Interview: Stephen Huszar (Rabid)

““Rabid” follows after a young woman, Rose (Laura Vandervoort), suffers a disfiguring accident, she undergoes an experimental stem-cell treatment that leads to unintended consequences. The film premiered at the 2019 Fright Fest, the 2019 Screamfest Horror Film Festival and will be released in theaters on December 13, 2019.  Check out the trailer: https://youtu.be/9X-ktSX14hY

In addition, Huszar can currently be seen starring in “Ruby Herring Mysteries: Her Last Breath”, which follows Ruby Herring (Taylor Cole) and Detective Jake Killian, play by Huszar, who investigate a suspicious fatal car accident. They solve the case, only to find new evidence that casts doubt on their first conclusion. The TV movie is the sequel to “Ruby Herring Mysteries: Silent Witness”, which Huszar also starred in, and is currently airing on the Hallmark Channel and is available on the Hallmark Movies Now app. Check out the trailer: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ltd3u

Stephen is a Canadian film and television actor from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Huszar began his screen career in 2004 with a role in “The Cradle Will Fall”. Quickly he built a list of supporting roles in made-for-television films during the mid-2000s. During the late 2000s, Huszar found recurring work on the series “Paradise Falls” and “Corner Gas”. He also had the good fortune to appear in one of CW’s longest-running series “Smallville”. During the 2010s, Huszar appeared in the direct-to-video horror sequel “30 Days of Night: Dark Days”, followed by work in “Time after Time”, “Faces in the Crowd”, “InSayshable” and continued television work on series including “Cashing In”, “Fringe”, “Continuum”, and “Supernatural”. Huszar also brought one of DC Comics’ supervillians to the screen with his performance as ‘Plunder’ in the series The CW’s “The Flash”. Huszar went on to act in the series “Letterkenny” and the holiday TV movies “Magical Christmas Ornaments” and “Christmas Wedding Planner”.”

Hi Janel, How are you?

I am doing good. Thanks. How are you?

Stephen- Awesome. Thanks so much for having me.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me for Horrornews.net

Stephen- Are you excited about this time of month? I bet you’ve got a lot going on.

I love Halloween. I think Halloween is Christmas for the Horror fans. And, yes it’s a busy season! All the fun movies come out.

(Laughter)

Stephen- That’s a good way to put it. Christmas for Horror fans. I’m pretty stoked about it too. I used to dress up a lot. I’m probably going to dress up this year since, I’ll be back in Toronto. I was filming last year. I haven’t figured out my outfit yet? Maybe I’ll come as my character.

Oh, to be Dominic!!! That would be fun!

Stephen- Oh my God Right! No one would get it though.

(Laughter)

Stephen- It will be my little joke.

Do you have any movies that you love to watch on Halloween?

Stephen- You know what I love to watch back in the day? Rocky Horror Picture Show when I went to university, it was kind of the thing. That was fun. I love vampire movies. Interview with the Vampire is one of my favorites. That still holds up the test of time.

Rocky Horror is amazing and both movies are classics.

Stephen- Yeah, I just watched it recently. It is great film making.

Did you ever see Subspecies with Anders Hove and Denice Duff?

Stephen- No I have not… But, you peaked my interest.

Anders Hove plays this incredible vampire named Radu. You should watch it, if you get a chance.

Stephen- I shall. I will definitely check it out.

Tell us a little bit about Rabid and you got involved?

Stephen- Well, as often with us actors, I was on another set and I taped my audition in a hotel room. The scene that I actually auditioned was, the scene where Dominic comes out of the water to meet Rose. (Laura Vandervoot) That was kind of fun. Unbeknownst to my agent before he saw the tape, I took off my shirt for the audition and he wasn’t too excited about it. For some reason, they didn’t mind. Fast forward two months later, I got to meet the twins (Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska). It was an awesome month and a half of shooting. We are really excited to see the reaction of the rest of the world. The sisters are really excited about paying tribute to David Cronenberg. I had actually driven them to meet him because we’ve become really good friends. It was to update him on how things are going.

That is awesome though. What was it like working with Jen and Sylvia as directors?

Stephen- It was a really inspiring set. We had a lot of freedom as creative artists. They have a different kind of style. They gave us a lot of freedom for how we wanted the scenes to play out. This is a huge stepping stone for them and they’re going to continue to create phenomenal projects. I truly enjoyed it. They are also Hungarians and I am a full-blooded Hungarian as well which always helps so we have the vampire bloodline in us.

That is awesome. Lots of talent and wonderful history.

Stephen- Isn’t it, no it’s great! My family tree goes back eight or nine hundred years in the Transylvania area of Hungary. It was nice to have that connection.

Did you have to do anything to prepare to play Dominic?

Stephen- Well, I have played a few vampires in the past without giving away what’s going on. For me, losing my mind is not a big deal.

Isn’t that true for all of us.

(Laughter)

Stephen- It comes naturally to me. There is sort of that element of crossing over and losing who you are. Sort of shedding the past I suppose. I do enjoy darker roles. I could pull on some previous experiences. The character starts off as a soap opera star so I actually have played similar roles so it was something I could connect to.

Did you always know that you wanted to do this?

Stephen- The greater the light, the stronger the shadow… is what life is about. I do tend to like to do comedies and make people laugh. There is so much more to the spectrum. I’ve always been interested in the other side. That darker world and to uncover the secrets that we often don’t talk about as a society.

What was it like for you working with this cast?

Stephen- It was awesome. Most of my scenes are with Laura. She is phenomenal, she’s a superstar. That was our first time working together. You dive in and do the best work. Everyone is going for it and it’s all about the art. It was great to work on a set that had that kind of energy.

What do you want to say to the fans?

Stephen- Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

I want to thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today.

Stephen- Thank you.

@stephenhuszar on Twitter and Instagram

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1815849/?ref_=tt_cl_t2

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5628902/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_7