Mr. March: Sean Patrick Flanery

Interview by Kayley ThomasSean Patrick Flanery – When I told Heidi I’d set up an interview with him for Pretty/Scary, I think her heart might have stopped momentarily. Mine may have skipped a beat too. There’s a lot to love. He had that cute and creepy thing going for him in Powder. He was simply adorable (I mean, very manly) as Young Indiana Jones. He had the honor of getting ganked by Christopher Walken in Suicide Kings. He’s brought us some serious (and not-so serious) scares in Demon Hunter, The Masters of Horror’s The Damned Thing, Kaw, and The Insatiable, as well as episodes of Charmed, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, and more recently, The Dead Zone. And he’s got some more sf/f and horror in the works: Deadly Impact hits DVD this April with Mongolian Death Worms and Scavengers slated for later in 2010. Plus, he’s pretty easy on the eyes and a sweet, funny guy...

It's spaghetti sauce, Ma, really

Born in Louisiana and raised in Houston, Texas, Sean really is a good ol’ Southern boy. He’s the kind of guy you take home to meet your mama, killer smile and well-mannered – except you’d probably want to tell him to save his more off-color jokes for your younger brothers. And that smile really is a killer – Sean is perhaps known best as one half of the Boondock Saints’ ever-boyish and happy-go-lucky, Irish serial killing vigilante twins, Connor MacManus. He takes on the familiar role once again in Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, out on DVD March 9, like he never left it, swinging from ropes (always with the rope!), shooting up the bad guys, and sliding into easy banter with Norman Reedus (Murphy MacManus) like an old pair of jeans – or a snug black peacoat. This is due in large part to the fact that, minus the whole killing bit, Sean is a dead ringer for Connor – charming, witty, a little silly, a little politically incorrect, and loyal to a fault, with a set of scruples he’ll stick to his guns on (just not literal ones).

prerequisite 'Stud with a Gun' picture (from Boondock Saints II)

For a movie that had a limited release on five screens back in 1999 and hit DVD in 2000 to an overwhelming critical massacre, Boondock Saints has become something of a cult classic. The movie spread like wildfire once it was placed in the hands of actual audiences, fan fervor keeping the legend of the MacManus twins alive for the past ten years to the point that the unthinkable happened – director Troy Duffy put out a sequel. One that went from another limited release – this time in 64 theaters – to 524 theaters. The sequel comes out on DVD March 9 and the original film is screening for one night only in select theaters March 11. Sean says it’s all been possible because of the fans, and we talked about his experiences with them, his guy code, his message to the critics, and his soft spot for furry creatures.

Two studs with guns! Even better! ('Boondock Saints')

What was it like for you coming back to this role after so long?

Sean: It was a pleasure. It wasn’t difficult or anything. It was something that we’d been looking to do for a long time, so finally getting the opportunity to do it was great. And it’s different than a normal film because it’s buddies. We’re old friends, and we’re all making a movie together; it’s one of the few films that at the wrap party when you exchange phone numbers with everybody, you actually use these phone numbers. It was cool. It was just like making a movie with a bunch of buddies.

It definitely has that feel to it. It’s very much a “buddy” kind of film. I heard that there was a lot of the crew that came back from the first film as well. That’s pretty rare, right?

Sean: Yeah, a bunch of the crew. The whole cast, the whole crew, barring a couple of individuals, pretty much everybody came back.

Uh, phallic much? ('All Saints Day')

Have you kept in touch with a lot of the cast and the crew between filming? Or was it more like you got back together again and sort of fell into place like old times?

Sean: We’ve always been friends. Troy Duffy and Angela and Brian Mahoney, they were at my house last night. They’re all friends of mine. Me and Norm and Rocco have been friends for fifteen years.

Flashing back to the first film, what was it that attracted you to playing Connor to start with?

Sean: It was a well-written script. It was a great story. The same that attracted everybody else in Hollywood to it, really – it was a great script.

Anything about that particular character?

Sean: The idea of vengeance. It wasn’t a very politically correct script. We were sick of Hollywood bowing to the coastal fans for films. Everybody had to be politically correct, you can’t say certain things, and we broke all of those rules. Finally there’s two guys in every city who do what I think everybody really wants somebody to do – to sort it out. When somebody commits a heinous crime, there was a couple of guys actually righting some of the wrongs.

Promoting the film and fucking around with Clifton Collins, Jr. and Norman Reedus

Certainly there was no other film like it. Did you expect it to become the hit that it was? Albeit sort of after the fact...

