What does one get when one combines a Yale University graduate in English with a musician who played in a combo in Illinois with his brothers after college? A journalist in New York who made a living working for such magazines as “Omni”, “Rolling Stone” and “Psychology Today” and interviewing Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling while preparing for one of his most famous movie roles? A father of two who enjoys jamming in an alt-prog band with a former member of Guns ‘n Roses who he met while performing in a play about a fictional meeting between Timothy Leary and Charles Manson? A very entertaining and self-described “jabber-jaws” who could have kept this interviewer entertained for hours? Why, such a combination could only result in none other than Chop Top from Tobe Hooper’s “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” or more recently, Otis Driftwood, member of the notorious Firefly family in Rob Zombie’s “House of 1000 Corpses” and the soon-to-be-released “The Devil’s Rejects”. And last but certainly not least, the sinister Mr. Suitcase from Adam Wingard’s new horror film, “Home Sick”. I’m referring, of course, to the multi-talented actor/musician/producer/writer and all-around nice guy, Bill Moseley. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Bill about his recent career, particularly his role in the low-budget film, “Home Sick”, and things got very interesting…

Really Scary: : So how did you get involved in “Home Sick”, playing a role where people actually get to SEE you as opposed to your other recent roles where you were covered in makeup?

Bill Moseley: I met E.L. Katz (the writer) a few years ago at a comic book convention in San Diego and he was such a fan of Chop Top that he said he was determined to one day write a character I could play. Well, about a year after that, I got an e-mail from him, by-passing my agent which sped up the process, asking if I would take a look at this script he had written called “Home Sick”. I said sure and he e-mailed the whole thing to me. I loved the script, read right through it to see what happened, it was that good.

RS: Tell us about your character, Mr. Suitcase. He looks so…mild-mannered on the surface but…

BM: Mr. Suitcase is a crazy motivational speaker who shows up, uninvited, at the Christmas homecoming of a bunch of friends in a small town in Alabama. He has this suitcase with him which is filled to the brim with razors. I don’t want to give away too much more in case I ruin the plot but Mr. Suitcase is the catalyst for the horror and carnage that follow. And I have to say that it’s a LOT of carnage, even for me who should be used to all that by now.

And I loved my costume – we picked out this light blue suit and cream slacks with a darker blue vest, yellow shirt and blue bow tie. I look liked some kind of evangelical preacher. Also, Jonathan Thornton, who was in charge of makeup and special effects, whitened my teeth, and I do mean whitened, with some sort of WhiteOut-like stuff so my smile REALLY stands out! That’s about all the makeup I wear but it’s apparently pretty creepy.

RS: What was it like to film in small-town Alabama with a writer and director who were 21 and 20, respectively, at the time?

BM: Oh, I love Alabama! Years ago, I made appearances as Spiderman for Marvel Comics and that took me all over the country so I got to see a lot of the South and Alabama is beautiful.

As for E.L. and Adam (Wingard, the director), they were great to work for. The shoot was a lot of fun and those guys knew what they were doing. I only had two days of filming but I was there about 3 or 4 days and it was a great experience. We shot primarily in Bessemer, Alabama, which is near Birmingham. Also, I would call “Home Sick” a “Gummo” slasher flick. “Gummo” is this bizarre movie about kids growing up in Xenia, Ohio. I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

BM: I had SO much fun playing that part and I think it really shows in the movie. Chop Top is so repulsive but, at the same time, so funny with lines like “Lick my plate, you dog dick!”. And I ad-libbed most of his funniest lines too which was great. Tobe (Hooper) just let us go with it. This was the time where I had an interview to do for “Omni” magazine with Linus Pauling and my head had been shaved as soon as I arrived in Austin to play Chop Top. God only knows what Mr. Pauling must have thought of me.

RS: Tell us a little about your band, Cornbugs. Such as where did that name come from?

The name of the band actually came from opening up an ear of corn in Buckethead’s mother’s garden and seeing these grubs or whatever they were. I just remember remarking “Cornbugs!” and the rest is history.

We’ve done about 4 CDs, the most recent being “Rest Home for Robots” where I AM credited as Chop Top, but it’s a sort of hit and miss thing, trying to coordinate everyone’s schedule to get together. But the CDs ARE available on my website if you’re interested in alt-prog rock AND they’re autographed!

RS: What’s next on your schedule?

BM: Probably cleaning out the cat box. I had a couple of films I was looking forward to but one, “The Forest Prime Evil”, which Tom Savini was to direct and which was to star a bunch of famous genre folks like Ed Neal, Gunnar Hansen, Andrew Brynarski, Ken Foree and Kane Hodder as well as myself is on hold for who knows how long. And the other, “Brew”, which Tobe Hooper was going to direct, seems to be dead in the water which is unfortunate as THAT one was going to be fun, playing an undead who lives on blood-laced beer. Also, I played the cook, Possum, in HBO’s “Carnivale” during the first season and would have loved to return to that role but now that HBO has pulled the plug on “Carnivale”…

RS: In “House of 1000 Corpses,” can you tell me how that drawn-out scene where Otis shoots the deputy came about. It is SO intense!

BM: That was actually the first scene Rob edited and I remember being there with him, Sheri (Moon) and Karen (Black) while he was doing the edit. The MPAA wanted him to really cut it down as they thought it “glorified” cop killing but I think it was more a matter of just how long the shooting took, the torture. That could have been anyone Otis shot and it would have been just as awful.

RS: Finally, I have to thank you for taking time to speak with us. I know everyone is excited about the upcoming release of “The Devil’s Rejects” and “Homesick” will be out on DVD in October so we will be seeing a lot of you this year.

BM: Thank you! It’s always fun to talk about what I love doing and playing these characters and seeing the reaction from the fans is awesome. I hope everyone likes “The Devil’s Rejects” and “Home Sick” as I loved doing them and I wouldn’t do something I didn’t believe in.