I never thought it would get made – I was so pessimistic. This is a reinterpretation, and I feel – with all humility – that it's to Dark Shadows' credit that someone can find a new way of doing it. That's what we did on the original show – we reinvented things like Dracula and Turn of the Screw and Dorian Gray...
Do you think this film is still Dark Shadows as we know it?
When I was on the set, seeing what was going on, I could tell that the tone was significantly different. I had misgivings, I’ll admit. I thought hopefully it would be OK, but it could be a real bomb. But then I saw the first trailer and was kinda taken with it! It's an homage – it's a recognition of the value of the original material, to have made Tim Burton's imagination take off with it the way it has.
Director Tim Burton has spoken a lot about wanting to capture the 'vibe' of the original show. What do you take that to mean?
I've been asked so many times what I think was the most distinguishing characteristic of the TV show, and I think it was that the acting was realistic. Now that's not true of everyone... There were some more arch performances – people like Grayson [Hall] (Julia Hoffman) and Chris Pennock (Jeb Hawkes) – but for the most part, we played it with conviction. We were encouraged to be believable, so when a bat came in the room – and it was a Halloween toy dangled by some anxious prop man – there was no question of rolling our eyes or letting the audience in on the joke. It was played with total conviction. So here were all these absurd situations – telling ghosts to go back to their graves – but played with total conviction. That gave Dark Shadows its tone. I think audiences are smarter than they used to be. Tim Burton is letting the audience in a little more on that joke.
