Editor’s Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on October 3, 2014, and we’re proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.
When WWE Studios announced its intention to reboot the campy Leprechaun franchise with the more serious Leprechaun: Origins, its choice for the lead was an obvious one: wrestler Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl, who had previously donned leprechaun garb in the ring. FANGORIA spoke to the actor about his new take on the Irish evildoer.
Leprechaun: Origins, directed by Zach Lipovsky (see interview here) and out on DVD and Blu-ray from Lionsgate Home Entertainment, is set in a rural area of the Emerald Isle. Two young couples (played by Stephanie Bennett, Andrew Dunbar, Melissa Roxburgh and Brendan Fletcher) are advised by some dubiously motivated villagers to bunk at a remote house, where they are set upon by the Leprechaun—who eschews the rhyming of Warwick Davis’ previous incarnation in favor of unrepressed savagery. This deviation, Postl says, was entirely intentional…
Were you a fan of or familiar with the original Leprechaun films before you took on this one?
You know, I’ve never seen any of ’em! All these interviews I’ve done, I always tell ’em that. They just looked really cheesy and hokey to me, so when I was approached to be in this movie, and they told me, “We want to do a remake of Leprechaun,” I thought at first, “This isn’t going to go well at all.” But it couldn’t be further from the original; it really is completely different.
So the film didn’t grow out of your WWE persona—it came to you as an unconnected project?
Yeah, and Zach and I talked about it about a month before we started shooting; he gave me his concept and showed me his ideas for the costume and the prosthetics and all that. I was immediately blown away, because I thought it was gonna be pretty much the Hornswoggle character, in my little green suit. But it’s literally nothing like that, and it is absolutely nothing like the original.
Another thing I liked about this movie is, unless you find killing and slashing and jump-scares to be humorous, there is nothing funny about this movie. There’s maybe a one-liner here or there from the other characters, but this Leprechaun isn’t the least bit comical. No limericks this time, thank God!
Did you look into any classic mythology about leprechauns to prepare for the role?
You know what the funny thing is, when I first met up with Zach, I asked him, “Do I need to look over anything, or is there anything you want me to do to research this character?” and he said, “I don’t know what to tell you.” [Laughs] He just said, “Think of your mannerisms, of what you would do in the prosthetics, how you would move and how you would walk,” etc. It was more so that than reading about any previous mythology or watching the past movies; it was all about what I would do. Zach worked very well with me in terms of, “How do you think you would handle this situation? How would you get up this hill, or slash that person?” It was a lot of working together, especially with the prosthetics, seeing what would work with those.
That was more of a concern, because it was such an elaborate outfit, some stuff just didn’t come off right, so it was a work in progress every day. I got together with Lindala Schminken FX up in Vancouver, for the first week before we started shooting. We worked on the suit for about five days, six to eight hours a day, just molding everything and fixing everything and refining every little piece of it. I’ve never been closer to passing out in my life than when we did my head cast. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been involved with, having my face totally wrapped up so they could get the exact shape of my head and features. That was scarier than any part of the movie for me, but it was a lot of fun working with those guys. They were absolutely amazing, and together we made sure everything fit right and moved right, and that I was comfortable in all of it.
Did being transformed prosthetically help you play the character; were you able to lose yourself under the makeup?
The minute I put on the headpiece, I could easily morph into and become the character. That made it much easier; I know for a fact that I couldn’t have pulled it off the way I did if it wasn’t for the prosthetics.
Did you separate yourself from the actors playing your victims, or were you friendly with them off-camera?
No, they were awesome. I still talk to them all the time. We couldn’t have been closer, and a couple of them have come out to my shows, the WWE live events. They were so wonderful to work with, and willing to do anything, even on the long days and nights.
Did you have a lot of fun playing such an evil character?
Man, it was great! I couldn’t be happier with what we did. It is so on the other side of the spectrum from what people are probably expecting, whether they be WWE fans or Leprechaun fans. I really, really hope they enjoy it.
One assumes the WWE people are thinking franchise with this one; do you have any thoughts on where you’d like to see the Leprechaun go in future films?
Not space, or the hood, or back to the hood! None of those places. If they did, like, Leprechaun goes to Disney World, that would be awesome; that would be my dream [laughs]. But seriously, I really hope we can turn it into a franchise. I’m not giving any spoilers here, but there are definitely ways it can go, and different stories we could tell, which would be amazing. I would love to do more.
Are you going to appear as this Leprechaun at any of your upcoming live shows?
I doubt it; I don’t know if the Leprechaun could make it into the ring, let’s just say that [laughs]! Those ropes and those stairs might be a doozy for him.
Has there been any discussion of crossing the Leprechaun over with other WWE film characters?
We joked about it at New York Comic-Con, Glen “Kane” Jacobs and I; he did See No Evil 2, and we were joking about how his character and the Leprechaun would exchange back and forth. We couldn’t come up with a definitive winner, but it would be quite a fun movie to do.
How about more films outside of WWE and Leprechaun?
Well, I did Muppets Most Wanted just before Leprechaun, and I’ve been a Muppet fanatic all my life. So going from that, a funny song-and-dance movie, to a scary film like Leprechaun was a complete 180, and I would love to continue to do film work.
Is there any other kind of horror character you’d be interested in playing?
I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about that. I just thought about, man, I’d love to get into movies, get into acting, maybe do a comedy here and there. I mean, there are always roles for people of my stature, and Peter Dinklage is doing pretty well for himself these days, so who knows—maybe I can join him!
