Seann William Scott, to an entire generation, will be known as the wisecracking, foul-mouthed Steve Stifler from the American Pie franchise. Yet, the actor has always had a desire to break away from the comedic exploits he’s known best for. Now, he’s getting that chance in the genre thriller Bloodline.
Bloodline, directed by Henry Jacobson, was produced by Blumhouse Productions and centers on Evan (Seann William Scott) who values family above all else. Anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. Unfortunately, as he soon learns, when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I was lucky enough to speak with the actor on behalf of his latest movie recently. We spoke about his love of genre movies, and much more.
Bloodline is very far removed from what I think a lot of people would expect, given what you’ve done in the past. So for you, was this the kind of thing you always wanted to do? Or did this just come your way, and you felt like this is the right time?
Seann William Scott: No, I’ve always wanted to. I love this genre. Even when I was young I always responded to characters that were a little darker and a little more complicated. I actually asked to meet with Blumhouse and sat down with them and said, “Guys, we have to work together. I would love to do something with you.” And they were like, “Yeah, same here.” I thought, “They’re just being nice.” Not long after they sent me the script, I thought, “You know, this is kind of right up my alley.” It needed a lot of work, but at its core, it was something I thought would be a lot of fun. And then Henry Jacobson came on, and his writing partner did Incredible work with it. I definitely was like for no other reason than just creatively, this is something that I responded to and really want to do as an actor, and I got the chance.
How would you, in your own words, describe Bloodline to people?
Seann William Scott: It’s got a little bit of Dexter, a little bit of Psycho, Norman Bates. I mean, those are two incredible projects, but I don’t know. I find it to be like a kind of a throwback to old Brian De Palma films. Quiet, really dark, f***** up, stylized. If you want to feel a little uncomfortable, feel a little dirty after watching something that you need to take a long shower, this is your movie.
You mentioned Blumhouse. So many people are struggling to find a way to make the business work for them right now. Blumhouse is just crushing it left and right. So, having worked with them now, what do you think sets them apart as a studio? What do you think gives them that little magic ingredient?
Seann William Scott: I think my impression of them is that they love actors. They love creators. I think what they do is find great material and great filmmakers, young ones. They just have a knack for finding extremely talented filmmakers and pairing them oftentimes with actors who haven’t had a chance to do something like this. And they’re like, “I don’t care about getting paid. I just want the opportunity.” And then just come in with great material. I mean, I think it’s a lot of stuff. They’ve just been nailing it. They… don’t have to spend a fortune. Keep the budget tight so we have a greater chance to turn a profit. I don’t know, man. I think everybody over there, they just have great instincts, and they’re able to put it all together.
That would seem to make sense just from an outside perspective because. I know that you kind of touched on this in the beginning. You’ve been known for a lot of your comedic exploits. And you said this is the kind of thing you’ve been wanting to do for a while. Were you getting typecast? How was it that it took so long for you to find your way to a project like this?
Seann William Scott: I think there’s so many things, but I definitely did choose to do a lot of the same types of characters because there was a freakin’ fun. But of course, throughout my career, there’s been so many types of movies that I would have loved to have done. But I understand the business. Even though I could read a script and go, “I think that I’m the best actor for it.” I probably wouldn’t even hire myself. You’re taking a risk. Only I know what I’m capable of doing and you will see me do it. I understand there’s way too much involved with too much money involved. I appreciate the business. And I’ve always had the mindset where, let me do the best that I can with the opportunities that come my way. I know how lucky I am to be doing this. So I’m always actively trying to find things that I can do. But it’s cyclical. A lot of my career, It’s not like I’m getting a ton of offers. So for sure, this is something that I probably would have wanted to do in the beginning of my career, but I don’t actually think that I would have been able to do something similar. I was too young. And if you’re doing something at 41, 42 you might have more f***** up s*** to draw from. It’s all timing. In my career, I’m lucky I get a chance to do this. So much as I could to tell you a list of 30 types of movies and characters and filmmakers that I wanna work with, I’m never in that place where I’m getting offers from them. So I’m just like, let me f****** do whatever I can do with whatever has come my way.
Bloodline hits theaters, digital and On Demand on September 20 from Momentum Pictures.
