Before becoming an actor, Brian Ceponis had a couple different professions. He first worked in the financial services industry and then went on to play professional volleyball in Europe. Brian retired from pro volleyball in 2004 and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting full time. He spent 11 years working in Hollywood, adding a slew of credits to his name. In 2015, his career shifted to the east coast and his current home city of Pittsburgh. He has worked on numerous films and television shows, including Wolf Hollow, Massacre Academy, Done Waiting: Chapter 2, Flatwoods, Manhunt: Deadly Games, and All My Children. In 2019, Brian co-founded RedSlate Films and has taken on the additional roles of producer, director, editor, and writer.
HN: What is your favorite Werewolf film, and why?
BC: My favorite werewolf film is Teen Wolf with Michael J Fox. It’s just a fun movie and being that I grew up in the 80s I have a soft spot for films from that decade.
HN: If you could play any role, from any horror film, from anytime. Which role would you love to play?
BC: I’d have to say that the role I would love to play from any horror film would be Jerry Dandrige from Fright Night. Oh wait, I did have a chance to play Jerry Dandrige in an adapted-for-the-stage version of Fright Night. The world premiere of the stage adaptation took place in 2018 here in Pittsburgh, and it was a blast to play that charming vampire. I also have a soft spot for Jason and wouldn’t mind playing him.
HN: The Werewolf designs are fantastic in Wolf Hollow. What was it like to be on set with those beasts?
BC: It was quite fun to be with both of those beasts on set. Each werewolf had a different flair where the Evie wolf was more cunning and strategic while the Bart wolf was more direct and forceful, and it was cool to see them in action and how the the cast responded to them. When the attacks were being filmed there was a bit legit fear coming from some of the actors because of how good the werewolves looked and how intense some moments were played out. All in all, I think the werewolves look wonderful and deliver the right level of fear and violence.
HN: Bart is both empathetic and vengeful at times. Which of these two emotions best describes you?
BC: I’d say the empathetic emotion best describes me. I’m not at all very much of a vengeful person.
HN: As a writer, where did you come up with the story for Wolf Hollow?
BC: I really wouldn’t consider myself a writer on Wolf Hollow. Mark Cantu wrote that whole wonderful script by himself. I only helped give Mark some ideas about the story and how things should play out, but I wasn’t the one who came up with the story for Wolf Hollow. Mark is a one-man filmmaking force of nature, and I was happy to just be able to offer some ideas for the story to him that he could then take and run with.
HN: How much fun is it to be involved with a horror film like Wolf Hollow?
BC: It’s a blast! I never really did any horror films until a couple of years ago when I first worked with Mark on Massacre Academy. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to play a killer clown, Bigfoot, a satanic cult leader, a hooded pick ax wielding slasher, and a werewolf. It’s been a crazy couple of years! Horror films are fun because they let you play in situations that are so very different from everyday life, and they are only limited by one’s imagination. The cool part is working to make things so unique and different from what’s been done while pulling it off in a way that doesn’t come off as campy or cartoony.
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IMDb: imdb.me/brianceponis