Child’s Play director Tom Holland reveals that he made Chucky for Brad Dourif in an interview with Michael Rosenbaum on his podcast.
In this week’s episode Inside of You with Michael RosenbaumIconic Horror Film Director Tom Holland Revealed He Wrote the Role of Chucky in Child’s play (1988) especially for Brad Dourif. The Netherlands is one of the most famous horror writers and directors. In addition to co-writing the original Child’s playHolland also wrote the sequel psychosis and two novel adaptations by Stephen King. Child’s play (1988) was the first introduction to the iconic evil doll character Chucky and has become an inspiration for several sequels and spin-offs and a 2019 remake.
Brad Dourif, although he is not part of the Child’s play remake in 2019, Chucky has been voiced since the very beginning of the franchise. He currently plays the creepy doll in the Chucky TV series created by Syfy. Chucky is by far Dourif’s most iconic role and his voice has become synonymous with the franchise.
In the most recent episode of Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Tom Holland, director and co-writer of child’s play, revealed that he wrote the part of Chucky especially for Brad Dourif. Holland appeared on the podcast to discuss his life and films, but also revealed more about the making process Child’s play– including how stressful it was to film with a doll in the late 1980s, and that he pronounced the doll while filming. During their conversation, Holland also mentioned that he wrote Chucky especially for Dourif after working with him on fatal beauty. Read below what Holland said about the casting of Dourif:
I wrote it for him. He’d been the bad guy in the movie I’d done before that nobody ever asks me about, called “Fatal Beauty” with Whoopi Goldberg.
Brad Dourif defined Chucky
Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky created a character bigger than life in the original Child’s play. Dourif’s Chucky is a mix of comedy and horror that became more iconic than the movie itself. His inflection and tone he set for the character is one of the biggest reasons why the Child’s play movies were so successful.
In Child’s play (2019), the absence of Dourif is striking. Mark Hamill, who voiced Chucky in the remake, delivers a performance that’s chilling and well-done, but just can’t grasp Chucky like Dourif can. Dourif’s voice completely defined how Chucky and Child’s play was able to balance comedy and horror in a franchise that has become so beloved – unsurprisingly, the role was literally made for him.
Source: Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum/ YouTube