I actually read twice – I couldn’t believe it was this good.
I think I was in Belarus or some bloody place shooting, and I talked to the directors on Skype and we agreed on some parameters for the story. And they told me they wanted to pay an homage to the kind of sci-fi splatter films from the late 70s and early 80s. Did you enjoy the film?
I did. I had wanted to catch it at SXSW, but I couldn’t make it work with the schedule I had, so I’d been anxiously awaiting a chance to see it.
Michael Ironside: It’s a wonderful curiosity of a film. My 16-year-old daughter and my wife, we were up at the Montreal Film Festival about six weeks ago and they knew nothing about the film, other than that I went off and did it a year and a half ago while my daughter was in school. So she said “tell me about it,” and I said “no, I’m not gonna tell you anything. I’m just gonna let you walk in, and then you can tell me what you think.”
So after the ballyhoos and the bows and all that shit the film came up, and about two minutes in my daughter said “why did you do this?” Then about 15 minutes later she leaned over and said “I get it,” and by 30 minutes in she was laughing and involved with the escalating insanity of the film. I don’t know how to say this… it’s an event. It almost feels like Rocky Horror Picture Show, in a way. I’ve never been in a film where the audience is so boisterous and so vocal while watching it. It was fun.
You know, you’ve got Aaron Jeffery from down in New Zealand who plays the stereotypical Clint Eastwood type, where he takes the stick out of his mouth and flips it away, says “see ya around,” and then gets on a three-wheeled bike and pedals away. And nobody passes comment on the performances – we tried to keep it well within the lines of that genre, and let the directors and producers and editors mess with it later. It was an absolute joy.
I think that’s one of the things I really enjoyed about it. It’s so absurd, with everyone riding around on BMX bikes and tricycles and wearing ridiculous costumes. But it’s played so earnestly, and that’s what I loved.
Michael Ironside: Actually, I did not expect it to be cut the way it was, and edited the way it was. When they cut this naturalistically, I was shocked. But these directors, they brought out the best in everybody. I remember one day – I guess you’d call it the coliseum in the swimming pool scene – we were supposed to have 300 extras show up for that. And because of changes in locations and when we were shooting, a lot of them got mixed up and didn’t show up – I think like 37 or 40 people shows up, and they had expected this huge crowd.
And they just laughed and said “we’ll do what we have to do, we’ll make some adjustments.” And we went ahead and shot with this smaller crowd and made it very personal. It’s kind of like guerilla filmmaking, thinking on your feet with people who knew exactly what they were doing. Other people would’ve gotten frightened or pissed off, and they just said “it’ll be what it is, let’s have fun.” They embraced every day’s work, and those are the kind of people you want to show up for.
One last thing I wanted to ask you about – it looks like you’re going to be showing up in the next season of The Flash as Captain Cold’s father?
Michael Ironside: Yeah, one of the producers is a friend of mine – I’ve known him for year and he’s been trying to get me on that show. I went up to Eugene, Oregon and did this film, and while I was there he called up and said “where the hell are you? You wanna play golf?” And he’s up in British Columbia, where they shoot The Flash.
I said “I’m up in Eugene shooting this film,” and he said “when you’re done, come on up and we’ll do a couple of days on The Flash and then go play some golf.” And that’s exactly what I did, I went up and played the ice man’s father, and I had a ball doing it. And I played some pretty good golf, too.
Turbo Kid released on VOD and in select theaters on Friday, August 28th.