Interview with Actor Steve Polites of The Murder Game
Hello children, The Dhampir here, once again bringing you another interview. Following my interview with Robert Harari about his indie film The Murder Game (read review) I bring you Steven Polites (pronounced Polite-ees). I am certain that you will enjoy hearing what this up and coming young thespian has to say!
The Dhampir: First off I would like to thank you for sitting down to talk with us here at Fatally-Yours.
Steve Polites: No problem. Thanks for having me.
The Dhampir: So you’ve acted in The Murder Game, GhostWatcher 2 and just finished Crystal Fog a little while ago. Tell us a bit about yourself?
Steve Polites: I graduated from Towson University, MD with a theatre degree. The last production I was a part of was, Macbeth, through the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival. I recently moved out to California to continue acting out here.
The Dhampir: I talked recently with TMG writer/director Robert Harari (read interview), he said you were a great guy to work with and he’d like to work with you again in the future. How did you get involved with The Murder Game?
Steve Polites: I was a student at Towson University and they had notices up around the department about upcoming auditions for The Murder Game. I had just started acting and this seemed like a great opportunity. I read for the part of Eric and ended up getting the role.
The Dhampir: Eric is the “Ring Leader” popular guy that everyone went to school with, were you able to pull from personal experience for the role, or was it new to you?
Steve Polites: I certainly wasn’t the popular guy in school, but it was easy to base some aspects of the character on people I have known, especially from high school.
The Dhampir: What was the rest of the cast like, on screen you all seemed to gel well, was this the case after the cameras stopped rolling too?
Steve Polites: Absolutely. It was a great group of people all around. We all got along and that carried over to in front of the camera. Which really helped.
The Dhampir: How awkward was the “Sex scene”?
Steve Polites: Haha. Pretty awkward. Rob, the director did a great job in keeping it a closed set and having the atmosphere relaxed and as comfortable as possible. It’s funny, the orgasm you hear as the other characters walk down the hall had to be done through ADR. So, Rob gave me a stop watch, put me in front of the microphone and said, “Orgasm for 30 seconds and be sure to climax at the end”. Vocally of course. It was a trip.
The Dhampir: That is funny! Tell us, what was the shooting schedule like? Early mornings, late nights, how did things go?
Steve Polites: The shooting schedule was very fast paced. Most of the film is all of us in the self-storage unit. We could only film there over night since it was a running business during the day. So, we shot there every night for two weeks. Rob had things organized, so it went well.
The Dhampir: In the opening of the film, you’re playing “The Game”, it seemed somewhat physical, was the physicality of the role ever an issue?
Steve Polites: No. It was actually a lot of fun. In the opening, the audience is not sure what’s going on and who’s who. So, those opening sequences I got to be almost a different character so you think she really is in danger. Then you find out it’s just a game
The Dhampir: Have you ever played, or considered playing The Murder Game in real life?
Steve Polites: I used to play a game called “Murder” when I was younger. Where there was a Cop, The Murderer, Witness, and Victims. I suppose that was kind of like The Murder Game. That was awhile ago though.
The Dhampir: Throughout the film there is always tension between your character and Collin (Samuel Klein), was it difficult to create considering that you all got along well off-screen?
Steve Polites: Haha. Sam’s probably one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. We got along great, but once the camera started rolling we just has fun with it. Well, I had fun with it, he gets most of the abuse throughout the story.
The Dhampir: Which culminated in a fight between your characters near the climax. How did that go?
Steve Polites: It was fun. Actually, Rob was needed elsewhere on the set. He had to deal with some special effects they were rigging up. So, Rob asked if we could come up with something, where Eric just beats the hell out of Collin. He left us alone, we came up with a fight sequence and showed it to Rob when he came back. He ended up liking it, then we filmed it.
The Dhampir: After all of this goes down, and we [the audience] find out who the killer is and your character is “offed.” Talk about that a little.
Steve Polites: That was interesting. I get the ‘ol pole through the neck. Actually when they were rigging it up it was during [the killer’s] monologue up the stairs. So, the body you see laying at the bottom of the stairs is actually Vince Eustace in a command performance as Eric’s corpse. It’s funny. They had to go in during post and recolor the latex around my throat that was holding the pole up. Because I was making that gurgling death sound and as a result my face was getting all red. So, you could see the color difference. It’s fun to have a death scene in a horror movie though.
The Dhampir: That seems to be the part most new actors in horror remember the most, their deaths. Lets shift gears a little and tell me about Ghostwatcher 2, what’s it about and what was your role in that?
Steve Polites: We actually had to break from filming The Murder Game to film Ghostwatcher 2, which was directed by David A. Cross, due to a deadline Dave had. Rob and Dave are close friends and they helped out on each other’s films. Ghostwatcher 2 is about a woman. Laura Cove, who helps others deal with hauntings and supernatural activities that put them in danger. In the film I play Glen, who is Laura’s boyfriend and fellow Ghosthunter. After Ghostwatcher 2 was wrapped we went back and filmed all of the exteriors for The Murder Game.
The Dhampir: So kind of a “one thing leads to another”?
Steve Polites: Yes. I actually got the role of Glen as a result of Dave being on the set and seeing me work on The Murder Game.
The Dhampir: Now let’s go into Crystal Fog it’s not a horror film, it’s more of a…Well why don’t you describe it?
Steve Polites: Well, after doing two horror movies back-to-back, I wanted to do something different. I wanted a chance to tackle a more complex role. Crystal Fog directed by Steve Yeager, is a drama, surrounding three characters. In the story I play Darren. Darren has a girlfriend but then begins to question is sexuality as he falls in love with a drag queen. Ensuing is a very unique story.
The Dhampir: Not to get too deeply into it, but was it a difficult role for you considering some of the subject matter?
Steve Polites: Yes, it was. It is far from my comfort zone and that’s why I had to do it. If as an actor, you are not willing to take those kind of risks, then you are only cheating yourself. The project came at a good time because I had just finished playing Joe Pitt, in, Angels in America: Perestroika, on stage, so it was a good segue for me.
The Dhampir: So what else can we expect to see in the future from you? More horror, more drama? What are your plans?
Steve Polites: Not sure. At this point, I don’t really have the clout to pick and choose which projects I would like to take part in. I just want to be a part of great storytelling, whether that be on Film or Theatre.
The Dhampir: I must say, that there is terribly little about you on the internet. You’re a difficult man to research, where new actors, even in indie films, promote themselves everywhere. Why haven’t you promoted yourself more?
Steve Polites: I’m in the process of doing that. I just put my actor’s reel on YouTube. So, that’s a first step, I suppose, in promoting myself.
The Dhampir: Well, I’d like to thank you once again for taking the time to do this interview, any parting thoughts, shout outs or the like?
Steve Polites: Just like to thank you again for having me!
Steve Polites Acting Reel:
Popularity: 21% [?]
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