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Fans at GalaxyCon’s Nightmare Weekend—a new horror comic con—were elated to hear that Tony Todd (Candyman, The Flash, Star Trek: The Next Generation) loves classic films, including film noir, comedies, and monster movies. The actor, producer and director shared that some of his favorites are Asphalt Jungle, Double Indemnity, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
On Acting
As a teenager, Todd really wanted to play Dracula at Hartford High School, but he was cast as vampire hunter Van Helsing. He got his wish to portray the famous vampire years later in a Dracula audio drama. He’d still like to do the role in a live production or a festival someday.
Another dream role for Todd falls under the works of William Shakespeare. He said, “One day I want to do Coriolanus, which I think is an under-appreciated Shakespearean character.”
Before he hit a big break in Oliver Stone’s film Platoon, Todd spent three years as a bartender at New York’s Westbank Theater. “There’s a lot of bartenders that want to be actors. I never saw bartending as a lifelong profession. I had fun while I was doing it, but I knew I always wanted to be an actor.”
Todd spent two years teaching a theater class in Hartford, which he considers one of his greatest accomplishments. He received a list of students who were deemed “incorrigible.” However, he wasn’t deterred by the challenge, believing in his students and encouraging them. “Nobody dropped out of my class. A couple of them are still in theater. I’ll never forget that experience.”
On Spider-Man 2
As for his voiceover portfolio, there wasn’t much Todd could reveal about the new Spider-Man 2 video game, which came out on October 20. The game’s trailer shows a thrilling plot with two Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales.
Todd, who voiced baddie Venom, described the game as “Forty-five minutes of mayhem over Brooklyn!”
A gamer himself, he’ll try to play Spider-Man 2 all the way through on his own. He’s been looking forward to the gaming experience for a while. “I predict that this will be one of the biggest video games of all time.”
On Cats and Bees
Todd loves to spend time with his two cats at home, especially while he’s watching classic films. “They keep me sane when there’s no fans around. They’re like “feed me or [you] don’t love me,” and then they’ll walk away!”
During the Q&A, he was also asked how he feels about bees, particularly since he’s worked with real bees in film. Even though he’s been stung a few times, that hasn’t changed his enthusiasm and appreciation for bees in our world.
“I love bees. We need to save the bees! There are a lot of bees that are dying. We need to reclaim them and let them do their pollination and give us honey and life. Who doesn’t like their tea with a little bit of honey?”
