Known for Daytime Emmy Award-winning “Take This Lollipop” and a ratings-winning role on CBS-TV’s “Criminal Minds,” Bill Oberst Jr. is an American actor of stage and screen whose real-life gentleness and interest in things spiritual are at odds with his often macabre screen persona. Ron Chaney, great-grandson of Lon Chaney, presented Oberst with the first Lon Chaney Award For Outstanding Achievement In Independent Horror Films.

Oberst’s staged theatrical reading “Ray Bradbury’s Pillar Of Fire” won an Ernest Kearney Platinum Award for its Los Angeles debut, and was named Best Solo Show Of Hollywood Fringe and Best LA Solo Show in the Best Of LA Theater Roundup at Bitter-Lemons. “Ray Bradbury’s Pillar Of Fire” won a United Solo Theatre Festival Award for its Off-Broadway debut on Theatre Row in New York City. Oberst later played Ray Bradbury on tour and Off-Broadway in “Ray Bradbury Live! (forever)”, a solo portrayal authorized by Ray Bradbury’s estate.

The premiere of the horror-themed episode of CBS-TV’s “Criminal Minds” which introduced Oberst’s deformed killer character (also guest-starring Adrienne Barbeau and Tobin Bell) was the evening’s most-watched TV program. CBS included Oberst’s character in their list of “Criminal Minds’ 14 Most Notorious Serial Killers.” The character remains one of only a handful of uncaptured “Criminal Minds” killers.

He is perhaps most widely-known internationally as the face of director Jason Zada’s “Take This Lollipop,” awarded a Daytime Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the category of New Approaches-Daytime Entertainment. Oberst has been seen by over 100 million viewers worldwide as an online stalker in the interactive application for Facebook users.

Oberst’s fascination with the nature of evil, reflected in his screen portrayals, his solo stage performance about Satan, “Adversary,” and his gothic fiction podcast, “Gothic Goodnight,” is an outgrowth of his faith; an integration of Christianity and Native American spiritual practices. An advocate of minimalism, he frequently asks that script dialogue be deleted or shortened, believing that non-verbal moments are the strongest. Bill Oberst Jr. lives barefoot as a spiritual practice which grew out of his reflections on the humility of Christ, the concept of kenosis, or self-emptying, and the sacredness of all creation. He often performs barefoot onstage and is known for being shoeless on film sets.

His individual award wins include a Horror Icon Award at The Optical Theatre Festival in Italy, a Lifetime Achievement Award at Killuride Film Festival, a Lifetime Achievement Award at iHolly International Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at Dark Veins Horror Film Festival, an Eastman Award for Best Actor at Stock Shock Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at the Los Angeles Movie Awards, a Best Actor Award at Chicago Horror Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at Ontario Fright Night Theatre Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at Biloxi Fear Fete Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at Dallas Twisted Tails Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at FANtastic Horror Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at Housecore Horror Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at Tucson Terrorfest, a Best Actor Award at Los Angeles ZedFest Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at Pollygrind Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at Shockfest Film Festival, a Golden Cobb Award for Best Rising B-Movie Actor, a Baddest Villain Award at ZedFest Film Festival, a Monstey Award for Great Historical Monster Moments, a Best Supporting Actor Award at FANtastic Horror Film Festival, a Best Actor Award at Italy’s Optical Theatre Festival and a Best Actor Award at An Anti-Hero Production Genre Film Festival in Los Angeles, a Best Actor Award at FANTastic Horror Film festival, a Best Actor Award at Shawna Shea Film Festival and a Best Actor Award at Wreak Havoc Horror Film Festival.

His shared awards include an International Critics Award at Deauville Film Festival in France, a Best Narrative Feature Award at The Los Angeles Movie Awards, a Director’s Award at Boston Underground Film Festival, a Audience Award at Phoenix Film Festival, an Audience Award at New Orleans Film Festival, a Copper Wing Award at Phoenix Film Festival, a Best Feature Award at Unreal Film Festival, a Narrative Feature Award at Pollygrind Film Festival, a Shocker Award at LA Shockfest Film Festival, a Best Ensemble Acting Award at Sacramento Horror Film Festival a Best Ensemble Acting Award at Phoenix Film Festival, an Outstanding Achievement Award at L’age d’Or International Arthouse Film Festival, a Festival Award at Crown Wood International Film Festival, a Judges Award at Culture & Diversity Film Festival, and an Award of Prestige at the Vegas Movie Awards.

