In Night of the Animated Dead, siblings Barbara and Johnny visit their father’s grave in a remote cemetery in Pennsylvania when they are suddenly set upon by zombies. Barbara flees and takes refuge in an abandoned farmhouse along with stranded motorist Ben and four local survivors found hiding in the cellar. Together, the group must fight to stay alive against the oncoming horde of zombies.
Revisiting George A. Romero’s 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead in an altogether unprecedented presentation, this star-studded animated recreation of the movie was released on September 21 on Digital and arrives on October 5 to Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD.
Last month, we sat down with Dulé Hill to discuss his role as Ben in the movie. In 1968, Romero tackled some hard-hitting themes, with the racism this character faces front and centre. The filmmaker said that wasn't intentional, but it's a part of proceedings that still, unfortunately, feels oddly relevant today, and the actor gives his take on what it was like to tackle that in this interview.
The Psych and Suits actor also shares some insight into how he brought Ben to life in Night of the Animated Dead, the challenges his hero faces, and his own ideas about how best to survive a zombie apocalypse. Dulé also breaks down what it was like to step into the recording booth for this project.
It’s great to speak to you, and I can imagine it’s exciting to be getting out there to talk about a project like this as it’s not often something like this comes along?
No, it’s not. I was honoured to be asked to join the cast. When I was offered the opportunity, I jumped at it. This is an iconic film and to be reapproaching it and turning it on its side for an animated version was really a joy, as was the role of Ben.
What did you think when you found out Night of the Animated Dead was going to adapt John Russo’s original screenplay rather than being a full-blown remake?
I thought it was awesome. It sounded like a fun, artistic endeavour to explore this role in this medium with this cast. I thought we’d have a fun time. It’s such an interesting role. The character…he’s a fighter. He’s someone who has been put into a situation and there are pressures around him, but he’s really giving his all to make it through the night. I thought playing him would be a challenging dynamic to explore, so I was overjoyed to step into the role.
From the moment we meet Ben, he’s extremely proactive in trying to counter whatever this zombie threat is; do you think it’s simply his survival instinct that’s driving him or something more?
I think that it is his survival instinct. Some people react in different ways, but when you’re backed into a corner like this, you’re just trying to make it through the night. If you take away from the extreme of what this movie is, often what we go through as human beings is just trying to make it to the morning knowing that everything will be alright. I think that’s what Ben is really dealing with here. He doesn’t know how he got here or exactly what is going on, but he does know that if he can just make it through the night, then he has the opportunity to survive. When you back someone into a corner, that is often how people will react. Some will back down and others will say, ‘You know what? I’m going to keep trying to find every way to hold off this impending attack.’
He has to wear a lot of hats here too, whether it’s caring for Barbara or dealing with Cooper’s interference; what side of this character were you most excited to explore?
What I found most interesting was his perseverance. His perseverance in the midst of all the different pressures coming his way and the challenges of staying focused and keeping his eyes on the prize. He’s having to focus on what he’s trying to accomplish because Barbara is extremely catatonic and not much help. Then, Harry Cooper is even worse than not being much help. He’s actually antagonistic to what Ben is trying to achieve. That was interesting to me because he’s thrown into this situation and has all these things coming at him. How do you keep your cool and maintain a full head and persevere in the midst of so much adversity? That was the driving force for myself and the aspect of Ben I thought was most interesting.
George A. Romero’s movie almost inadvertently tackled racism, but it is a little more overt in this movie; was it important for that subtext to be there, especially as it adds so much to what Ben is facing beyond the undead?
For myself as the actor, the artist, and the man really, that was interesting to me. I love when you can take material that’s entertaining that will take people on a journey, but also say a little something as well. It has something to say. Whether it was intentional or not by George Romero, he did a wonderful thing in a way as the film does make a statement. You go through this fight and then in the morning…when you add the race factor into it, it does make a statement about society. I appreciated being able to be part of telling that story. I don’t know how much to say about the outcome of the movie [Laughs], but I thought it was very interesting how things all worked out in the end. That was the thing that really touched me most and brought it all together for me. For those that haven’t seen the movie, I think they’ll be in store for an ending that wraps itself in such an interesting way.
It’s quite surprising how relevant the original script is all these decades later, so I can imagine that really appealed to you as an actor too?
When you do interesting things with material like this, that’s the power of art. Art to me should be timeless and it says something about the magnitude of what George Romero put together in 1968, but it also says something about the society we’re in. Whether it was intended or not, what George did in the movie has stood the test of time, but it’s a shame that something from that time that makes a statement through art is still relevant. It shouldn’t be. We should be looking back at it saying, ‘Oh, that was interesting’ or ‘Huh, I wonder what they were saying back then?’ We’re not. We can actually see this movie and watch it now, realising this is very relevant to where we are right now. I think society should try to do more to move the ball forward.
Duane Jones delivered a really wonderful performance in that 1968 movie, but was that something you looked at for inspiration?
I did. I watched the original movie and watched Duane’s performance to see what he did. I didn’t overly study it because I wanted to bring my own take and point of view to him. Whenever you’re reapproaching something, I think it’s good to understand what the take-off point is. Duane and the original film are the launching pad, but I didn’t want to redo his performance. I wanted to craft my own, with his serving as the basis for that. I didn’t overly study it.
What was the process of recording your dialogue like and what, as an actor, do you feel you learned from taking on a voiceover role like this one?
It was very interesting to find a role like this in a voiceover part. I was in the recording booth and wasn’t with my fellow actors at all playing off each other. It was a different challenge because you’re having to listen to something another actor has done, but then you’d have nothing to work from. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle to make this tapestry, so it was challenging. That’s what I love to do, though. I love stepping into roles that are a challenge and, if they’re not, what’s the point of doing them? What I liked was to direct everything into the voice. On film, the eyes are the windows to the soul and you can say a lot by not saying anything. You can give a look and that will tell part of the story. In this situation, I had to direct all of that into modulating my voice whether it was loud and powerful or in intimate moments. I had to focus on that and, to a certain extent, trust the other creatives like the animators and Jason, our director, to be able to crack the world. Some of those moments I mentioned are caught on film, but it’s not me doing it because they’re animated. From my point of view, I just had to direct everything into the voice. It was enjoyable, but challenging not being in the room shooting off the other actors.
We see Ben make good use of weaponry throughout the course of this movie, but if a zombie outbreak were to happen, what do you think would be your go-to item to help you survive?
[Laughs] In a zombie outbreak? I think my go-to item would be whatever the fastest car is on the planet! I would get out of dodge [Laughs]. Maybe a jet plane. Even better? A rocket ship? I’d try to hijack Bezos or Branson’s rocket plane to try and get out of town.