Terrifier Star Improvised Art The Clown's Creepiest Audition - Red Media
Think you had a tough time trying out for your local improv group? Just be glad you weren't a scene partner with the "Terrifier" star.
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00:00Think you had a tough time trying out for your local improv group?
00:04Just be glad you weren't a scene partner with the Terrifier star.
00:08Art the Clown is fast becoming a new slasher icon.
00:11Though he's yet to star in a truly massive box office hit, his blood-drenched exploits
00:15in Terrifier 2 went a long way towards building his reputation as the slasher killer of the
00:20modern age.
00:22Damian Leone, the creator of the franchise and director of the first two installments,
00:26has made a name for himself by depicting scenes of such utter depravity that audiences have
00:30reportedly struggled not to pass out.
00:38But it would be selling short the efforts of the man behind the makeup, David Howard
00:42Thornton, whose playful and sinister performance as Art in both Terrifier and its sequel has
00:47helped establish the character as one of the most oddly compelling slasher figures of modern
00:51times.
00:52For Leone, that potential was there from the moment Howard Thornton auditioned.
00:56The actor discussed his first audition for Art with Bloody Flicks, where he claimed it
01:00was the most interesting and fun audition he'd ever been to.
01:02I had seen a notice for the part on an audition site, calling for skinny men with clowning
01:07physical comedy experience to audition for the role of Art.
01:11When he landed the audition, however, he wasn't provided with any scripts, scenes, or even
01:15lines.
01:16Instead, Thornton was simply asked to show up to the meeting with Damian Leone and the
01:19producers and didn't know what to expect.
01:22He continued,
01:23They asked me to improvise a scene as Art on the spot.
01:26This was when I was glad that I had a lot of training in improv, since I was put on
01:29the spot like that.
01:30If I remember correctly, I made up a scene where I walked in and snuck up behind this
01:34victim stabbing her in the head and ended up sawing off her head.
01:39Simply miming this decapitation wasn't what got Howard Thornton the part.
01:43The actor provided just a touch of extra pseudo-comedic genius to his improv.
01:47The actor told Bloody Flicks how he proceeded to pick up the imaginary head and pretended
01:51to have a conversation with it.
01:52He continued,
01:53I ended up tasting the blood leaking out of it.
01:56This was not to my liking, so I whipped out a salt shaker and seasoned the head to my
01:59liking.
02:00I then threw the head in my bag of tricks, tossed the bag over my shoulder, and skipped
02:04out of the room.
02:05They yelled cut and I noticed Damian had his head in the table in a fit of giggles.
02:11After performing that bit of depraved improv, Howard Thornton was basically guaranteed the
02:15starring role in Terrifier, though he had to wait a while to find out for sure.
02:20As the actor remembered it,
02:21They asked me if I was comfortable with enduring hours of makeup applications, and if I was
02:25up for coming in for a makeup test, and told me that they would be in touch.
02:29A few months later, they called me in for the tests and told me that I had the part.
02:33Terrifier started shooting soon after, and Howard Thornton quickly proved himself capable
02:38in the role, displaying much of the same humor that landed him the role in the first place.
02:42Since then, that humor has come to define much of the character, helping lead the franchise
02:46to its recent success.
02:482016's Terrifier went largely unnoticed, but is infamous among some horror fans.
02:54Terrifier 2 then arrived in 2022, with even more ultra-violence, and proved to be almost
02:59too brutal for even seasoned horror fans.
03:02Still, it managed to finally gain Leone and the franchise some recognition, making $15.7
03:08million on a $250,000 budget, and leading to some wider cultural influence.
03:13We have to show the audience things that they would never have the balls to show.
03:18Before Art the Clown starred in his own film with 2016's Terrifier, he was one of many
03:23twisted characters Damian Leone devised to bring his nightmarish visions to life in a
03:28series of short films.
03:30Originally portrayed by Mike Giannulli, Art showed up in the short films The Ninth Circle
03:33and 2011's Terrifier, before becoming the central ghoul in 2013's All Hallows' Eve.
03:40But when it came time for the first official Terrifier movie, Leone switched things up,
03:44casting relative newcomer David Howard Thornton in the role.
03:47The director created Art the Clown as somewhat of an amalgamation of iconic horror killers,
03:52from Freddy to Michael Myers.
03:53But there was an extra element of sadistic humor bound up in the bloodthirsty clown,
03:58which set him apart from your typical emotionless killing machine.
04:01As Leone previously told SlashFilm,
04:03"...Art thinks what he's doing is funny because he's laughing.
04:07It's that humanity that comes through from the character, believe it or not, that I think
04:10is what people really gravitate towards so much.
04:12I think it's that sense of humor that really attracts him to people, or people to him."
04:18While both Terrifier and Terrifier 2 are basically wall-to-wall ultra-violence, there's certainly
04:22something about Art's incongruous cheekiness that makes both films so utterly disturbing
04:26yet grimly comedic.
04:28And it's fair to say that David Howard Thornton defined much of this aspect of the character,
04:32even when it put him in danger.
04:35David Howard Thornton recalled how filming for Terrifier started in October of 2015,
04:40during which time the actor was almost shot by New Jersey police officers, after some
04:44locals mistook his fake, blood-splattered clothing for the real thing.
04:48But despite almost meeting his own demise during filming, Howard Thornton seemingly
04:52regrets nothing about pursuing or playing Art.
04:55As he told Bloody Flicks,
04:56"...That was one of those auditions where I walked out knowing I had the part deep down,
05:00because everything just felt right.
05:02I'm glad my gut was right, because I have loved playing the character."
05:06Apparently, there's a scene in the upcoming Terrifier 3 that almost made Howard Thornton
05:11So we'll have to see whether he feels any different about playing the murderous clown
05:15during the press tour for that movie.
05:17But for now, there's no doubt the actor and his comedic abilities have been an integral
05:21part of helping Art become one of the biggest slasher stars of the past few years.