Australian born actor Costas Mandylor stars Mark Hoffman in Saw VI, the latest installment in what is now the highest grossing horror franchise in history, which splatters its way into Aussie cinemas on October 22nd. Introduced to audiences in Saw III, Costas’ character was originally perceived as a heroic detective determined to bring an end to Jigsaw’s reign of terror, but by the end of the fourth film, he was revealed to be the evil mastermind’s accomplice. I had a chance to talk with Costas during his recent return to Australia, who spoke about how he has handled his character’s transition from good guy to villain, why he believes the franchise has been such a huge commercial success and what he thinks of the film’s dissenting critics.
CUT PRINT REVIEW: When you were first dealt the role of Lt. Hoffman in Saw III, did you have any idea that that you’d still be around three films later?
COSTAS MANDYLOR: At the beginning, there was an idle threat that I would be involved in a further one. But you never really know. You know how Hollywood and their promises are. But as they went along, they found room for me, and I just got deeper and deeper into the thick of it. So I’m now embedded.
Has it been hard to fluidly develop your character, and get a grip on his underlying psyche, without knowing beforehand that he was only masquerading as a heroic detective and was really a baddie all along?
Not really because at the beginning I didn’t put pressure on myself. All I wanted to do was be a good guy, and if things turned, it would be a surprise to me. And if they could surprise me, they would surprise the audience, you know? So far that’s worked! I didn’t even look at the forth script because I didn’t want to manipulate the audience. If they were surprised, then I’ve done my job. And they were in general. I’ve always approached it with the mentality that this ship is sailing beautifully by itself, so just don’t screw it up.
You’ve now been at the hands of three different Saw directors; Darren Bousman, David Hackl and now Kevin Greutert. How differently has each of these directors approached your character?
Well they all felt like I was responsible enough to handle the bulk of what I’m trying to do. They’ve all been very dedicated to the product and they’ve all been there to help me, and that’s what a director is for. So you know, I’ve been pleased to play with all three of them.
What’s something new that Kevin Greutert has brought to the table?
You know what, every one of them has a different personality and different touch. Kevin, although a little quieter than the others, still got the jokes when they were around. He was very thorough. As a matter of fact, they were all thorough, they just had different ways of approaching it, you know? Kevin’s a bit different to them because he’s probably seen every frame of four Saw movies [as the editor], so you know, his eye knows every nook and cranny. So yeah, he was very thorough and was fun to do it with. He gave a damn, you know? He has proven himself to be worthy.
So what’s in store for Lt. Hoffman in Saw VI?
Oh well I can’t say much, cause I don’t even know what’s in and what’s out of the film. But I know this; he’s in up to his neck. He gets into a little bit of trouble because he’s been given this responsibility by Jigsaw, and I think that he might be just a touch out of his league to handle it as well as Jigsaw did. So things get a little messy, which will make the audience very happy.
Has Tobin Bell [Jigsaw] given you any advice on how to continue his character’s legacy as a Saw villain?
No, I’m afraid of copycatting anybody because then you don’t feel like you’re original. But I have listened to Tobin on the way he approached the role, and he really cares about it. I just wanted to keep a certain standard. But you know what, I am different to him as a man and as a character. And my own flavour is either going to make it work, or it’s not. But I certainly paid attention to his work ethic, and where he’s approaching it from. But you don’t want to try and copy anyone; there’s a great saying in this great book [The 48 Laws of Power] that says ‘never try and outshine the master’… just become your own.
Six films in and the franchise doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down. What do you think keeps audience coming back for more?
Obviously something that original will keep you going for a certain amount of time. It’s powerful and eerie, but I think it has stayed afloat because it’s clever. There are so many parts of the puzzle that people are trying to work out, from the philosophical side to the “oh you remember that? That’s what that meant!” kind of thing, you know? They’re very specific, and they’re smart. Maybe a little bit crazy, but a lot of crazy people are smart, and a lot of smart people are crazy. All I know is that if it was just blood and guts, it would start to die. But it’s not dying.
The box office success of the film speaks for itself, but critically speaking, the franchise hasn’t been so well received. Do you try and ignore the critics, or take on board what they have to say?
