Travis Sengaus

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Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo
BMO Centre
Saturday, April 24 - Sunday, April 25

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Even if you don’t recognize his name at first, Sid Haig’s trademark cue-ball head, grizzled beard and sinister smile should either jog your memory or give you a serious case of the willies. Best known in recent years for his iconic performances as Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects and its animated followup, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, Haig’s acting credits stretch back to the early ‘60s. Starting off with bit parts in movies and TV, he went on to feature in cult favourites such as Spider Baby, George Lucas’s THX 1138 and the blaxploitation classics Foxy Brown and Coffy.

Looking back on his earlier days, Haig laughs. “Everything was freewheeling and loose back then,” he says. “People were flying by the seat of their pants, and it was a great way to operate. I’ve always worked very organically, and if I believe it, then the audience will believe it.”

While Haig’s films haven’t changed drastically over the years, today’s permissive cultural climate allows off-kilter fare such as the Zombie-directed titles to find mainstream popularity. As he explains, back in the ’60s and ’70s, B-movies remained much more subterranean, only coming to light decades later. These days, it’s Haig’s opinion that the Internet should be both thanked and blamed for this shift.

“The easy availability of all these older films definitely plays a big part in how audiences act and react,” he says. “I don’t know if I want to use the word ‘hip,’ but fans are simply much more in tune with what’s going on. They get the jokes and understand the references, so I think they’re a driving force in the kind of work being produced.”

“Everyone is exposed to so much more these days, and in some ways that’s great, but in others it sucks,” he continues. “Unfortunately, kids aren’t allowed to be kids anymore. They’re thrown into the website mill to fend for themselves, while dads and moms want to be more like their friends than their parents. That can lead to problems, but hey, life is imperfect.”

This blackened sense of humour is also nothing new. Back in 1992, Haig came close to tossing in the towel, saying he was frustrated with being typecast as “stupid heavies.” Fortunately, after turning down the part of Marcellus Wallace (later played by Ving Rhames) in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Haig accepted a small role simply credited as “Judge,” personally written for him by Tarantino in the blaxsploitation homage Jackie Brown. The film effectively launched his comeback.

“For a while, the parts I found myself playing were just plain dumb,” he says. “They were stupid guys with guns in their hands blowing stuff up, and I felt I had more to give. Jackie Brown was a little wake up call for people, as I’ve literally been reported dead four times in my career. Uh, no I’m not, guys. I’m right here.”

Indeed, whether in his upcoming lycanthropic caper Wolf Moon (in which he sings) or the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, fans can catch Haig alive, well and in the flesh.

“Expos and conventions are great,” he says. “They give me a chance to meet fans, who are the most important element of this industry. They buy the tickets, DVDs and all the other merchandise, and really hold the power in their hands. Because of that, I always let people know how important they are, and am happy to autograph almost anything. I’ve probably seen more butts than a proctologist!”