Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Monster Party’s Lance Reddick

Lance Reddick is a Hollywood legend. With over eighty credits to his name, he’s played a diverse range of characters on hit shows and films including John Wick, American Horror Story, Bosch, and Fringe. Now, for his latest role as Milo in the thrilling horror flick, Monster Party, Lance is stepping into the shoes of a psychopath who’s leading a reformed group of individuals with the urge to kill. We had a chance to catch up with Lance ahead of the release.

PC: What drew you to Monster Party?
Lance: It’s one of those projects that came out of the blue. Originally, Milo was supposed to be 70 or 75-years-old, but when Chris (director) and the producers were in a casting session, someone had mentioned my name. Chris was like, “Oh, I want Lance Reddick. I don’t want anyone else to play this role. He’s our guy.” I got a copy of the script and it was so different; the premise was cool and it was so well written. This character is unlike any that I’ve ever had the chance to play, so I was immediately like, “I need to jump into this.”


PC: We heard that you had a very collaborative relationship with Chris. What was it like working with him?
Lance: We actually had a meeting before I signed on. We just sat and talked. It was more of a conversation about movies in general and less about the project itself. In terms of the collaboration, a lot of that was done before shooting. It’s Chris’ second film and you can imagine how much he had on his plate. He didn’t do any babysitting. [laughs] He had a vision for the film and unless something was wrong, he didn’t have tons of notes.


PC: What is the process like when you’re playing this flawed character that is also struggling with addiction?
Lance: Well, I think all characters are flawed because all human beings are flawed. When you’re looking at a psychopath, at least to my understanding, they don’t have the capacity for compassion, guilt, or remorse. You have to find a reason why they care enough to want to do this and give in to their strong urges. For Milo, it’s part of his maniacal personality. He needs that sense of control, whether that be of himself or other people. It’s why he’s so good at being the leader of this group. Julian McMahon’s character calls him a cult leader and I think that’s really accurate. For me, that was my thinking when I approached this character.


PC: In the film, one of the most interesting relationships is between Milo and Patrick (Julian McMahon). There’s a power struggle between the two. What was it like working alongside Julian?
Lance: That’s interesting! Julian as Julian is a pretty dominating personality. I had never met him before, but I’ve been a fan of his work for years, going all the way back to Charmed—I was a Buffy fan and it was the show that came on after that. When I saw him on that show, he had such a presence. He’s a very A-type personality and very direct, which is why he’s such a good actor. When I finally got to screen Monster Party, I was like “Wow, we have great chemistry.” [laughs]

PC: The film touches on a lot of different themes from addiction to social class. Is there one that resonated with you more?
Lance: That’s a great question! I’m going to say no, because the way that they work in tandem was really well done. It’s not really spoken about, but I think it’s becoming more relevant with movements like #MeToo, that there’s this level of class that’s reached where people don’t think that rules apply to them. How can we present this through film? We put these characters in the situation that they’re in.


PC: With the film out now, what do you hope audiences take away?
Lance: That’s a tough one. I remember reading a quote from Chris where he says, “I’m not trying to send too many messages. I’m just trying to make cool sh*t.” In some ways, it’s just entertainment, but in another way, it does touch on social class and addiction, and it’ll hopefully start conversations.


Make sure to follow Lance on Twitter and Instagram, and check out Monster Party in theaters and on VOD.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.