Luke Goss Interview: Hollow Point

Readers of a certain age may know Luke Goss from his time in the popular 1980s band, Bros, with his twin brother, Matt. More cinema-minded readers surely know him from his collaborations with Guillermo Del Toro, having played roles in Blade II and Hellboy II: The Golden Army. His latest film, Hollow Point, directed by Daniel Zirilli, features Goss as the leader of a gang of vigilantes who go after criminals who escape more traditional forms of justice. The film co-stars Dilan Jay and Jay Mohr, and aims to satisfy fans of action and righteous machismo.

Luke Goss has spent his whole life on an artistic journey. From his music to his acting and other art forms, Goss has reinvented himself numerous times, and this Screen Rant interview showcases a man who is knowledgeable, humble, and always eager to take any given project to the proverbial next level.

While promoting the release of Hollow Point, Luke Goss spoke to Screen Rant about his work on the film, as well as his philosophies regarding acting and his greater career. He talks about spending two years auditioning for roles before he got his first big break courtesy of Guillermo Del Toro, and how important it is for an actor to have the nerve to be willing to challenge their director if they feel their character is in danger of being anything less than 100% genuine.

Hollow Point is out now on Digital and VOD.

I just watched the movie. I just watched it. So much fun, you’re so good. You don’t need me to tell you that, but you’re always cool.

I was wondering! I called a couple of my friends last night and said, “Will you watch this? Am I alright in this movie?” So thank you. It’s not insecurity, but you want to do a job that contributes, so thank you!

It’s a fine line, maybe you can tell me about that fine line that you somehow manage to stand right in the middle of, of being really really cool, and really really pretty.

(Laughs)

Usually, it’s one or the other, but you’re right there, double-fisted in both worlds. Tell me about your “image,” in that way.

Let me recover from this on-camera blush, man! I think if there was a line I was sitting on, it would be… He’s carrying pain with him. Strangely enough, just being honest about it, the “cool” that comes from some of these roles is the agony. I don’t like abandoning the agony of my characters. I’d rather, frankly, these days… I want to get to a point of one, maybe two films a year these days, now. I want to know why I’m going through it, and I want to find roles that have even more, so I can find that way of walking through the film in some kind of recovery… The men out there, as I know, and I’m sure you know, we don’t have a lot of facilities to deal with our pain. They’re too busy vilifying us at the moment… But I want to find roles that give men the opportunity to say, “Yeah, I have to cry that way, too.” Meaning, standing upright, trying to make sure that tear doesn’t come out. Even talking about it, gives my throat… The method actor in my goes straight into the zone! But it’s just… Life is not easy. Life has become harder. This film was made way before that, but nonetheless, I think that line you talk of is bringing human civility through pain, and then the dysfunction of him. Clearly, in this film, we know what his dysfunction is, but he’s just clearly had enough. And then underscore, the backstory nobody may see is, I think, at some point, especially when he’s drinking the scotch and looking out, he’s thinking, “I’m not sure how long I’m going to stay around for the victories of all this, and the good results of this.” I think he may even privately not mind the idea of, at some point, getting in the way of something so he can be with his family. But it’s finding those lines, and letting that bring the “cool.” If cool is ever tried to be achieved by being cool, it’s going to be a hard watch.

(Laughs)

It’s about… I think cool comes from being able to speak through the loss of our mothers, our loved ones, our wives, our friends, our fathers, our children… It’s like every role I’ll ever play will have even more “human” in it, because there’s more human in me today than there was a year ago. That, alongside some cool moves; Krav Maga, Kung-Fu, boxing, I can do a few of these things… I throw shapes, man. (Laughs)

Is that what martial arts is? Throwing shapes?

I’m trying to self-deprecate! You said I was cool and pretty, so for the rest of the conversation, I have to give myself a hard time, don’t I?

Sure! Well, you mentioned feeling like you want to do one or two movies a year, instead of when you’re at your most prolific, but maybe not getting the chance to dive deep into that. Do you feel like, in your career, is there ever a point where you’re like, “Oh, I need to keep on churning these out, otherwise they’re gonna pass me by or forget about me.” Tell me about coming to terms with, “Hey, I’m enough! I’m gonna do what I’m gonna do and you’re gonna have to deal with that.”

