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Beckley native Chris Sarandon was one of many celebrity guests at the March Galaxycon convention in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to meeting fans and signing autographs, Sarandon participated in a panel with his co-star Cary Elwes, from the film \u201cThe Princess Bride.\u201d<\/p>\nSuzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
\u00a0
Most of my articles have a quick turnaround. I go to an event, meeting or have an interview and the resulting article is published in the next edition of The Pocahontas Times.<\/p>\n
This article began in March.<\/p>\n
That is when I attended Galaxycon in Richmond, Virginia. There were several celebrities I was excited to meet \u2013\u00a0Dul\u00e9 Hill, best known for his role as Gus, in \u201cPsych;\u201d Harvey Guill\u00e9n, who played Guillermo on \u201cWhat We Do in the Shadows;\u201d and Cary Elwes, Westley, from \u201cThe Princess Bride,\u201d \u2013 his line was too long.<\/p>\n
I met two of those three and they were awesome. At the top of my list was Chris Sarandon, well known actor who portrayed Prince Humperdink in \u201cThe Princess Bride\u201d and provided the voice of Jack Skellington in \u201cNightmare Before Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also happens to be from West Virginia.<\/p>\n
I spoke to him at his booth, but unfortunately, couldn\u2019t do an interview that day due to the crowd waiting to see him. I resigned myself to only getting an autograph and having a few minutes of conversation when he pulled out his phone and gave me contact information.<\/p>\n
Sarandon said to get in touch with his lawyer and set up an interview. I was ecstatic. After several months and emails, we finally set a time, and we had a great conversation about his life in West Virginia and the amazing career he has had as an actor.<\/p>\n
Sarandon was born to Greek immigrants and raised in Beckley in an idyllic setting where everything was within walking distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI walked to every school I went to,\u201d he said. \u201cMy elementary school, Institute School, was up the hill from our house. Beckley Junior High School was in the other direction, but the same kind of walk and then Woodrow Wilson High School was across the street from my elementary school.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very contained, safe feeling environment,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou didn\u2019t worry about going out by yourself when you were a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Go out by himself he did and often. Sarandon remembers days when he would leave the house at nine in the morning and not be back until five that afternoon. If his mother needed him home, all she had to do was blow a whistle.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother had a whistle, and she blew the whistle when it was time to come home,\u201d he said. \u201cI was within distance of hearing the whistle \u2013\u00a0almost always \u2013\u00a0except if I was down the street to visit my friends, Phil Halloran and Mike Massinople, who lived further away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarandon said he sort of lived two lives. At home, the family spoke Greek and ate Greek food \u2013\u00a0except when he was at his father\u2019s restaurant which served American food \u2013 and when he was at school or with friends, he was the all-American boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a very lovely upbringing in a beautiful town,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time, it was also different in the sense that my family spoke Greek at home when I was a kid, so I spoke it when I was little. I\u2019ve lost most of it now, sadly and regrettably. I lived a kind of bifurcated existence.\u201d<\/p>\n
This double role life was a beginning of sorts to Sarandon\u2019s acting career. Like most children, he acted in plays and made up characters with friends. He also entertained adults at his church with his knack for accents and telling stories and jokes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was also musical. He was a member of his church choir and a rock n\u2019 roll band with friends. They were called The Teen Tones, and they performed on local radio and TV stations.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften, we were bookended by other musicians who were country musicians or quote, end quote, hillbilly musicians,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was really bluegrass. We shared a studio with Lester Flat, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuddenly, I saw and felt the great musical tradition of the state and that it was something to be proud of,\u201d he continued. \u201cReally proud of and also how it connected to my heritage because the music was not that different from the old, very old Greek music.\u201d<\/p>\n
After graduating high school, Sarandon enrolled at West Virginia University where he got a scholarship for winning an extemporaneous speech competition.<\/p>\n
He calls going to WVU one of the greatest decisions of his and his parents\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very concentrated on achieving when I first got to college,\u201d he said. \u201cI got good grades \u2013 I was a straight A student. I was on kind of a political path. I was in a fraternity and the politics at WVU. At the time the fraternities controlled a lot of what was going on because they got the vote. It was like a union in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarandon served on several committees at that time. He coordinated homecoming weekend his sophomore year and was coordinator of the leadership conference.<\/p>\n
It was also in his sophomore year that he was discovered, in a way. He took an acting class led by Professor Charles Neal.<\/p>\n
\u201cChuck Neal \u2013\u00a0to him I\u2019m forever indebted \u2013\u00a0because he pulled me aside at one point after working in the class for a semester, doing scenes and what have you and he said, \u2018you know, you\u2019re really good at this; if you don\u2019t follow this path, you\u2019re going to regret it for the rest of your life,\u2019\u201d Sarandon recalled.<\/p>\n
Neal cast Sarandon in \u201cJulius Caesar\u201d and as the title character of Tartuffe, which was the spark that led him on the acting path.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to wear a fake nose and a wig, and be somebody else, and I loved it,\u201d he said. \u201cI have no idea what inspired me, but lightning struck. I said, \u2018this is my calling; this is what I was meant to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarandon dropped out of his fraternity and focused on acting at that point. He graduated from WVU with a degree in speech and decided he needed to go to graduate school. He enrolled at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and joined the theater department.<\/p>\n
His father gave him some money which he used to buy a car and he sold paperback books to pay for his tuition.