Well, every now and then critics have something to say that makes sense, but then so do you and so do I. You know what, I’m a big believer in letting the people speak. And if I don’t like the movie, I don’t like it. And if you don’t like the movie, you don’t like it. But you know what, it’s still a free world and people can do what they want.
As far as critics go, I think they should hail it as a masterpiece because it’s just unique. I don’t care what the genre is, if it’s quality it’s quality. And I think it’s quality.
I think the originality of Jigsaw’s traps has had a lot to do with the series’ success. Out of all the Saw films so far, what’s been your favourite trap?
I remember one trap in Saw V at the beginning of the film with the pendulum. I watched it with two thousand people in an auditorium in Las Vegas where they had the premiere and I didn’t know what to expect. At the end of that trap when it goes to black, it was like – people went through the roof. Like when someone scores a winning goal in the world cup in the last minute, or in the last second in basketball. It was huge. That stands out to me because people dug it that much. But there are a lot of traps that are really good and really clever.
The traps we’ve seen from the trailer for Saw VI look quite interesting, especially the one dubbed ‘the carousel’. Is there anything you can tell us about that?
I can’t say much because I haven’t seen anything. Because when they do those traps, I’m getting ready for whatever is next. But I can tell you something funny; one of the actors – a big, strong black man – wanted a drink with me the night before. So I took him out to drink, and you know, we really turned one on. But for the next two days, he had to be on the carousel, spinning around constantly. And ah, I had the last laugh on that one. [laughs] He literally got sick!
I was listening to the audio commentary of Saw V recently and director David Hackl was describing this scene where you character was supposed to drop his keys and almost be hit by a car while drunk, but it got cut because you couldn’t get the stunt right. He said they teased you about for the rest of the shoot! What do you have to say about that?
Well all truth be known, everybody in Canada drink like they do in Australia. And I’ve been dubbed by the crew as one of the great actors to drink with and have fun with, but I’ve been told that I play the worst drunken-hit-by-a-car-wannabe-actor ever. [laughs] But yeah, that’s somewhere on the cutting room floor.
So did you do your own stunts in Saw VI?
Yeah, I did everything I could. You know what, I don’t mind sharing the work with the stunt guys because they deserve every second they can get and they’ve got guts. But, you know, you gotta put in a little but to earn a little respect. Although, if I had to jump off a very tall building, I’ll let the other guy do it.
Let’s talk about some of your other projects; you’ve got an Australian film coming up called Torn. Tell us about that.
It’s about a normal guy that gets trapped by a crazy guy, and has to turn crazy to protect himself. So it’s between these two guys who get entangled in a web of cat and mouse.
Sounds a bit like Saw…
[laughs] Yeah I guess it does.
So when can we expect to see that?
Well I haven’t really talked to the guys, because they’re busy finishing doing what they’ve gotta do. But I had fun doing. It had a very small budget; we did it here, running around Melbourne and trying to make it as quick as we could. But I don’t know anything now, so it’s hard for me to comment. But I’ll tell you what, I can’t wait to work in Melbourne and Sydney again. Big budget, small budget, I don’t care; there’s some really talented people here. So I can’t wait to come back.
You seem to be doing a lot of grizzly, dark films at the moment. Can we expect to see you in a romantic comedy anytime soon?
Oh let me tell you something; I will never stay in the one genre. I’ve been dedicated to Saw because it’s been good to me. But yeah, do I wanna do a love story, do I wanna do a comedy, do I wanna put on a toga and ride a horse. Yeah, for sure! But you gotta take the shots when you get them. And this is opening a couple of doors for me, so I will be ready to seize the moment when it comes.
Is there a dream role out there that you would say yes to without even reading the script?
Well I didn’t have to read the script for 300, and I almost got my chance there, but I ended up doing another film and missing out. But there are certainly things that I would jump at, and certain people that I’d work with without even thinking. I think if you want to be really thorough you should read it, but if they said “do you wanna do a movie on the road with Sean Penn and Gerard Butler?” — who are two people that I love — I’d say “just sign me on, let’s go.” But other than that, you’ve got to be diligent and have a little bit of a plan, which for a while I didn’t. I’ve been on an adventure for years, and now I’m starting to have a look at stuff a little bit differently.
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Saw VI opens across Australia on October 22nd.
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