We at team THN have long been fans of actor Noah Segan. He’s a familiar face to many having starred in all of Rian Johnson’s films in some capacity or another, but he’s also carved out a nice career within the horror realm. His appearances in Deadgirl, Starry Eyes, and The Frozen, proved that he has a great eye for projects and this trend continues with his latest venture, The Pale Door. Directed by Aaron B. Koontz, The Pale Door is a Western film that sees a group of outlaws terrorised by a coven of witches after a train robbery goes awry. Segan stars as Truman, a member of the cowboy gang, which like many of his more recent roles, such as Trooper Wagner in Knives Out, provides the film with some much needed comic relief. He’s also branching out into directing, contributing one of the stories in horror anthology, Scare Package.
In his personal life, Segan has just become a father for the second time, his son having been born during these strange pandemic times. His experiences on how being a father has changed both his career and outlook on future projects took centre stage when we sat down with him for a chat. We also discuss his future as a director, Rian Johnson’s hidden acting talents, and The Pale Door finally giving him some justice for his Looper character, Kid Blue.
You’re a very vocal fan of westerns; your Twitter handle is a nod to a Warren Oates’ western, and you’re also well known for your work in horror. I’m guessing it was a no-brainer when you were pitched the idea for The Pale Door?
Very much so. The guys who made the movie… Aaron [B. Koontz] is a close friend of mine, I’ve worked with him before. He and I share a lot of similar tastes. When he was working Joe and Keith Lansdale, who I’m a huge fan of independently, especially Joe and his novels, I think it was one of those situations where the sky was the limit where I was, ‘what do you like?’ ‘Westerns,’ ‘What else do you like?’ ‘Witches’, ‘Well why don’t we just combine the two?’ ‘ Fantastic!’ It was like letting little kids decide the direction of your movie, and our imaginations kinda ran wild.
Recently we’ve had films like The Wind and Bone Tomahawk amongst others that have also blended the two genres. Why do you think the marriage between the two works so well?
I think that horror and westerns both exist in this genre space that is so well defined. Part of why we love genre is because it is defined. There’s a certain comfort in a way, a safety in terms of how those stories are told. Of course, when it’s done well, you are always trying to break out of the box and to subvert people’s expectations. I think combining two genres that are so well defined is a great way to do that.
Your character gets to do some gun-slinging, was this is a kind of justice for Kid Blue after Rian Johnson kept the one take where you dropped your gun into Looper?
(Laughs) It was definitely satisfying to put more of that training to use. Because there are not, surprisingly, many opportunities that I have to utilise my Kid Blue training. So you know, nearly a decade later, we were in Oklahoma and I was able to put it to some good use and maybe not look as goofy doing it.
At the start of your career, you played a lot of serious and disturbed young men – e.g. Deadgirl – but in recent years, The Pale Door included, your characters have been lighter, operating as more of the comic relief to projects. What do you think sparked this change, and what challenges does this new type of role bring, if any?
I think I woke up a few years ago and I had kids, and I had a dad bod, and I was no longer the young brooding asshole, and my work thank goodness started to reflect that. I think that there is a… kinda like how we were talking about the combination of horror and western being a delicious mix, there’s a similar mix to playing crazy bad guys and also trying to make people laugh. I think it’s all related to in a way trying to connect with the audience in a way that brings them some sort of satisfaction. I think that’s sort of what’s happened over the last few years. Like I said, I’m not the young brooding son-of-a-gun anymore. Now I’m a fun dad.
You recently moved into directing yourself with your segment in Scare Package. Is directing something you’d like to explore further?
Absolutely. I’ve got a script that I wrote, and I am currently developing it into a feature film to direct.
And you have to give the new baby a part right, because your daughter is in Scare Package.
I do, I do! You absolutely do not play favourites, and so I have to, I think, continue to make films in order to keep my family working. I think that’s a good plan.
You should probably also give Rian a small part to, get him working for you for a change.
Something that nobody else really knows is that Rian is quite a good actor. He really knows how to commit to a role so it probably only is a matter of time until he’s able to let his performance side shine through.
You’ve become something of the Bill Paxton of Rian Johnson’s movies. Are you hoping that the trend continues?
Oh I am of course. It’s hard to find consistent work in any field these days (laughs) so I’m hoping we’re able to continue our relationship in terms of making movies together, and in terms of me being able to help however I can. I love him dearly and the whole team of folks who have been working together for so long. Whether it’s other actors like Joe [Joseph Gordon-Levitt], or of course his cinematographer, Steve [Yedlin], and composer Nathan [Johnson], producer Ram [Bergman]. It’s a big family and we all love each other dearly, and so of course you wanna keep being with the people that you love, and hopefully making things that other people love.
You’ve obviously been busy raising a family, but have you had a chance during these Covid times to work out what’s next?
Yes a little bit. I’m lucky in that the thing that I am excited to concentrate on right now is making my own movie. So much of that, beyond even just writing a script – which of course is something you can do under lockdown – so much of the other preparation, logistics, and budgets, and of course all of these unanswered questions about how we can move forwards and do things safely. All of that is luckily things that you can do from a laptop, in an office or a bedroom. It can be done in between feeding a baby and reading to a toddler. So I’m very lucky that I’ve been in a position where I have been able to continue a little bit to consider work, and not lament that my particular business or my particular side of things is totally stopped. Definitely slowed, but I think that goes for everyone.
Has your new position as a parent made you reassess films at all? I know personally that my outlook on them changed since I became a mother.
I think even more than reassessing, I find myself thinking about how / if I can contribute. I love and I cherish, and I’m so grateful for the work that I’ve done. But so much of it is not the kind of thing that you would want to share with a child (laughs), and you shouldn’t. So the things I think about a lot now, and I get excited about as I read Disney and watch classics with my toddler, and start to get ideas about what she likes in books and movies, I start thinking about how and whether I can contribute to that. You know, make things that a whole family can watch and enjoy. That’s definitely been a big shift because I have spent a lot of time in my career just doing things that are really exciting for me and my friends, and not necessarily thinking about what could enrich a three year old’s life. It’s a fun change in perspective.
So is this your pitch for a Pixar movie or the like?
I’ll tell you, and I hate to be obtuse and vague in the ways that so many people have to be in my business as they don’t have anything locked down, and they’re still working on crossing t’s and dotting i’s, but I am definitely spending time thinking about kids movies and kids stories, and things that would be fun for a little kid. Which is quite different from the days of Deadgirl.
You can catch Noah in The Pale Door on VOD now. Subscribers to Shudder can also see his directorial debut as Scare Package is available on there now. RLJE Films will release Scare Package on VOD, Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray on October 20th.