The theater department focused on classical plays and toured for eight months out of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI auditioned and got into the touring company and toured the country the next year,\u201d Sarandon said. \u201cI was the lighting director, truck driver and also played Romeo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group logged 38,000 miles in two station wagons and a truck, as they performed at high schools, colleges and community venues.<\/p>\n
After earning his master\u2019s degree, Sarandon joined a local summer theater and later, worked for a company of actors who worked out of a church in Georgetown, while his fianc\u00e9e, Susan, finished her final year at CU.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a magic time in my life and then at the end of that year, when Susan graduated, I auditioned for something called the Theater Communications Group, which is the consortium of all the regional theaters in. the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The couple moved to Connecticut and started auditioning for plays. They did an audition together and were both signed by an agent. They then moved to New York and started working.<\/p>\n
Sarandon worked on Broadway shows and had a small part on a soap opera. He said he \u201cwas on the show maybe two times a week and had one line, but it paid the rent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not all auditions went in his favor. As with all actors, you don\u2019t get booked for everything you audition for, but Sarandon worked through the rejection and in his early 30s, he booked his first film role, as Leon in \u201cDog Day Afternoon\u201d.<\/p>\n
The part was a supporting role, but it had a big impact on the film. Sarandon was nominated for an Academy Award for his characterization of Leon, the husband of Al Pacino\u2019s character, Sonny.<\/p>\n
There is a particularly powerful scene in the film where Leon and Sonny have their final conversation on the phone. Sonny has held up a bank and kept the workers hostage and Leon is brought from the hospital by police to a barbershop across the street to talk to Sonny.<\/p>\n
While the scene was scripted, parts of it were improvised by the two actors. They read through the scene and felt it was too melodramatic, so, using what they knew about the men their characters were based on, they started the conversation in a different way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just started riffing and the first thing that came to mind was, \u2018hi, how you doing?\u2019\u201d Sarandon said. \u201cThey haven\u2019t seen each other for years and they drop right into who they were to a certain extent, and then who they became as well, because they have an argument.\u201d<\/p>\n
Director, Sidney Lumet, liked the route they were taking and recorded them doing the improv and after reviewing it, the final scene included parts of the improv along with what was in the script.<\/p>\n
Sarandon continued to build his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 from there and was cast in horror films \u201cFright Night\u201d and \u201cChild\u2019s Play,\u201d as well as fantasy and adventure film turned cult classic \u201cThe Princess Bride.\u201d He was also cast as the voice of the main character in \u201cNightmare Before Christmas,\u201d a stop-motion animated film that has a huge fan base.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Nightmare Before Christmas,\u201d Sarandon said they were looking for an actor whose voice was similar to that of composer Danny Elfman, who was the singing voice of Jack Skellington. Sarandon\u2019s vocal timbre matched, and he was cast as the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town.<\/p>\n
Making the film was a very long, drawn out process. Sarandon would record a couple scenes, then the animators filmed those parts. Once they were complete, he would return to the recording studio to do more scenes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an extraordinarily agonizing process for the animators because literally, they were shooting one frame at a time in order to put together the movement of the various characters with all the other movement that\u2019s going on,\u201d he said. \u201cIn particular, the big scenes where there are lots of characters interacting. It\u2019s crazy. I don\u2019t know how they did it, but they did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The only part of the film Sarandon saw before he recorded his lines were the musical parts. The crew animated to Elfman\u2019s voice and so he was able to see Jack Skellington, but otherwise, he was in the booth alone, acting.<\/p>\n
Then there was \u201cThe Princess Bride.\u201d It may not have been popular when it first came out, but it wasn\u2019t long before the film \u2013\u00a0based on the book by the same name, written by William Goldman \u2013\u00a0gained a cult following.<\/p>\n
After nearly 40 years, the film is still a fan favorite, and those fans travel far and wide to see the actors at conventions all over the country. It has been passed down from generation to generation, like a well-loved stuffed animal that has been in the family for decades.<\/p>\n