You’re a cool dude, man. I’ve been meeting some people on this journey of interviews lately, in this time, and I have to say, when we’re in the same room, dude, let’s have a beer together, because good people I see, clearly. I’ll be honest with you: do you know what it’s more about? During this time, I’ve had time to sit with my meditation, sit with my faith. You know, I’ve just gone through a divorce after 32 years. My mom left a couple of years before that… I love acting. I’ve never said this, but to clear it up, I love acting. I’ve got two guitars over there. I can pick up a guitar, tune it, and play it. I’ve got paintbrushes… Whatever. But you can’t act without a set. Without a set, you can’t act. Well, you can, but you’re going to look like that strange dude standing in the corner of the room, talking to yourself. (Laughs)

I’ve been that person.

I am that person! I just don’t do it in front of anybody. You know. And it’s not as fulfilling when you don’t hear the word “action” beforehand. Or maybe it can be, actually. But the long and the short of it is, actually, and I’m going to be honest, I did film because I loved it. I haven’t been remunerated, particularly, with it. I want to make sure I am, so I can both put time before, during, and recovery afterwards. I want to say, I do it because it enables me to rest afterwards because the physicality involved… Not just the fighting. That’s not what I’m looking for. I’m looking for that if it’s ensconced within the story. But I also want to know, does it sit alongside me as a human? Me as a man? The songs, the writing, the paintings. I had a book come out, just a couple of days ago, and it went straight to #2 in audiobook. I’m really proud. It’s a spiritual, no, a self-discovery kind of thing. But why am I going through… I’m about to step on set with snot and tears; why? So, instead of doing four movies a year, say I do one. I get to know why. I get to paint again, I get to have a life, and the human side of me, and the recovery of losing mama, and one of my dearest friends on earth now, my ex-wife. But changes in life, the pandemic… As soon as the pandemic hit, my job, my vocation, stopped. So I was like, “Oh, I loved doing that!” There’s so many emotional ramifications of this. And it’s permeated me, my soul, and when I read stuff now, I’m like, “It would be fun, but I don’t think I’m going to do it.” It’s definitely changed the thinking of the human. I don’t have ambition. I don’t think about my career. Most of my days are about, how can I do something that might make people feel less sad or lonely at the moment? I feel really driven to do that.

Sure. I’m thinking about… So many people know you from the different avenues of your career. I told a couple of people I was going to be talking to you, and they went, oh, I love this, or I love that. Tell me about… When you decided or when the tide just went to, “Hey, you’re going to be doing movies,” was it as simple as Guillermo being like, “I want you to do this part?” Did you have to convince him to take a chance on you? Was he like, “Oh, this rock and roll guy wants to do a movie? What are you talking about?”

What happened was, I came to L.A. I had just been through a very tough deal. I lost millions and millions of dollars in a very unfavorable deal. I had to start again. It took me about 12 years to get to zero. It was a big, multi-million dollar mess. And I’m trying to clear it out with a spoon in theater. So I got that done, I came to L.A. and allocated some funds. I tried to keep some for my wife and family to keep them safe. And I said I really want to be on stage again, but not on a wooden stage. I wanted to be on a world stage, if I can. Not for ego, but I wanted to make sure… It was one of my dreams. So I auditioned in L.A. for two years. Sometimes three auditions a day. People sitting like this, legs crossed, on their phones, like, “Hmm-hmm. Tell me about you.” How long do you need? “Ten seconds.” I’ve got too much, it’s best to not say anything. So I just said, let’s get on with it, because I can’t summarize my life in ten seconds. So, two years of auditions will humble any man or woman.

I bet!

