The New Judd Nelson Lifetime Movie You Need To Put On Your Must-Watch List

May 2024 ยท 3 minute read

When we talk to actors playing movie villains, sometimes they say they have the most fun in these kinds of roles because they can really ham it up. But this is not quite like that. The material's so dark. Were you able to have any fun, to get into the fun of being bad?

I don't think that villains, except in a cartoon, think they're villains. For all we know, Manson didn't think he was a villain. Jeffrey Dahmer, maybe thought he was just a lover who was misunderstood. Who the hell knows? And Don does not see himself as a villain. It's this girl that's going to have to learn. She's not maturing, she's not accepting responsibility for her actions, so she's going to have to learn this. The script doesn't tell us that he had lustful desires for her before she was kidnapped and basically imprisoned. It's only after he has that complete control over her, that this other thing starts to happen.

And that is something I don't think he planned on. It's not anything that he's mad at now. I mean, it's like, "Well, it seemed natural." It's all part of that same bill of goods he's selling himself that he's doing this all to help her. That line, "Motherhood. It's the best thing that can happen to a woman. You should thank me." It's like, "Really, really. You're going to get away with that, you think?" And it's kind of crazy because he really does. It's a different world though, but unfortunately, it's still going on today. There are people that are doing this today and we have to be aware of it I think. We have to pay attention to what our neighbors are doing. Not in a nosy way, but you know. 

What drew you to this project to play the bad guy?

Fritzl. Fritzl, I think, he's one of the more unique character studies ever. In 5,000 years of recorded history, there's no one quite like him. He, for an extended period of time, like decades, abused his own flesh and blood. It's just, is like, "Are you kidding me?" Just on and on and on and on.

What's crazy, it's not reflected in the movie, but an incredible fact that kind of drew me to the project, the police tried to deduce how many times he raped his daughter in the course of that. They'd say more than 3000 times. That's like, "What the!?" That just seems almost not human. Meanwhile, his friends think he's a great guy, a great personality.

People thought that about Gary Ridgway too though, right? He killed at least 48 people, but probably many more, and no one suspected for all those years.

It's strange. Isn't it? It's very strange. I think we all compartmentalize a certain bit. We got lucky because all the actresses are so damn good, and the important thing was not to have it be cliche or silly and we got helped. I thought the art department did a great job with that basement. That deep green color. I [Judd's Girl In The Basement character] enjoyed it because I'm the winner in a way. It's, "It doesn't matter that you didn't like it. I like it. It's all perfect. Because I've thought it out." It's like starting to believe that no one would suspect anything. And the real place, the design of the real house was like a U-shaped. And he had boarders that lived there. Boarders lived in the house and they never suspected anything either. Jesus, it's crazy.

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