Vernon Wells On ‘Commando’ And ‘Weird Science’ At 35

2020 sees two iconic 80s movies, Commando and Weird Science, turn 35, which means it’s also a milestone year for Vernon Wells.

After a handful of small roles on TV, the character actor burst onto the scene in 1981 as Wez in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. That casting kicked off a career that has spanned decades both on-screen and behind the scenes.

“I didn’t want to do Weird Science,” he recalled. “To me, it was like playing the same character I had in Mad Max 2. I wanted to move on and do something else. It took a while to convince me. The thing that got me to change my mind was that John Hughes was directing it. I had read up on his resume and his movies like Sixteen Candles and thought maybe it could be fun.”

“When I met John, that was it. At the time, I didn’t think about it much, but that movie has gone on to give us so many great actors who went on to become major stars like Bill Paxton and Robert Downey Jr. We had Iron Man, for goodness sake.”

He added, “The thing that got me, as well as it being my first time in America, was the amount of money that was spent on the set. I came from a country where you make a film for $25 and a lot of spit and barbed wire. Here, they had full-sized houses on the set that came apart in four pieces so you could shoot inside it easily. We didn’t have any of that. When they had the part of the movie where a rocket came up through the house, they had a f***ing full-sized rocket. I was so blown away with all of that stuff. It was unbelievable.”

Weird Science, made for $7.5 million, grossed over $38.93 million at the worldwide box office. It was produced by Hollywood legend, Joel Silver. Already aware of Well’s work in Mad Max 2, and impressed by his performance in the teen comedy, Silver approached him about another project he was working on.

“I wasn’t the original choice for Commando. Joel asked me if I’d go and talk to the director, Mark L. Lester. Joel thought I’d be perfect for the role, so I did, but he ended up wanting to cast someone else that he already wanted,” the actor mused. “I went back to Australia, I did a film there, and I was also doing a lot of DJ work too. I got home one morning, and a friend of mine was standing at the front door with a message to call Joel right away. I didn’t want to as I was tired, but he insisted.”

“Anyway, Joel said there was a ticket in my name waiting for me at the airport because the person they had lined up for Commando didn’t work out. When I got to the States, I pretty much went straight to the wardrobe department to get a costume made, then I got a few hours sleep, and we started filming right away.”

Wells continued, “So I get to set, I’m exhausted and feeling all out of whack, I’m looking sleepy, so Arnold Schwarzenegger looked at me and then told Joel that he didn’t think I was going to work out, he thought I looked like a bit of a p****. Anyway, we went ahead, and the first scene we did was one where Arnold was chained to a table, and I have to say that line that if I had my way, I’d have cut his throat.”

“Afterwards, the director walked up to Arnold and asked what he thought and whether they should close down the set and find someone else. Arnold just looked at him and said, ‘Never, ever give him a real knife,’ and that was the end of it. We became very, very good friends from that moment on.”

Wells had no idea that Commando, in which he played the iconic bad guy Bennett, was going to have the impact that it did. Now considered an action classic, the film stayed at the top of the box office chart for three consecutive weeks and grossed $57.5 million against its $9 million budget.

“I had no idea it was going to be such a big deal,” he confessed. “I never had any idea; I never think about that. That’s kind of the last thing on my mind.”

“Somebody in the business said to me a while ago that they’re thinking of doing another Commando. I thought they meant a reboot, so I was like, ‘They can’t redo Commando. It’s a classic. It’s so kitsch,’ but they said they’re not planning on redoing it, they’re thinking of doing a prequel and putting me in it. That would work. They were thinking of doing the prequel about where it all started, how the relationship soured between us, how I became the villain, and how Arnie’s character Matrix became the good guy. Rumors are flying around all the time, but it was interesting that somebody was seriously talking about it.”

“And we don’t know for sure that Bennett died. He might not have.”

Wells’ latest project, Impact Event, sees him reunited with his Weird Science co-star, Michael Berryman, who suffers from the condition known as hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.

“When I did Weird Science, it was the first time I’d been to America,” he remembered. “I arrived for work and someone in the production came up to me and said, ‘Look, before you go on set, we just wanted to mention to you that when you see one of the people you’ll be working with, don’t be surprised, don’t stare at him or anything like that. He’s a really nice guy and a great actor, but he has some deformities.’ I was a bit confused.”

“I walked on set, and the first person I bumped into was Michael. He came over to say hello. I just stood there and said, ‘You must be Michael Berryman.’ We had a little chat and clicked instantly. We’ve been friends ever since. At the time, I just thought, ‘Why were they so worried? What did they think I would do?’ It’s never mattered to me, but I guess some people have this perception of others from the way they look or something they might consider different. That’s a real shame. They’re missing out.”

As well as remaining prolific as an actor, Wells is also a partner in Eden Studios, a production complex in Sacramento, California, yet another media company feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I was directing an episode of something I’ve been working on. As soon as I finished, I flew out of Sacramento back to Los Angeles and the shutdowns started. We hadn’t even realized the situation at that point because while we were shooting. I think that was the trap quite a few people fell into. We thought we’d be fine up there, but it’s everywhere.”

“We had all these films booked to come and use the studio. Of course, none of them are there. With this situation, it’s like everything sort of falls apart around you. I’ve lost three jobs that I was supposed to be shooting in Australia that I was going to be doing with some really good people, and then it was all gone. Honesty, my only real concern is that people are safe. We’ve just got to take this seriously and work to fix this once it is safe to go back.”

Something else the actor admitted he’d love to go back to is the Mad Max universe, reuniting him with producer, writer, and director George Miller.

“I’d love to do a part in one of the two Mad Max movies that he’s written,” he confirmed. “I spoke to the George about it, and he said, ‘The only problem with putting you in anything is that you made such a success of the character in The Road Warrior that it doesn’t matter what you’re doing, people would look at they would look at it and see Wes. They would never see whatever the other character was. You kind of spoiled it for yourself that way.’ I guess that means I did a good job, though, right?”

“Anyway, I would love to do even just a little part in it. I adore George because he took a punt on somebody who was a nobody when he could have had anybody on this planet in that film. He plucked me from obscurity and gave me my career. He won’t admit that, by the way, but here we are.”

Impact Event is available on VOD now.

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