Frederic Doss Interview : The Transformers, Humans Versus Zombies and more!

Frederic Doss is an actor who has appeared in the Transformers movie as Lt. Frederic Doss, in the comedy Coyote County Loser as Lyle Granger, the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie and many more upcoming films. I figured it was time to cover Frederic’s latest with the following interview by myself (Wendy) and my friend Mandy…

Mandy: Were you a fan of the original G.I Joe cartoon/action figures/ comics?

Frederic Doss: I was a huge fan! I had so many figures. That’s mostly what my friends and I did when I was a kid. We played GI Joe, Dungeons and Dragons and killed each other with sticks and toy guns.

Mandy: If you could play anyone character besides your own in the G.I. Joe movies, who would it be and why?

Frederic Doss: Well, I could easily step into Wild Bill from my role in the last film. He was a GI Joe Apache pilot. But, if I could pick a character it would be Chuckles. He’s the CIA, Hawaiian shirt wearing crazy guy. In the movie, he actually picks a missile up off one of the Joe vehicles and throws it at Cobra. Totally crazy.

Mandy: What would be your dream role?

Frederic Doss: That’s a hard question. I suppose I’d love to play a super hero in one of the big films or land a great role on a sci fi series that becomes the next “LOST” or “Firefly”.

Mandy: Who is your favorite actor/actress to watch on screen?

Frederic Doss: So many favorites. But if you’re asking favorite to watch, it’s John Cusack. He’s such a character in his own right you just love the guy even when his movies suck, you love him.

Wendy: Let’s talk about the short film you did. How did you get involved in “Hank & Jim”? And I’m curious, did you bust up laughing during the KIDS FATH Camp scene (“Twinkie munching..”)?

Frederic Doss: Ha! Hi Jamey! Brandon Slagle and I concocted the idea on facebook chat one night. He was going to be in town for Texas Frightmare Weekend last year and we had never done a film together. We planned it, had my wife write it and Samuel Haun directed. Had a blast with that one. Would love to do a feature one day. Our funny moment during the fat camp scene was that I accidentally said Twinkie MUNKIN instead of munching. Everyone had a solid laugh. We almost made shirts, but it wasn’t funny to anyone who wasn’t there.

Wendy: How about the small horror movie CUT? I see you have the title of Deputy again in this one. I saw the really risque trailer. When will the film be finished?

Frederic Doss: Last I heard “CUT!” was showing at Cannes. The film is complete. I’m not sure on when it will be available to the masses. It’s a crazy flick. I once again play a deputy with some very cool scenes. It’s not a huge role for me, but horror fans will also want to check it out for Kane Hodder, Tony Todd and Michael Berryman. Had a blast shooting this one with Joe Hollow, Wolfgang Meyer and the gang up in New York.

CUT seems a bit gory.. reminded me a bit of the gore from “Gangs of New York “.. did you see that movie? I think it loses some of it’s audience due to extreme violence and gory details.

Frederic Doss: CUT! is not for the feint of heart. Definitely some vicious stuff in there.

Wendy: In Humans Versus Zombies, you have a big role in this feature film. While watching the trailer, it seemed a bit like the now famous Walking Dead television series. What is different about this story? And did you have any nightmares about zombies after filming each day? 🙂

Frederic Doss: As for HvZ, I was nightmare free. Some of the scenes were really terrifying. I had to remind myself it wasn’t real. Michael Jaynes did an amazing job with the make-up and our zombies were amazing! It’s a lot different from “The Walking Dead” in the characters and situations it portrays. It’s also a bit more light hearted, but not so much so as to be on a level with Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead. It’s definitely a zombie film all to its own. For the record, I am a huge fan of “The Walking Dead”. I have all the trades and was so excited to hear they were doing a show. It’s been a dream of mine since I was 13 to be in a zombie movie one day. Very cool.

Wendy: That’s interesting info about Humans Versus Zombies. : ) I understand you did a lot of work on this film and that it will possibly get released into theaters? Can you share any of the information about where this film is headed? Maybe there is even a sequel planned?

Frederic Doss: It should be out sometime this summer. Chiller network, DVD and limited theatrical. I don’t have a lot more info. As for a sequel, that would rock.

Wendy: What’s the word on the small budget film CODE OF EVIL? I haven’t seen a trailer for it yet. What part do you play in the film?

Frederic Doss: It’s from Kerry Beyer, the guy who brought you “Spirit Camp”, a cheerleader slasher film. It’s a lot of blue screen work. Should be fun. I play a supporting role in that one.

Wendy: I see you and Brandon Slagle have teamed up again for the film “The Avenged” where you play the role of CSI Elliot Morris. Is this a feature film? What’s this film about? Did you have to do any special research into being a CSI character?

Frederic Doss: The film hasn’t begun official production yet and my role isn’t nailed down per se.

Wendy: I understand that the film “Boggy Creek” was screened at the Texas Frightmare Weekend event. How did that go? Was that your first convention? I know you got to meet Sean Patrick Flanery there.. what other favorite actors/etc. did you get to meet?

Frederic Doss: It didn’t show due to technical difficulties. I had attended TFW last year and I’ve been to a few others as an attendee, mostly in Dallas. There are a lot of cool conventions here. Norman Reedus was cool. Jason Eisner, the director of “Hobo With a Shotgun” was there and I got to meet him. Also talked with a lot of cool indy folks. Plans in the works.

Wendy: Seems there’s one more film we need to mention you’ve worked on named Nebulus, which is the latest project you are working on with Brandon Slagle. Where is Nebulus at in the development stage?

Frederic Doss: I’m not sure if the script is done yet. Conceptual as far as I know, but from what I’ve heard, it’s going to be very cool.

Wendy: You and Brandon seem to work on a lot of projects together. I’m curious, how far apart from each other do you live? Would you work on every project together that you can?

Frederic Doss: Slagle moves around a bit. He’s been in LA and NY most recently, but he has a few ties to Texas. Right now he’s in LA and he’s a very good friend of mine. We have a blast working together and I’d do it every chance I got.

Wendy: One last thing I’d like to mention: you’ve been blogging quite a bit… when/why did you decide you would set yourself a schedule to blog about your acting career?

Frederic Doss: My wife kept telling me I should blog. I debated film reviews, but I don’t think it’s wise for an actor to be critiquing a lot of films openly. I decided to write about acting and share some of my knowledge, but you can only post on the art so much without being repetitive. I post about acting when something strikes me.

Most recently, I decided that every day for a year, I would post a new film that people may not have heard of, but should see. It’s a lot of obscure/semi-obscure films. Some are shorts, some are net based, some are low budget indy, some are documentaries. All genres from all over the world. It’s been really fun. And I only talk about movies I like so no guilt. 😉

Wendy: In closing, is there anything you’d like to add?