William Sadler began his acting career in New York theaters, appearing in more than 75 productions over the course of 12 years. His roles included that of Sgt. Merwin J. Toomey in Neil Simon’s Tony Award winning play “Biloxi Blues”. He is best remembered for his roles in DIE HARD 2, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMEPTION, and as The Grim Reaper in the Bill and Ted movies. William Sadler is also a television star, appearing in such sitcoms as Roseanne (1988) and Murphy Brown (1988) and he also starred as Sheriff Jim Valenti on the WB science fiction television series Roswell. William Sadler’s latest project is a co-starring role in ALICE FADES AWAY, written and directed by Ryan Bliss and also starring Ashley Shelton, Paxton Singleton and Blanche Baker. ALICE FADES AWAY is the story of a troubled woman in 1950s New England who stumbles upon an isolated farmhouse and is taken in by its idealistic residents -until a murderous figure from her past arrives.
William Sadler took the time to talk to We Are Movie Geeks about his career and about ALICE FADES AWAY.
Interview conducted by Tom Stockman March 3rd, 2021
Tom Stockman: Greetings Bill. I’m calling from St. Louis. Have you ever been here?
William Sadler: No, I can’t say that I have.
TS: But you co-starred in a movie want that took place in East St. Louis.
WS: That’s right! TRESPASS.
TS: That’s right across the river. But today we need to talk about ALICE FADES AWAY. How did you get involved in this project?
WS: The producers called my agent and told them that there was a role in this movie they would love for me to consider. I read the script and liked the character. I thought it was a fun premise and I like playing characters like this. He was a wealthy, powerful, controlling man who is in a situation that he cannot control and it’s costing him. And it’s costing him more than money. I thought there was a lot of humanity there.
TS: And anger. You did a great job of portraying a man who has just been eaten away by anger. You’re so good in the film.
WS: Thank you very much.
TS: Your scenes are separate from the other actors in the film. Did you interact at all with the rest of the cast?
WS: No. That’s just sort of the way the economy of these types of film work. I wasn’t involved in their scenes so there was no reason to fly me to those locations. That’s one of the ways producers can get me to do things. Get me in and out.
TS: Where do you reside?
WS: I’m on the East Coast, just north of New York City near Millbrook.
TS: Ryan Bliss directed about ALICE FADES AWAY and this was his directorial debut. What was he like as a first time director?
WS: He was lovely. Great to work with. He sort of had a classical background in film so it was fun to talk movies with him. One of my favorite traits for directors to have is trust for the actors. My favorite notes from the Director is when they take you aside and whisper in your ear “that was great“.
TS: Did you guys stick to the script with ALICE FADES AWAY, or was there some improv involved in this production?
WS: There was the tiniest bit of improve but we mostly stuck pretty close to the script. When the writing is good, I feel less inclined to go off-script.
TS: Have you seen the final film?
WS: Yes I have. I don’t really like to be frightened when I watch a movie. I found this one creepy and scary although beautifully shot with some really strong performances. I don’t mind making scary movies, but I’m not the best audience for them.
TS: You’ve been in a lot of horror films though.
WS: I know!
TS: How did you get started in acting?
WS: It happened back in high school. I was in a rock band and a garage band and a folk band. I was doing stand-up comedy, anything to get on stage.
TS: Did you write your own jokes when you were doing standup?
WS: Yes I did.
TS: Do you have any old videos of that.
WS: I don’t. I wish I did. I did it all over Buffalo New York. I played the banjo and told jokes. I was “Banjo Bill Sadler“ I played at all sorts of events, Christmas parties, and things like that. I had an English teacher that encouraged me to try out for the high school play. I did and got the lead. It was Harvey. It was a funny and charming role that I fell into in a way that I have never experienced before. That play led to another play that was even more personal and engaging and the door just sort of opened for me.
TS: Were you a movie buff growing up?
WS: I can’t really say that I was. We lived on a farm outside of Buffalo, New York and get to a movie theater maybe three or four times a year. But I was a television buff. My brothers and I used to run around the barn with our BB guns and pretend we were The Man From U.N.C.L.E or Vic Morrow in Combat, dive out of the hayloft and come up shooting.
TS: As you mentioned, you did a lot of stage work earlier in your career. Would you be interested in getting back on the stage again?
WS: I guess if the opportunity presented itself. The theater is a beautiful institution, a great place that requires a lot of discipline and a lot of work. You can’t be late, and you have an hour of warming up before the show, and you can’t have a headache. On the upside, it’s fantastic because there is a wonderful community that you feel a part of that is unlike anything in the movies.
TS: Are there any roles that you turned down that you regretted not taking?
WS: No, I can’t recall any that I turn down and regretted but there were roles that I auditioned for that I did not get. For RESERVOIR DOGS, they had me up for the role of Mr. Pink. I read with Harvey Keitel and Quentin had me back three or four times and I was reading and reading and reading, He ended up going with Steve Buscemi, but since I was unable to do that, I was able to go off and do THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.
TS: Are you surprised that the depth of the love and following that THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION has so many years later?
WS: Oh I am blown away and humbled by the way moviegoers have embraced that film. We all thought at the time that it was a good strong story. Frank Darabont was a very new director at the time. There were so many ways that it could have gone differently, but it didn’t, as there were all of these happy accidents. There was a time when Tom Cruise was interested in playing the Tim Robbins role, and Rob Reiner was interested in directing Cruise in it. Frank told me that Rob Reiner offered him money not to direct it, but we all know how it turned out.
TS: How has Covid affected your work so far?
WS: It has slowed things down enormously. I was shooting another scary movie called SHRINE, which I think they are retitling as THE UNHOLY for Screen Gems. I was filming it in Boston back in March and I drove home for the weekend. Sunday night, I was getting ready to drive back and they called and said not to come back, that they were shut down. That’s it. We did not resume filming until September when they finally figured out all the protocols and testing. They had to rewrite scenes. I played a priest and for the scenes where I am preaching to my congregation, they just shot me alone, and then they shot the audience piece by piece, and edited it together because they couldn’t film people sitting close to each other.
TS: IMDb claims there is a new movie about Edward Wood that you are in that is in preproduction. What can you tell me about that?
WS: Really? I don’t know anything about that.
TS: Hmm. According to this you play the psychic Criswell.
WS: What? Well, I hope I’m good in it. Somebody probably just put it on IMDb and thought that I wouldn’t notice it.
TS: What else do you have coming up that you can talk about?
WS: I’ve got ALICE FADES AWAY and UNHOLY which I think is going to scare the daylights out of people. It’s like the Exorcist in a small town.
TS: Well good luck with that and all your future projects. I really enjoyed talking to you. You have been a favorite actor of mine for a long time.
WS: Well I appreciate that.