You have to get over yourself to do that. Actors are not loved in Hollywood by many people. You’re loved once you’re in the role, but certainly not before. I’m not sure how to say it. But I think I was made to do it as long as I could. Thankfully, Guillermo said… What happened was, I went into the meeting with him. And he asked the casting director, who was lovely, but he asked, “Can you leave us to ourselves? I just want to sit with this man.” He had given me the script the night before. I had just auditioned for Zig Zag with John Leguizamo and Natasha Lyonne, the first American film I landed. Ten minutes in the car, I get a phone call from my agent, “What did you do in the room?” And I said, I didn’t do anything! And he said, “You got the role.” David Goyer is great friends with Guillermo, as we all know, any geek or nerd who doesn’t know him, like, excuse me, we need to talk. But he said, “Read it and let’s talk.” So I read it and he told me, in the room there and then, there’s a lot of moving parts, but for him, he made it clear that he wanted me for the role. I didn’t know what it meant. I was like, “Hold on a minute. I love this genre. I love this film. What do you mean?” And I got the role ten weeks later. And the roles I had, I was covered. It’s been an interesting career. I love acting. And sometimes I’d be asked to do things I didn’t want to do. Like, every villain out there. As soon as they’re maniacal and they just want to take over the world, I could care less. I don’t want to play that guy.

It’s not as interesting…

It’s not “as interesting.” It’s not interesting. Playing a man who wants to rule the world for his own personal gain? I’m definitely not the right guy to call. But if it’s pain, overcoming the father thing, knowing his father’s embarrassed of him and disgusted by him, how do you know that about your father, and “you’re the one who forced this upon me?” There’s an issue. Thank you, Mr. Del Toro. But it was a fight. It was a struggle to get those roles in the beginning, and to this day. I get offers, often. But the big movies, they come along once in a blue moon when somebody thinks I’m right for it. Luckily, I’ve got stuff to keep myself busy. But I don’t find those other types of roles interesting.

I get the impression, just from talking to you, that you’re the lovely kind of fella that people would like to work with again. Looking at your IMDB, your new movie that we’re talking about, Hollow Point, is not your first collaboration with Daniel. And You obviously worked with Guillermo multiple times. And you’ve worked with Christian Sesma a bunch of times. I’ve interviewed him a couple of times, he’s a lovely fella. Tell me about working with the same directors multiple times and developing a rapport and kinda… Not pulling the old, “Do you know who I am?” so they don’t want to work with you anymore.

Let me tell you a story. Michael Caine, who is one of my favorite actors, and truthfully one of the most genuine, beautiful celebrities I’ve ever met. Everything I hoped Michael would be, he was, and is. I think being a gentleman is important. I don’t want to have to tell people what I’ve done, because if I do, then they don’t know who they’re working, and that’s disrespectful. And I mean that in the sense of, I have experience and can work fast and hard, but I keep my eyes open really wide for the director in all regards. I’m a director myself. When I’m doing shows in concert, and they’re big, multi-million dollar things, there are responsibilities to make sure they’re managed right. I think one of the reasons is, I don’t walk on set as the lead actor. I walk on set as a director’s main ally. I walk on set as the guy… If somebody’s being a brat… I can say, “I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t mean to be this way, and I’m not going to be this way on the whole movie, but you don’t want to be the only one doing this, because it’s not a good look.” I’ll just say it! I’ll say, “Come on, let’s be friends. Let’s have a great time. There was a time you were sitting on a couch, waiting for this phone call to happen, and here you are. Let’s not forget that day before you became the professional you now are. But I’m so peaceful about it. But if somebody’s being feisty and mouthy, I’ll deal with it another way. I won’t get physical about it, but hey, I’m an ally. Civility and etiquette on set makes it so lovely. Passion is different.

It’s something that comes out in your characters, especially in this movie. It’s like, let’s be as civil as we can be. Let’s talk through these things. Let’s deal with these like adults… And then, ya know, in the event that it happens to not come across, then, alright, the shirt can come off, we can be macho, I can arm wrestle you and beat the s*** out of you.

Not even that! But you know, when the director has to make a decision on something that’s hurting it? I’ll handle it a different way. I’ll head towards where the pain is. I’ll head towards where the hurt or the disappointment is. That’s what I meant by that.

