Respected British genre actor Doug Bradley, perhaps most renowned for portraying the lead Cenobite – or ‘Pinhead’ in the ‘Hellraiser‘ franchise, has joined the cast of Carrion films fourth animation ‘The Hairy Hands‘.
Doug Bradley provides the voice of of ‘Mr Brook’, the suspicious boss of the film’s protagonist that rumbles Cole’s betrayal and instigates his pursuit. Recording was completed in Soho on November 4th with Actress Sam Burgess as the voice of ‘Susie’ the secretary.
“The part of Mr Brook required someone who could evoke a certain authority, a certain dreadful gravitas…someone that when the audience heard them would instantly understand that Cole’s crimes would have dire consequence…and I kept thinking of Doug Bradley – partially because of the ‘Pinhead’ thing but actually more because of his portrayal of Elliot Spencer, the Cenobites human counterpart. For all its bizarre Americanisms, I love 
‘Hellraiser’ ironically for its strange English subtleties…I like its gothic sensibilities, I love Julia’s sordid seductions to murder – crimes that evoke a peculiar British grubbiness… Also, I have to say that, perhaps naively, from the outset I desperately wanted a respected genre actor to play a part in this film, but I never really genuinely thought that something would actually come out of it. I think that’s hats off to Tom’s (Atkinson) professionalism and also testament to Doug Bradley’s commitment to independent Cinema and the sincerity of his love for the genre. It was fascinating talking to Doug about his experiences in the horror field and especially hearing his passionate views on the current state of the horror genre. It’s always a worry to meet someone that you’ve had a great deal of admiration for, but Doug was an absolute gentleman, expressing a sincere interest in Carrion Film’s ongoing horror projects. And Nicholas Vince is absolutely one of the most friendly and charming people I’ve ever met. I’m very proud to have worked with Doug and Nicholas and sincerely hope to do so again in the near future. ” – Ashley Thorpe
.
Doug Bradley was born in Liverpool, England, and is a longtime close friend of horror/fantasy novelist Clive Barker, the two having met when they attended secondary school, and has worked with Barker in various capacities (from the ‘Dog theatre company’ to the Hellraiser films) since the early 1970s. As well as the ‘Hellraiser’ series, Doug has starred in Clive Barker’s ‘Nightbreed’, and in two award-winning short horror films ‘On Edge’ and ‘Red Lines’.
Bradley is also the author of an autobiography, as well as a volume “Sacred Masks: Behind the Mask of the Horror Actor“ which explores the history of masks in society, and their applications in Horror Movies. In 2010 apart from ‘The Hairy Hands‘ he will also feature in the British/Spanish horror film ‘Exorcismus‘. Doug is also working on a series of classic horror audio readings which intend to revolutionise the medium. The following is taken from Doug’s official site: http://www.dougbradley.co.uk/
“…We have produced what is planned to be the first in ongoing series which we’re calling ‘Doug Bradley’s Spine Chillers’ and the first of these is now available. It’s H P Lovecraft’s short story ‘The Outsider’. At the moment we’re making it available as a download. You can check out a free preview or pay for the whole thing:www.renegadeartsentertainment.com/spinechillers
It started life as a half-baked idea from me which popped into my head while recording ‘Mr B Gone’ and was essentially no more than the feeling that the ‘talking book’ hadn’t moved forward since the days of the cassette tape and that it really should be possible to offer more in the digital age. And it sprang from that to a finished product in pretty short order. Through the good offices of Digital Deli it was recently screened at BAFTA and I was delighted by the response. We will soon be making it available in hard copy and will present it in multiple platforms, the idea being you could play it as a DVD, mount it on your PC/iPod/phone in audio-visual form or listen to it as a good old audio book in the car on your way to work.
When Renegade’s present project is finished – the video to accompany a track from Judas Priest’s new album ‘Nostradamus’, we will commence work on the second Spine Chiller which is slated to be Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Tell Tale Heart’. If the series takes off, I hope to expand it to use other actors and contemporary and unsigned authors.” – Doug Bradley
Aswell as Doug Bradley, ‘Hellraiser‘ actor Nicholas Vince has also joined the voiceover cast of ‘The Hairy Hands‘. Nicholas portrayed the ‘Chatterer’ Cenobite in ‘Hellraiser‘ aswell as Kinski in ‘Nightbreed‘ and has lent his vocals to that of the radio caller on a supernatural phone-in (hosted by BBC Radio DJ Jo Loosemore) that forms the film’s expositional frame.
Apart from acting Nicholas has also written (though not exclusively) for comics; writing stories for the ‘Hellraiser‘ and ‘Nightbreed‘ comics plus the series ‘Warheads‘ and ‘Mortigan Goth‘. He also modelled for the art of John Bolton, Dave McKean in ‘Cages‘ and was the model used by Clive Barker for the covers of the seminal ‘Books of Blood’. He served as both secretary and chairman of the Comics Creators Guild. One of his short stories features in the new Hellraiser universe based anthology ‘Hellbound Hearts‘.
“Nicholas was a wonderful person to work with: very friendly, very charming… we actually spent a lot more time talking about both the Carrion film projects and ‘Hellraiser’ than actually recording anything! A very generous and charming man, with an infectious laugh!”
The finished film, made in association with the UK Film Council, South West Screen, Devon County Council and the Exeter Phoenix, will make its premiere at this years ‘Two Short Nights‘ festival to be held at the Exeter Phoenix, November 28th.