Sean: No, you can never expect something like that. That’s the rarest thing that ever happens. You can’t expect that, you can’t orchestrate it, you can’t plan it, you can’t write it – it just happens. The fans have to take ownership of something, and they have to turn on two friends, and those two turn on two…Because, you know, they just kind of threw it on a Blockbuster shelf. One week there were two copies, the next week there were four, the next week there were eight, then there was a shelf, then two shelves, then a whole wall. It just sort of happens organically, and that’s really because of the fans. Because the fans turned their friends onto the movie. It wasn’t any well thought out plot.

We’ve been seeing the same thing happen with All Saints Day too. That limited release at first, and now it keeps on increasing. That’s been really fascinating to watch, just new cities popping up all of the time.

Sean: Yeah, it’s been pretty neat. For the amount of theaters that it was released in, I don’t know of another movie that’s done this – we had a per screen average that beat the Michael Jackson movie the weekend it came out. It’s pretty amazing for a little film like that.

Sean and Norman. How cute, they color coordinate!

When you guys got together to film the sequel, what were you hoping to come of this?

Sean: You never have any expectations. It’s like, you want to make a good film. We had a good script, and we wanted to make a good film. We wanted to have a good time, we wanted to be true to the fans, we didn’t want to make something that was like a commercial sellout. We wanted to do something that we thought was an adequate sequel to the first. That’s what we set out to do.

I think one of the things that the fans have been saying, and I myself enjoyed a lot about the film, was kind of the throwback it makes to the first movie in many ways. It’s very much conscious of the fanbase. Now, I have come across some critics attacking the film for just that, which I think is bullshit, but I’m curious: how would you respond to that? This idea that there’s something wrong with catering to your fanbase in some ways? Like the references back to the rope, these sort of inside-jokes for the people who’ve seen the first film.

Sean: How do I respond? I don’t respond. We make it for the fans. We’re not making it for the critics. I don’t care what they say. It’s just like I don’t care what somebody else’s girlfriend looks like – I care what my girlfriend looks like. I don’t care. Go see the films that you love, brother. We made it for the people that love Boondock 1. Certainly we’re going to give them little throwbacks to the first one, little inside jokes – it’s the same way you treat any friend. There’s a certain unspoken vernacular that you use only with your best friends. It’s a fine point of the sequel. We’re speaking directly to them. They’re our fanbase. They’re the reason that we got to make a sequel. The critics aren’t the reason we got to make a sequel. Jesus, they panned it across the board, so what do I say to them? Fuck them, that’s what I say. [laughs]

Best picture taken, of anything, ever?

Damn right. That’s definitely one of the strongest things about the film. I mean, I loved the plot development and the back story, but this idea that you guys have such a dialogue with your fans – it’s very rare in Hollywood. There’s not usually a concern besides dollar signs, but here that conversation is definitely happening.

Now, out of some of the nods back to the old film, were there any that you particularly had as a favorite? Was there anything where you and Norman were like, Oh we want to do this, Troy? Was there a discussion of what references you wanted to make?

Sean: Oh, little things, you know. The cat walking by in Rocco dream sequence – we’re all fans of that.

Obviously, you guys have such a devoted following. People with Connor and Murphy’s tattoos, etc – You have had any particularly interesting or memorable interactions with fans?

Sean: All of the time! There’s guys with new tattoos, tattoos of the Saints on their chests holding guns, all kinds of stuff like that. They’re the best fans in the world. It’s a different relationship. Any other fan of a movie, you could never sit down and have a drink with them because they kind of idolize you. But with the Boondock Saints, they really think we’re friends, and we are! At every screening, we have an after party and they all come to some Irish pub and we sit down and we all do shots of Jamie together. It’s a different relationship. We’re like blue collar actors, you know? We’re not like chic, behind the velvet rope actors. We’re like regular guys, and so we have a different relationship with the fanbase.

Sean in the bad sci-fi film 'Demon Hunter' - and yet, still one badass motherfucker.

I think that’s something that really appeals to the fans. The characters in the film have that same sort of everyman appeal too.

What did you enjoy most about the sequel – either the film itself or what you were able to do with your character?

Sean: My favorite part of Boondock was actually filming it. I’m making a movie with all of my buddies, so every minute’s fun. We’re having a good time in the van ride to set, just joking around and bullshitting with Billy Connelly. After we wrap, we all go and eat pizza at the Italian restaurant across from the hotel. It’s not like working at all. That’s my favorite aspect of doing Boondock. I would literally make ten of these in a row. It’s like the perfect job.

Sean hurting an innocent extra on the set of 'Demon Hunter'. Extras aren't supposed to look him in the eyes, according to his contract.

So you could safely say there’s not been another filming experience in your career like this one?

Sean: Definitely not. There have been some that are more creatively fulfilling, but there haven’t been any that have been more fun to actually do.

