"We were just trying to be good citizens of Utah, helping this Italian crew make a movie" says part-time actor -- and full-time dentist! -- George Hardy of his participation in the 1990 movie Troll 2. What he actually helped make is what bad-film aficionados widely agree to be among the worst movies of all time. Troll 2 is a ludicrously scripted, appallingly acted B-movie that is also, confusingly, not a sequel to the Sonny Bono-starring 1986 flick Troll. In fact, this straight-to-video film doesn't even feature any trolls. Rather, it concerns goblins in the town of Nilbog (yes, that's goblin spelled backward) who turn humans into vegetables, which they then eat. (The goblins are vegetarians.)
Troll 2 has attracted a growing army of fans over the past few years who have packed screenings around the country. The film, and the cult that has sprung up around it, is now the subject of a documentary. Titled Best Worst Movie, the film was directed by Hardy's Troll 2 costar Michael Paul Stephenson and will debut at the SXSW Film Festival on March 14. EW spoke to the none-more-genial Hardy about Troll 2, his unlikely status as a cult movie icon, and, of course, teeth.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How's it going?
GEORGE HARDY: Great. I'm very honored to be talking to Entertainment Weekly. Although this is my second interview with you. Back in 1995, someone there interviewed me about these movie-viewing glasses that I had for my dental office. You put these glasses over the patient's eyes and it looks like there's a big screen. I was one of the first dentists in the United States to do it. I would show people Troll 2 while I was drilling on their teeth.
Isn't it bad enough that you're drilling their teeth without making them watch your terrible movie as well?
Exactly! Exactly! I know! [Laughs] But, I remember extracting someone's tooth once and they wanted to stay after the extraction to watch the rest of the movie. They were so enthralled by it.
So, how does an Alabama-born dentist end up starring in an Italian-made, Utah-shot horror movie?
I had a little background in acting at high school. But I went into the dental field because I like working with my hands. Shortly after, I ended up going out to Salt Lake City. One day, a patient comes in -- she was an actress -- and she said, you ought to audition for things. So, I got an agent, and she calls me and says, "George, there's this movie going on up in Park City." I auditioned to about nine or 10 Italians in this smoke-filled room -- no one spoke English –- and a day or two later I get the phone call saying I'd gotten the second lead. My heart almost came out of my chest. It was a three-week shoot for me. I would kind of alternate days of going into my dental practice and then going out and shooting with all these Italians. Very few of them spoke English, except Laura Gemser who was our wardrobe lady. She was famous from a lot of Italian porn films.
Were you aware at the time that she had previously appeared in the likes of Emanuelle: Queen Bitch and Emanuelle in Hell?
No, little did we know. But she was very sweet.
What was the shoot like?
Michael and myself would sit over in the corner and try to decipher the script. We just couldn't understand what it meant. Literally, we had no clue.
What exactly was the problem?
The way it was written was not the way Americans speak. One of us would say, to Claudio [Fragasso, Troll 2 director], this is not the way you say this in America. But they would say, "No, no, no, this is the way you do it." We just did what we were told. I think that was because of the language barrier. How can you argue with someone who doesn't understand what you're saying?
Is it true that, originally, you thought the movie was going to be called Goblins?
Yeah, all of us did.
How did they get away with calling it Troll 2 when it is in no way connected to the original Troll?
It is my understanding that Italians will do a film that rides coattails of another. They do it all the time.
When did you first realize that you were the star of a terrible film?
My sister called me and said, "George, your movie's out and I've got to tell you something: It's bad." I go, "Well, how bad is it?" She says, "Well, it's really bad!" Then one of my patients brought me a copy. I watched it in my dentist's chair. I looked through the viewing glasses and watched the very first scene. I almost got this sick feeling inside of me. I thought, Oh, s--- and put it away. I put it on the shelf and let it collect dust for almost 16 years.
But now you're a cult movie icon who gets treated like a rock star at screenings!
It's amazing. When I meet fans, they literally are shaking. If you go to a screening in Boston or New York, everyone knows the lines. When I started to laugh with it, and not look at it as a serious situation, that's the point I really embraced it. I don't run from it anymore. It's pretty cool being in the worst movie ever.
For Best Worst Movie you and Michael tracked down Claudio in Italy. What was that like?
Honestly, we went with kid gloves on. We didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. But, how do you break the news to someone that they are the director of one of the worst films in the history of all cinema?
He does seem a little irked during various parts of the film. But I think there was a shift in Claudio when we brought him over to the U.S. and we took him to the screenings and he saw the thrill on people's faces. People would go up to Claudio and say, "This is genius!" And, hey, what is genius, anyway? It could be genius. [Laughs] It could be!
Clearly, Claudio considers Troll 2 a good film. And one with a message! In fact, he told me, via e-mail, that the film is really a polemic against fanatical vegetarianism. Did he mention that during the shoot?
No.
He also said that the actors in the film recite their lines in an intentionally parodic manner.
That wasn't my experience. I was trying to do my best!
The documentary ends with the announcement that Claudio is planning a sequel called Troll 2: Part 2. Would you be prepared to once again put down the drill and pick up a script?
I think so, yeah. Why not? But, how could you catch lightning in a bottle twice? How would you be able to repeat that?
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