{"id":8053,"date":"2014-10-12T12:45:27","date_gmt":"2014-10-12T12:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/site\/?p=8053"},"modified":"2014-10-13T00:37:44","modified_gmt":"2014-10-13T00:37:44","slug":"interview-mark-patton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com\/site\/interview-mark-patton\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Mark Patton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark Patton, star of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy\u2019s Revenge<\/em>, has been quite busy since his reemergence in the documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy<\/em>. Besides running his business Lalo Morales Designs in Mexico, Mark has become a frequent guest on the horror convention circuit and recently filmed his own documentary, There Is No Jesse<\/em>. Forum member Blake Best<\/a> caught up with Mark in June 2011 and interviewed him about his participation in the first Elm Street<\/em> sequel, his experience engaging fans at conventions, and his feelings about leaving acting.<\/p>\n

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Mark Patton: It\u2019s Mark Patton. How are you?<\/p>\n

Blake Best: Hey, Mark! I\u2019m doing well. Thank you for calling me to discuss your role in the Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em> franchise.<\/span><\/p>\n

No problem, Blake.<\/p>\n

I read somewhere on the Internet that you auditioned for Johnny Depp\u2019s role, Glen Lantz, in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em>. Is that true?<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes I did. I screen tested for the part. It came down to Johnny Depp and me, and he got the role.<\/p>\n

What compelled you to audition for the role of Jesse Walsh in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2<\/em>? Did you request the audition personally? Do you see any parallels between yourself and Jesse?<\/span> <\/p>\n

No, I did not request the audition personally. When you\u2019re a working actor in Los Angeles, your agents get you auditions. I actually beat out both Matt Damon and Brad Pitt for the role! But I left acting after that film, and both their careers flourished! When it came down to casting Jesse, they had already picked Robert Rusler as Jesse\u2019s friend. Robert and I had good chemistry. A lot of me comes through Jesse.<\/p>\n

Did you have fun while making the film? Were there any difficult things you faced while on set?<\/span><\/p>\n

Definitely! Hope [Lange] and I had a lot of fun together. We would spend time together on set. She was wonderful, and we became drinking buddies too! [laughs]. That scene where I dance on the bed to \u201cTouch Me (All Night Long)\u201d was so over the top! When I see it now, I just can\u2019t believe it made it into the film [laughs]. That prosthetic tongue I had to wear was another story. Speaking of difficult, that tongue was very painful to wear. It kept my mouth stretched open and I couldn\u2019t eat or drink with it in my mouth. I wore it for several hours. I wore the tongue during my make out scene with Kim [Myers], who played my girlfriend Lisa. Being a gay man and trying to make out with a woman with this giant tongue hanging out of my mouth was so outrageous! Kim and I laughed so much because it was so outlandish.<\/p>\n

How does it feel to be in the horror convention circuit? Did it shock you that Jesse is such a popular character and you have so many fans?<\/span><\/p>\n

The convention circuit is fantastic! I’m very humbled by all of the fans that stand in line just to get a picture with me and have me sign things for them. I’m also beginning work on a documentary film called There Is No Jesse<\/em>, and I\u2019m going to be using footage from some of the conventions. I’m deeply touched that so many fans relate to Jesse and consider him to be a hero to them and an inspiration to get them through their own struggles.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen you brandishing a Freddy glove of your own in many of the convention photos I\u2019ve seen recently.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, I finally have one of my own! Recently, I was in Germany for a convention and my glove was stolen. I will get another one though. <\/p>\n

Someone took your glove? I\u2019m sorry to hear that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately. I will have another one!<\/p>\n

I saw your Never Sleep Again<\/em> interview, where you discussed leaving acting because of how gay actors were being treated. Do you regret leaving the acting business?<\/span><\/p>\n

Just after Nightmare 2<\/em> came out, a group of people started following around actors that they thought were gay, and would harass them, and take pictures of them. It hurt me because I couldn\u2019t be myself without having someone harass me. I loved acting, but the pain of being followed and crucified because I was gay was too much for me. I left acting not long after Nightmare 2<\/em>. I regret that I had to give up something I loved because I was worried for my safety.<\/p>\n

Sources online say you have expressed interest in returning to the A Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em> universe. Is that true?<\/span><\/p>\n

If I were asked, I would definitely come back to the films.<\/p>\n

What have you been doing since you left acting?<\/span><\/p>\n

I am a partner at Lalo Morales Designs in Mexico. <\/p>\n

Mark, thank you so much for taking time to call me and discuss your Nightmare on Elm Street<\/em> experience!<\/span><\/p>\n

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We would like to thank Blake for submitting this terrific interview and Mark for his time! You can learn more about<\/em> There Is No Jesse here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Mark Patton, star of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy\u2019s Revenge, has been … Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[392,14,448,177,322],"class_list":["post-8053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-website-updates","tag-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-2-die-traum-falle","tag-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-2-freddys-revenge","tag-interview","tag-mark-patton","tag-there-is-no-jesse"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t