Is there any talk of a third film? It sounds like you’d be on board.

Sean: Well, it’s all determined by the box office. Financially driven and so forth. But I know everybody involved from our perspective would love to do a third film. I don’t think I’m alone in that sentiment. We have a ball doing it. I think everybody would be more than happy to go on to do a third one.

Sean. In a tight black t-shirt. We'll conveniently ignore the glitter.

Both films are very masculine. Certainly tons of female fans enjoy the films, and the addition of Julie Benz this time around was great, but the stories are definitely about different communities and generations of men. Is there any way in which you connect to these stories and relationships?

Sean: I relate to it because it’s kind of the way that I grew up. There’s a certain vernacular that guys speak to each other that may offend people, but it’s just realistic. That’s the way guys talk; they just do. They’re very politically incorrect, they tell off-color jokes, they’re equal opportunity offenders... And they would do absolutely anything for their buddies. That’s the way that I grew up. So it’s easily identifiable for me. I think that’s why people love it. Here are guys that are doing what everybody wishes somebody would do. And finally there’s guys acting like guys, as opposed to trying not to offend anybody. Society’s gotten so weird these days. It seems like guys have really gotten their balls cut off. They really have. A girl is offended if you open a door for her nowadays, and that doesn’t even compute for me. My mom would get mad at me if I didn’t open a door for a lady. I just don’t understand it. I wholeheartedly appreciate it when a woman makes a meal for me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I appreciate the hell out of it. And this is a film where guys are actually being who they’re designed to be – guys.

Guys being gay...er, guys.

Do you cook occasionally, though, for a girl?

Sean: Yeah! I mean, I don’t think there’s definable activities – I don’t think it’s improper for a guy to cook. I think people bring to a relationship whatever they’re best at. If the guy is a culinary expert, he does the cooking. Women certainly don’t get offended if in a movie the guy is cooking. God forbid the girl cook. Then it’s like, “why do women always have to be in the kitchen cooking?” And then it’s like, “Woah, relax, lady!” God forbid you film a girl near a washing machine.

That brings me back to the fact that there are no real love interests in the film. I mean, we’ve got Greenly with his crush on Eunice in the sequel, but it’s a real rarity for even a rather action-oriented film not to have even a sort of penciled-in side-romance. I’m just sort of curious about your thoughts on that.

Sean: That kind of defines Boondock. There’s no time for a love interest. These guys have a job to do and they get on with it. There’s no time for sentimental this or that. In the Saints, there’s not a lot of time for that. From the opening credits, they have a job to do. They get on with it.

"Why? Why was this movie made? I don't care if you thought it was sweet, it was stupid. Look at him!" Mr. February, Chad Lindberg, says it was his fave Flanery performance...What I never understood was why Powder still had eyelashes.

Certainly Connor has a lot of movies that have influenced him – we’ve definitely got this inspiration for the rope and such – but do you have any films that have influenced you as an actor or a person?

Sean: As a person, yeah. As an actor, no. I certainly don’t ever want to emulate my replication of reality off of someone else’s replication of reality. You’re talking about like eight degrees of separation. I’d rather let my acting be influenced by real life observations and real people. I want it to be authentic. I don’t want to do my impression of Jack Nicholson doing his impression of Laurence Olivier doing...So many people do that. So many actors are like, “I was really inspired by Robert de Niro’s performance in Casino,” and it’s like, well, he’s an actor. As good as he is, he’s still an actor acting like a real person. But there’s all kinds of movie that inspire me and move me and make me think and emotionally take me on a journey. One of my favorite films in the world is Life is Beautiful. I think if somebody’s not moved by a film like that, they need to check for a pulse. Cinema Paradiso is one of my favorite films. I can watch that over and over again. Absolutely, they inspire me. The list can go on. Pretty much every movie takes me somewhere.

Sean as we first fell in love with him, on 'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'

Are there any kind of roles yet that you haven’t done yet that you’d like to or anyone in particular you’d like to work with. Or is it more, as the roles approach you...

Sean: There’s a ton of things I feel like I haven’t done, of course. But realistically, it’s the person’s story. There’s no story that I want to do outside of the character’s story. And it all depends on the writing. I like to do things that are very well-written. I like to do things that are executed properly, and sometimes that requires there to be a budget there. So I’d love to do something that we didn’t have to cut corners on for once! That’d be kind of neat. Because I do small, tiny, independent films, so it’d be kind of neat to do a decent-sized budget film where we can really give it all. We can make sure we got it absolutely perfect. That’d be pretty neat! [laughs]

What is this? From, like, 'Tiger Beat Magazine' in 1990?

