Matthew Brock
He played in Dave Brock‘s Dollar Baby The Road Virus Heads North as the Road Virus.
SKSM: Could you start with telling me a bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?
Matthew Brock: My name is Matthew Brock and I’m currently the Manager of a Salvation Army Social Service Office and Thrift Store. We help people who need food, clothing, shelter, and toys for children at Christmas time. I also work on film projects with my bother, David, and my sister, Becky.
SKSM: How did you become involved in The Road Virus Heads North?
Matthew Brock: I have a verbal agreement with my brother to be in all of his films and help work on them when I’m available. It is ironclad and punishable by wedgie if he breaks the deal. He sees me as a good luck charm now, so I hope to do more.
SKSM: Did you have to audition for the part or was it written directly for you?
Matthew Brock: I think he adapted it with me in mind. We had hoped to do more scenes with me actually ‘doing’ things, but at the time, my job had me on call 24/7 and we barely got the pictures done.
SKSM: Was there any funny or special moment when they made the movie that you would like to tell me about?
Matthew Brock: The man who loaned us the car refused to drive to location on the day of the shoot due to ‘potential’ rain. It was the only day I could be there, so we went to him and shot all the angles. The car was actually in a field and they used photoshop to alter the backgrounds. They did a great job. I also had trouble fitting in the car. My knees were up in my chest. I’m about 6′ 4″, 300+ lbs and the car was NOT made for me….it was painful.
SKSM: You worked with your own brother and sister on this film, how was that?
Matthew Brock: We always work together on projects, so it wasn’t much different from everything else we do. We work great together and seem to supplement each other very well.
SKSM: Do you still have any contact with the crew/cast from that time? If so with who?
Matthew Brock: I didn’t get to work with anyone in the movie,sadly. Our shoot was seperate from the rest.
SKSM: What did you do after The Road Virus Heads North?
Matthew Brock: I went back to work. My film career is horribly short right now. We (my brother, sister, and I) are working on some new projects. They are busy writing and producing and I’m picking out what part I want *wink*
SKSM: How did they make the paintings with you in it? And what do you think of the painting in the Nightmares and Dreamscapes episode? Which one did you like better?
Matthew Brock: The paintings are just photos altered to look like they have a painted finish and a lot of Photoshop was used to create the backgrounds. I didn’t like the Nightmares as Dreamscapes paintings at all. They looked more like drawings. I didn’t care much for the episode and it’s not because we did this version. It seemed a little too long and the Road Virus talked! He didn’t talk in the story. One of the things I like about the story was you never saw his real face, just the painting. There were a few things that I did like, such as some of the exterior painting angles and the scene where his ex-wife saw his damaged car and she asked if someone had tried to steal his painting.
SKSM: Are you (or were you) a fan of Stephen King’s work?
Matthew Brock: Some of my favorite books are The Stand, Eye of the Dragon, Cell, and Dreamcatcher. I think The Stand was also the best mini-series.
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything else you want to say to the fans that read this interview?
Matthew Brock: If I may, I would like to take this time to shamelessly promote some of my sister’s stuff. She wrote some great short stories in Book of All Flesh and Brainchild. Check out her site at www.horrorhack.com. There are also links to all of our My Space pages at www.myspace.com/cardoc24 Write me…I just started the page and I want to add some friends. Thanks for the interview.