Right. I was being melodramatic for the sake of…

Nothing wrong with a bit of melodrama, mate! Listen, without that, there’d be no opera. But I agree. I think it is about, sometimes, knowing when to stand strong as a man, in silence. In not moving and saying, “This is not right.” It’s about gratitude. Gratitude fixes a lot of things. I think maybe one of the reasons why directors like me is, I can get really passionate. I’ll be passionate about the role. If I’m being asked to do something that’s contradictory, and blatantly contradictory, just because it’s not been looked at for one second for the facets… Understandably, I might go, “Look, this will contradict this and that, think about the ramifications for the scene.” And then I’ll take a minute. Because I’m like, “No, you just asked me to be another person!” That won’t be me! And directors normally love that kind of troubled intensity, because it means you’re lost in the world, in another world. I think that’s how it should be. You should be lost and ensconced in film. It’s glorious.

I’m thinking about that conflict, when you’ve got a script, and the director needs this and this and this to happen logically, and then there’s you, who’s like an ambassador for this character on the page, and you force yourself to understand them, perhaps more than the viewer ever will.

And the writer, even. You know that if it’s not right, they won’t be talking about the writers. They’ll be talking about what they thought was rubbish about what you did! There’s a responsibility to say to the director, “Please understand, the reason this is bothering me is because…” So he knows that all the passion coming from there is to do with this man that’s not my name. Then you discuss what needs to happen to achieve it. So it’s maybe not exactly what it was. That conversation happened, and because it happened, you find the right beat. And you come together to do it. Good directors can see passion for their project. They get warmth and comfort from it. I think Del Toro sees me dive in to where I lose myself where my body and my needs are secondary to a character of that depth. I think he appreciated me for that. I haven’t seen him in a long time, but he changed my career, and I’ll always have great love and respect for him, for that.

It takes a special kind of guy, especially since we were talking about the cuteness, being super cute, (Laughs) to go, “Alright, I’ll cover myself in this role. I will cover my face, fine, sure!”

So, I was asked to do… They offered me Frankenstein or Victor. And I asked to play the creature. The thing is, it’s not about feeling more validated by my face or not my face… Listen, if you see me in the morning, I’m one of the scariest things you’ve ever seen. I look like Tales from the Crypt. “The story today…” But I’ll be honest with you, it’s about the freedom that a method performance gives you, with or without makeup. Obviously, say with Nuada in Hellboy. There was ways to make him move. Like, I used to cross my legs and rotate, I’d open to turn to frame, so it seemed like he was floating. I wanted to create this almost ethereal movement that was not physically possible for us humans. But the deeper you go, the journey you go on, when I sit with fanboys at Comic-Con or wherever, and fangirls, I become an honorary member. I sit with them immediately, and they know I care as much as they do. I always tell people, for example, with the genre fan, if you don’t have answers for them, they’ll string you up! (Laughs) But that’s what makes them so… When you make a character for that audience, you must go deep. As deep as you can. Because then, you’ll have their wonderful debates for years to come. It’s fun! It makes it so enjoyable. It’s the fun journey afterwards.

I think it’s the mark of a good actor. You have the answers to those questions.

You should!

Those questions the fans would think of, but they’re not necessarily on the screen, but they are because they’re inside you. You know them!

A fan has often given me, for the role, an expansion of my own understanding. Which does a domino effect for a few more. You think, wow, that question opened up those answers for me, as well! You think, this is huge.

Thank you so much. It’s been a treat and a pleasure to get to talk to you. Hollow Point: really cool movie. You’ve got a soul in it, and you get to kick some ass.

Cake on top!

About The Author

Zak Wojnar
(946 Articles Published)

See also  How to Get a Dragon Scale in Pokémon GO

Zak Wojnar is a writer from New York City. He’s covered everything from video games and movies to maple syrup and deli business. Thanks to Screen Rant, he’s discovered his newest passion, interviewing artists. He takes great joy in letting film and gaming legends tell their own story and share their passion for their art.
Zak’s first memory is going with his dad to Tower Records and buying the VHS boxed set of the original Star Wars trilogy. Over the next decade or so, those tapes would be completely worn out through overuse. When he’s not preparing for the next big interview, he can usually be found sitting too close to the TV, either re-watching Miami Vice or The X-Files, or getting lost in a video game.
Zak has bylines at Game Informer, Muscle & Fitness, PopCultureGalaxy, Men’s Fitness, Cheese Connoisseur, and Deli Business (see, that wasn’t a joke before!), among others.
Follow and engage with him on Twitter @ZakWojnar.

More From Zak Wojnar