Fred Williamson, aka The Hammer, has been an action icon ever since he burst onto the screens in such '70s exploitation classics as HAMMER (1972), BLACK CAESAR (1973), HELL UP IN HARLEM (1973), THAT MAN BOLT (1973), BOSS NIGGER (1975), BUCKTOWN (1975) and THE INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (1978). More recently he appeared in films such as FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996), ORIGINAL GANGSTAS (1996), BLACKJACK (1998) and STARSKY AND HUTCH (2004). An ex-professional football player, Williamson is renowned for throwing himself into his action roles, and for his unflappable composure, sex appeal and physical toughness on and off-screen. Now 80 years old, Williamson shows no signs of slowing down, with a new adventure movie, NAZI DOOMSDAY DEVICE (aka ATOMIC EDEN), out now on VOD through Amazon and Vimeo. In the film Williamson is the head of a group of mercenaries out to find a secret weapon created by the Nazis during WWII. I spoke with Williamson about the film and his career.
What attracted you the
most about your new film NAZI DOOMSDAY DEVICE?
I got involved with the
film because I was a friend of the director Nico Sentner. I always
try to help fellow actors or directors because I know how hard it is
to be noticed in this business. I read the script and saw that the
person he wanted me to play was in line with the image I have in all
my films. Money wasn’t the motivation since there was none. Helping
a friend was my motivation.
What impressed you the
most about working with Nico?
Nico is a good director
and with more experience he will become a better director.
What was it like
working with the cast, which includes Lorenzo Lamas?
Working with the cast
was interesting. There were only two or three really professional
actors in the film, but they did a good job. It made me work harder
to make the film believable.
You are now 80 years
old, but you look much much younger. What is the secret to staying in
such great shape?
What!! You mean I’m
80? There must have been a mistake at the hospital. I feel the same
as when I was 30. It must be my black jelly bean diet - not the
colored one but the black only. That’s my story and I’m sticking
to it.
What did you learn
from your career in football that came in useful when you came to
Hollywood and began acting?
What I learned from
football is that hard work pays off, and also that fans are fickle.
Live by your own assessment of yourself not the praise fans lay on
you 'cause it can change like the wind.
How easy a transition
was it for you when you began acting?
There was no
transition I had to make to become an actor, only to learn the trade,
as I did to become a football player. The only negative I experienced
was the so called big sport stars before me had failed at becoming
Hollywood stars and I knew I would be viewed the same way. It was my
confidence that came thru to allow them to give me a chance.
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| In Star Trek. |
Did you look to Jim
Brown as an example of how to mold a career?
I never had any
conversations with Jim Brown until I had done a tv series (Julia) and
the movie M*A*S*H (1970). Being in the right place at the right time, I was
at a resturant when someone walked up to me and said. ''Are you the
Hammer?'' I said yes. He said ''I’m doing a film. I have a football
game in it. Would you put the game together, cast real football
players and play a role?'' The film was M*A*S*H and the guy talking
to me was Robert Altman.
It's almost thirty
years since you acted in the Star Trek episode The Cloud Minders (1969).
What is your strongest memory of the experience?
Star Trek happened the
same way. I was approached by someone with the same question, and I
said yes. They said ''We need someone to beat up Captain Kirk''. I
said ''I’m the man''. This happened while I was still playing
football.
After you made HAMMER,
did you realise that you now had a strong persona that you could
capitalise on?
It was not the
beginning of my strong persona. That came the day I was born. When
the doc held me up and slapped my bottom, I peed on him.
You were one of the
kings of the blaxploitation genre in the 70s. Did you feel a
responsibility to portray strong role models for black audiences?
My approach to the
movies is what I’m talking about. I just played me. I was lucky
that fans enjoyed this character, so it was no big stretch for me to
portray these cool and tough characters. My approach had a longer
span than the other black actors in the 70’s because they fell for
the 'Let’s get Whitey' payback movies. In my movies I kicked every
one's ass. Black. White. Colored. Pink. Purple. Yellow. If you were
the bad guy, you had to go down. Therefore my films did not fit into
this so called Blaxploitation era. They tried, but the genre didn’t
work. This era only lasted about four years, then it went away. But I
didn’t.
What did you best
enjoy about working with Larry Cohen on the three pictures (BLACK CAESAR, HELL UP IN HARLEM, ORIGINAL GANGSTAS) you made
together?
I learned from Larry
Cohen that guerilla film making is a lot of fun.
What inspired you to
make the move to directing? What did you learn from some of the
directors you worked with?
I started to direct,
produce and write for many reasons, but probably the main one being
that at that time in the 70’s it was 'Kill the black within 5
minutes of the film, then spend the rest of the story with the white
guy avenging his death'. I thought 'Forget my death being avenged.
Let me avenge HIS death'. That was not to be, as we had no black
heroes at that time, so my goal was to give my fans a hero regardless
of the color.
You always threw
yourself into your action scenes. Did doing so many action scenes
come with any physical cost?
Being physical is part
of my being me. 10 years of pro football certainly prepared me for
any lumps and bruises I get from making movies. I have no stunt
double because all the stuntmen that are black are much smaller than
me, so I very happy to do my own stunts and double me. Good fun.
How does it feel to be
loved by directors such as Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino?
How was working with them on FROM DUSK TILL DAWN?
Quentin and Rodriguez
are both great. You know what makes great directors? The ones that
listen to the key actors they hired. Great ideas sometimes come from
the actors about their characters. These two guys listen and digest
these ideas and sometimes add their own touch which makes it better.
That’s how it should work. Making FROM DUSK TILL DAWN was a lot of
fun. All that stuff that happens in that movie could never have been
written as a script. It was Robert and Quentin's ideas that kept the
movie going at its fast pace, along with ideas from the professional
cast.
Does it surprise you
that your legacy continues to grow?
Everything I approach,
I do so with the attitude to be the best, and so far so good.
What other projects do
you have coming up?
Next projects are a
sequel to ORIGINAL GANGSTAS and I am preparing to shoot an action
film in Italy with Enzo Castellari directing. Hopefully it
will happen soon but fingers and toes crossed may help.
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