TAFs’ EXCLUSIVE: NEW HERO INTERVIEW!

There's a new action hero in town but tinsel-town is plenty big for a few good tough guys. Michael Bailey Smith, an action hero who has had small roles in the past, is now working his way up to leading roles and getting plenty of bruises along the way.

You know Michael. He's been in everything so you may have caught him in X-files, Buffy, Conan The Adventurer or the dozens of other good roles he's scored. Now he's getting his butt kicked hard by leg-kicking action star Van Damme in the upcoming film "The S.H.U". Let's have a seat with Michael Bailey Smith and hear all about this tough yet humble Arnold admirer.

TAFs: What can you tell us about your experience working with Van Damme on his new movie?

Michael Bailey Smith: "Working on "The S.H.U" (working title) was an incredible experience. I can say, without a doubt, that it was one of the hardest, most demanding films I've ever worked on. Ringo Lam, the director, really wanted us to go has hard as we could. He wanted the fight scenes to look as real as possible. And let me tell you, there was not much difference between the fights we did in the movie and what real fighting is like. I was pretty beat up by the end of my six weeks on the film. I had to go to the hospital twice with a gash to my skull, I broke my nose and bruised my ribs. It's just something that happens when you're going that hard in a film. Working with Van Damme was very cool. I've worked with a lot of martial artist in this business and I must say, he's one of the best. He's very dedicated to his work and really wants the best for the film. It's an experience I won't soon forget. Working with Ringo, was also a great experience. He's very passionate and dedicated.



TAFs: What role do you play and how big of a part is it?

MBS: "I actually played two roles in this film. I originally signed on to play the character, Valia. Valia is a Russian prisoner that gets transferred to Van Damme's prison. I'm brought in by the warden and my job is to beat Van Damme. Whether he lives or dies is of no consequence to me. At first he doesn't want to fight me, so to convince him, I rape and kill his best friend. Hummmm.... Yeah, I'm a real nice guy. The second role that I played was by accident. There was a character named BOO, who was played by a guy who's about 6'10"and 400 pounds. A huge guy. Well, on his first day, he broke his foot. The production was stuck on what to do. It looked like they were going to shut down production until the guy's foot healed. Well, as you know, that would take weeks. Well, I so happened to be on the set that day and offered to take his place. I know you might say, "How can you do that? You probably look nothing like this other guy and you're certainly not 6'10" and 400 pounds." Well, I had a few things going for me. The guy was bald and I'm bald. The guy was wearing a leather mask and when I put it on, I looked just like that guy. Plus when they put these shoes on that had about 6 inch soles, I was just as big as him. It was pretty much a perfect match. So, that what I did, I played the BOO character and let me tell you, this character was great. To me, it was much more fulfilling as an actor than the Valia character. The Valia character was your typical badass which I've bad a million times before. The only good thing about it was that I got to fight a lot and I got to fight Van Damme. This was something I've always wanted to do. But the BOO character was so deep in emotion and character. Even though I was in a mask, I did this scene with Van Damme that actually made some of the crew member get emotional. It was really a great role and I'm lucking I got to play it. A lot of people told me that I basically saved the film by volunteering to play BOO, but I don't see it as that. I see it as an honor to play such a great character."

TAFs: Are you a fan of Mr. Schwarzenegger and if so, what's your favorite Arnold movie?

MBS: "Yes, I've always been a fan of his. He's the guy that basically opened the door for all of us "big guys." I respect him a lot. Hummm... my favorite movie. Well, I can think of three that I really like, "True Lies", "Twins" and "Conan the Barbarian." And out of those three "Conan the Barbarian" is my favorite. "True Lies" and "Twins" had better production value but "Conan" is the movie that made me to get into movies. I wanted to do movies that were cool and action oriented and that would take people on a ride."

TAFs: I understand you had a role in the Conan TV series. Did you get to work with Arnold's good friend Ralf Moeller? What was your role on the Conan series and please tell us about Ralf's personality.

MBS: "Yeah, I worked with Ralf. I was in the second episode of the series. I played Gorba, a beastman of sorts. Ralf's a really great guy. I see him in the gym all the time and we always say hi. He's just a very cool guy. I thought he was great in "Gladiator." I think that was the best role he done so far. Very cool."

TAFs: Have you ever tried out for a role in an Arnold movie?

MBS: "I read for "Collateral Damage." There were two roles I read for, a CIA agent and a fireman. Even though I could handle those roles, I just wasn't right for them. That's about it. I've seen Arnold but never met him. Hell, to this day I've got a picture of him in my office doing a side-chest pose. This was back in his heyday of bodybuilding. The poster says, "My instinct was to win, eliminate anyone who is in competition, destroy my enemy, and move on without any kind of hesitation at all." I think that's pretty cool."

TAFs: Out of Arnold's possible upcoming film's, which of these 5 would you most like to have a big starring role in? True Lies 2, King Conan, WestWorld, T4 or Crusades?

MBS: "Hummm... Can I say, "All of them"? Okay, so I got to work with Van Damme. So, now the next guy I want to work with is Arnold. So, anyone or all of them would be fine. And yes, a big starring role would be awesome!"

TAFs: What are your next projects and acting ambitions?

MBS: "Well, I just finished a guest pot on the new TV show, "Fastlane" and I just finished a comedy pilot called, "Sin City." I'm currently up for a lead role in a movie called, "Latin Dragon." It's a martial arts film and the character I'm up for is pretty twisted. I love it! I'm also up for a guest spot on the new TV show, "Robbery Homicide Division." It's being produced by Michael Man. And last and definitely not least, my directing partner and I just finished post production on a film short called, "Bloodshot." I have the starring role. It's an action comedy about a vampire who works for the government. I'm the vampire and my job is to stop a terrorist cell from taking over all of the 7-11's in L.A. This film takes political correctness and throws it out the window. We say that if you're a terrorist then you should be offended. Anybody else, bring you sense of humor. The film really pushes the envelope. We are planning on a screening in L.A. right around Halloween. The website for the movie is Bloodshotmovie.com. Check it out. I think you'll like it. Hey, maybe you can come to the screening. We've shown it to a lot of people and everybody has been totally floored by it. We've started submitting it to the film festivals, so we'll see what happens."

Check out Michael Bailey Smith’s awesome website at Michaelbaileysmith.com! Here you’ll find a good bio of his life and a complete filmography of all his films! There you can click on each film or TV project and read Michael Bailey Smith’s personal experiences on that show. Here is what he has to say about ”Conan the Adventurer”.

MBS: "This was one of the most difficult shoots I've ever been involved in. It wasn't the difficulty of the role but the conditions. I had to wear full prosthetics on my face, long fingernails that were super glued and a leather outfit that I was laced into. Not only that, we shot in Mexico in the summer and man was it HOT! And to make thing even more difficult, there was another actor who I had to work with who did nothing but complain and get into fights with the crew.

It's hard to believe sometimes how people take this business for granted. I've dug enough ditches and did enough "grunt" work to know when you got it good. And anytime you got a gig were we're basically playing "make believe" and getting paid for it, then you got it good. I could go into a lot more about this experience but I won't because it's not about mud slinging. It wouldn't do any good. But besides that, I had a pretty good time.”

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Randy Jennings