Sarandon credits the film\u2019s success to the story and the many genres that come together to make a one-of-a-kind movie experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very romantic,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s also a great adventure movie. It\u2019s a thriller in a way. It\u2019s a comedy in a way and it mixes all those genres and, somehow, it works,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He recalled his audition and how he thought it didn\u2019t go well because director Rob Reiner and writer Goldman broke out into laughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018oh my God, this is a serious scene, why are they laughing at me?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThen I thought, no, \u2018comedy is serious business.\u2019 Let the lines do the work. Let the dialogue do the work. Let the character\u2019s behavior of taking that moment seriously do the work because part of what\u2019s funny is that he takes it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comedy is in the delivery. Prince Humperdink is very serious, and sinister, so when he says lines like, \u2018I\u2019ve got my wife to murder, Guilder to frame for it, I\u2019m swamped,\u2019 in a serious way, it has an absurd and funny tone, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s what appeals to people and in particularly, as you get older, you recognize more of what\u2019s unique about the movie,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen a little kid watches the movie, basically it\u2019s the kissing and the sword fighting and the giant \u2013 my kids were enthralled with the giant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen as you get older, you start getting some of the jokes,\u201d he continued. \u201cSome of the inferences. Some of the twists and it\u2019s something that reengages you. Also, there\u2019s a lot of really repeatable stuff. Wally Shawn says he can\u2019t go anywhere without people coming up to him and saying \u2018Inconceivable.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was definitely fun to film. We had a great time shooting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarandon has spent more than half of his life acting and has enjoyed every single moment of it. He continues to travel to conventions to meet fans of his work and continues to find work that he enjoys.<\/p>\n
He recently joined the podcast genre with his own show, \u201cCooking by Heart.\u201d The first three seasons are available on his website, chrissarandon.com<\/p>\n
The idea for the podcast came about during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was talking to his brother-in-law, who is also in the industry, about what they could do during the lockdown and the BIL told him he should do a cooking podcast.<\/p>\n
Sarandon said he didn\u2019t want it to be like other cooking podcast, so while it does involve sharing recipes, the podcast also focuses on the people and their stories behind the food they grew up with and the food that shaped them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to find something that was unique to me,\u201d he said. \u201cWell, it\u2019s right there \u2013\u00a0you grew up in a restaurant. So, it\u2019s about what it was like with my guests growing up around food. What was it like in their house. The important thing in the podcast, there are always stories and people. It\u2019s not just about the food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guests include chefs, actors, writers, musicians and friends from Sarandon\u2019s circle. It also includes other celebrities from West Virginia, such as Kathy Mattea and Brad Dourif.<\/p>\n
Sarandon said now that season three of the podcast is done, he is stepping back to take a break. He has nine grandchildren he wants to spend more time with and a garden to tend.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, I\u2019m gardening,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a huge gardener. Fresh foods are very important.\u201d
As he reflects on his life and the career he has had, Sarandon said the foundation he got from growing up in West Virginia was integral.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always thankful that it was part of my life,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe first twenty-one years of my life was in West Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source pocahontastimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Beckley native Chris Sarandon was one of many celebrity guests at the March Galaxycon convention in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to meeting fans and signing autographs, Sarandon participated in a panel with his co-star Cary Elwes, from the film \u201cThe Princess Bride.\u201d Suzanne StewartStaff Writer\u00a0Most of my articles have a quick turnaround. I go to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1983456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1983456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983456\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1983456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1983456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1983456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}