Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with High Moon’s Chad Michael Collins

Chad Michael Collins is cowboying up in his new action-western-horror film, High Moon. In it, he plays Colt, a gunslinger who’s made it his mission to hunt and eliminate the howlers who have taken everything from him. It’s a fun, high octane film that’s perfect for the summer. We caught up with Pop Culturalist fave Chad Michael Collins to chat about High Moon, his stunt work, and whether or not we’ll see his character ride again.

PC: Tell us about High Moon, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Chad: High Moon is a western film that was released recently. It’s about an Old West gunslinger who hunts werewolves. He finds himself mysteriously reanimated in the modern day, having to hunt the same gang of outlaws he put in the grave 150+ years before while trying to navigate the strange new modern world of the present-day.

I play the lead character of Colt, that Old West gunslinger cowboy. Josh Ridgway, the director and writer, happened to be a fan of the Sniper films I did for Sony. He sent me the script and asked if I dug it, and I did! Who doesn’t want to play a cowboy? It was a slam dunk deal. Before I knew it, I was in Texas twirling the revolver around and taking out bad guys.

PC: You’ve done a lot of physically demanding roles in your career. How did those experiences prepare you for High Moon?
Chad: Yes, I have. I’m no stranger to doing action films or stunts. I always try, especially if it’s a hero-type role, to stay in good shape. If I’m playing an elite soldier, like in the Sniper franchise or something of that nature, I put a little extra training in to represent that well.

For High Moon, there were a lot of shoot-outs and fun stuff like that, but there was also a ton of hand-to-hand combat fighting. In the film, I brandish these silver double hand axes, and we had to do a lot of fighting with small arm weapons; it was a whole new experience for me. I had never done that much fight choreography outside of playing a cage fighter on CSI: Miami once. It was a blast. All the stunt people were really, really great. I think they made for some of the best scenes in the movies, whether it’s me bouncing from werewolf to werewolf or getting into a bar brawl and taking out these rednecks in a small town. It was a lot of fun for me and adds a ton of value to the film.

PC: There are a lot of twists and turns in the film, and not everyone makes it out alive. When you read the script, what were you the most surprised by?
Chad: I’d probably say the ending. I don’t want to spoil anything, but we did try a couple of different variations. High Moon is an action-western-horror film, so you know there’s going to be a body count. By the end, that tally gets pretty high.

PC: Which of Colt’s relationships in the film was your favorite to explore?
Chad: Colt has some nice moments with Lucy. He’s a character that’s driven by vengeance after werewolves slaughter his wife and his family. Then, there’s Lucy, who is this beautiful, capable widow in this small town where Colt finds himself reanimated. She’s a strong woman and a survivor. I think that hearkens back to Colt’s wife, who we see in flashbacks briefly before she’s murdered viciously by these outlaw werewolves. Colt is a man on a mission, so he hasn’t welcomed anyone in, but he warms up to Lucy. It’s nice to see a different side of him. As the film goes on, it’s nice to see him learn that he does have a friend and ally he can count on.

That said, I really liked the dynamic between Colt and his adversary, Willy Price, the leader of the gang of werewolf outlaws—that one is a lot of fun. Josh Ridgway did a fantastic job writing the dialogue. They take the piss out of each other, which was really, really fun. I thought Tom Zembrod, who plays Willy Price, did a great job with owning that character all the way through.

PC: We heard that this film was shot in one or two takes. Was that stressful for you as an actor, or did it make the process more exciting?
Chad: You know, it’s only stressful if you show up unprepared. If you do your homework at night and memorize those lines, you’ll get something good. There’s something nice about doing it once and knowing that you’re prepared. From an actor’s perspective, it’s important to get together with the other actors you’re working with that day to run lines and talk about ideas. When you only have one or two takes, you need to plan everything out and explore ideas in advance. Of course, it can still be stressful, especially when you have to do an action sequence. It’s also really fun, though.

PC: You’re an associate producer on the film. How challenging was it to juggle multiple roles? Did it inspire you to continue producing?
Chad: It did! I wasn’t a producer when I came onto this project; I was the lead in the film and had a blast making it. I knew we had made something special that audiences could sit back, have some popcorn, and enjoy watching. When the film came together about a year later, I called Josh Ridgway and said, “Hey, man! I would really like to be involved in the sales, the distribution, the marketing, the promotion, because I think we’ve got something great here. I would like to pitch in and help for free, because I just love it so much.”

That’s how I came aboard. I’ve been trying to help with press, PR, marketing, social media, and navigating those sales agent distributor waters. It’s been really nice. I’ve learned a lot. It’s definitely putting more eyes on our movie, and people are responding to it well.

PC: With the film out now, what do you hope audiences take away from seeing it?
Chad: We wanted to create a unique film that bends genres. Everybody’s familiar with a western and with a werewolf film, but we throw them together to give audiences a whole new, different version of it. Our goal was to create something for fans who love ’80s action and horror films. We want them to enjoy the fun of it.

PC: The film leaves things open-ended. Have there been any conversations about a possible sequel?
Chad: Yes! Josh definitely has ideas for sequels and prequels, and a little bit of a universe built out for Colt and his friends. We don’t know where that stands right now, though. We shot this three years ago and we’re excited to finally get it out. Now we’ve arrived and the initial feedback has been great. People are enjoying it for what it is and are having a good time talking about and sharing it. That was our main goal—we wanted to get it out there and see how people responded. With that said, I’m pretty sure this won’t be Colt’s last ride.

To keep up with Chad, follow him on Twitter and Instagram, and catch High Moon out now!