I hear that you’ve got quite a few projects coming of interest to a lot of genre fans. Can you tell me about some of those?

Sean: I just finished a little film called Scavengers, kind of a cross between Star Wars and Star Trek and kind of 2010: Space Odyssey. I have a TV project called Devil Made Me Do It, which is a very, very big departure from what I normally do. It’s a comedy. And there’s a little autobiographical story that I wrote that I’m in the process of producing and getting off the ground called Sunshine Superman.

In Scavengers, I hear you get to play a villain.

Sean: Yeah, I’m the bad guy. I’m a real mustache-twirler. It’s a lot of fun.

Sean's love #1: Sean-fu

I hear you have two great loves: martial arts and Donut. Can you tell me about how they came into your life?

Sean: Donut came into my life because I got her from the pound. She’s nine now. She was tied to a tree when she was five months old, and her owners had keyed somebody’s car. The people who got their car keyed came back to retaliate, realized they didn’t have a car but there was a dog tied to the tree. So they cut the dog up with a machete. Somebody across the street, three days later, called animal services and was like, “there’s an injured or maybe dead dog tied to a tree.” So animal services came, they got the dog, took her to the pound. They asked the owners if they cut the dog up and they said no, it was this person down the street. So they went to the guy’s house, and knocked on the door and said, “We have it under good authority that you cut the dog up,” and he was like, “Goddamn right I did. They fuckin’ keyed my car and blah blah,” so they arrested him right there. As the new owner, I had to go to court and show pictures of her injuries. So I saw the guy; I was like eight feet away from him and I’ve never wanted to violate a human being more severely in my life. But she’s one hundred percent bulletproof now. When I went to the pound, her cage was open, and there were two girls and a guy, and when I walked up, she walked out, and if I saw this in a Disney film, I would call bullshit! She walked out of the cage, walked up to me, turned around and sat on my feet. And one of the girls standing there said to me, “You must be her foster dad!” And I looked at the girl and I was like, “I have never seen this chick in my life!” And she’s like, “Oh my god, you gotta take her.” She was I right; I had to take her. But I was a little skeptical – she was so injured. I didn’t want to fall in love with her and have her die. As soon as I took her home, literally, she got healthy by the minute. In a month she was a completely changed dog. On the steps of the pound, right outside there’s a Winchell’s donuts. So I got her two sausage-filled kolaches, and I got myself two glazed buttermilk donuts. She wouldn’t touch the sausage. It was the most bizarre thing in the world, a dog not eating sausage, but she gobbled down the glazed donut! She’s weird! So I named her Donut right there.

And martial arts – I’ve been in martial arts since I was nine. I own a Brazilian jujitsu academy that I operate every single day; I’m travelling there right now. It’s called Hollywood Brazilian Jujitsu. I spend ninety percent of my free time there. It’s Christmas Eve, and I’ll be there hosting an open mat. So yeah, it’s one of my passions in life.

Sean's #2 Love: Donut the Dog, who seems embarassed for him. Aw.

What a sweetheart, right? I rose a bit of eyebrow at his men-and-their-balls manifesto, I’ll admit, but hey, I’d microwave a dinner for the guy (sorry, that’s the limit of my skills).

What’s most striking about Sean is his sincerity. He means every word he says, and he tells it like it his. I know fans who can testify to indeed doing shots with him, and the effort he put into playing phone tag with me back during the holidays was not something everyone would do. He expresses a genuine affection and appreciation for the Boondock fans, recognizing that when it comes to smaller, genre films, it really is all about the audience. Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day is pretty much a love letter to the fans of the first, and I for one would love to see Sean and Norman do ten more too. Grab your copy of the DVD and check www.FathomEvents.com to find out if the original Boondock Saints is playing in your town March 11.. It’s a one-night only 10th anniversary event featuring an introduction by writer and director Troy Duffy with rare behind-the-scenes experiences and footage as well as exclusive interviews with cast and crew members including Sean and Norman. Audiences will also be treated to special performance clips by The Dirges, Ty Stone and Taylor Duffy whose music is part of the soundtrack to The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, along with a sneak peek into the mobile games, comic books and graphic novel currently in development. Get your Irish on early – I may or may not be sneaking a little Veritas/Aequitas flask in with me (you can get your own at www.boondockstore.com).

Sean and other cast and crew are also on tour right now promoting the All Saints Day – check www.boondocksaints.com/tour to see if you can do a shot of Jamie with Mr. March himself. Stay tuned for a Pretty/Scary review of Sean’s new thriller, Deadly Impact, coming out April 20. You can also follow Sean on Twitter at www.twitter.com/seanflanery.