Off-screen, Bill lives quietly with his long-time male partner, works with older adults as a certified personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist, and serves as a Eucharistic minister in the Episcopal Church.

Introduction

Greg Staffa 0:00 You’re listening to the Staffa Corner Podcast, a Staffatarian look at entertainment in life, with your host, Greg Staffa. My guest this episode is Bill Oberst Jr., one of Horror’s most recognizable character actors. We’re going to talk about his career, his love of storytelling, and the man behind the monsters. Bill, thanks for joining us today.

Bill Oberst Jr. 0:41 Greg, I really appreciate that. Thank you. I’m glad to be with you.

Growing Up Different

Greg Staffa 0:45 So you have a very interesting childhood, one that I found a little bit depressing, but there was a lot of self-inflicted but also inflicted by others – you were as bullied I guess is the right way to say it – a lot of your growing up.

Bill Oberst Jr. 1:02 Yeah, of course, because I was different in just about every way that a boy could be different growing up in South Carolina. I was a gay boy. I was not athletic. I was very studious. I made straight A’s. I really enjoyed Sunday school. I wanted to be a minister when I grew up. And I had really, really bad acne. And all of those things made me the subject of a lot of bullying and pushing around. So yeah.

Greg Staffa 1:33 Talking to other actors, acting for a lot of them was an escape. And I’ve read that this was an escape for you, that if you could make others laugh, they wouldn’t bother you as much because you had kind of created the center of attention and made people enjoy being around you. Was it a way to survive? Was that something that you quickly realized was your way to break free of that bullying and not necessarily have people like you, but to have that be the source of their attention versus being you specifically being the source of their attention?

Bill Oberst Jr. 2:09 Initially to be liked. I mean, I could take them hitting me, that’s okay, you know. But everybody, particularly when you’re a kid and especially when you’re an adolescent, you want more than anything else to be liked, to be one of the gang. So you gotta find your way for them to like you. And that’s what I did. I started so that people would like me. And they did. Their opinion of me changed, and I became the performer. And then I realized I really, really like this. So, you know, in a way, I really thank God; I thank the Great Spirit that I was born so different because otherwise I might never have discovered what I think is my vocation.

Turning Pain Into Vocation

Greg Staffa 2:49 You jumped the gun on my next question: at what point did you realize that this was a profession? And looking back on it, is it in an odd way almost a blessing that this burden that was placed upon you, this the bullying, turned you into who you are now, not only as a strong person, but as an actor, that maybe if you hadn’t had all those things, how different life would be. Do you view it now looking back as a blessing, or was it just something that probably would have been inevitable either way, and you just kind of wish the bullying never happened?

Bill Oberst Jr. 3:32 No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I do wish that the bullying – I don’t regret anything in my life because it led me to where I am now. And I think that’s the way it is for everybody’s life. That one of my favorite authors is Frederick Buechner, and Buechner says, “Listen to your life, because your life is telling you something.” Your life is singing you a song about who you are. Ray Bradbury, another great author, he said “You have to decide how you’re going to tell the world who it is.” If you’re a dancer, you dance it. If you’re a singer, you sing it. If you’re uh a workman, you do it with your hands. But everybody’s got to figure out, “What is my life telling me?” And then the second part is, “How do I use that to try to make the world a little better place?” The second part is the toughest, but it’s it’s your vocation. I think everybody has a vocation. It’s not the same always as an occupation. I just got lucky that for me it was.

Greg Staffa 4:31 Was there a certain pivotal point in your life where you realized that the things working against you were also the things that made you such a talented actor? Was there a point where you you started to appreciate your uniqueness more and use that in your acting?

Los Angeles And Owning His Look

Bill Oberst Jr. 4:50 When I took the plunge and moved out to Los Angeles I began to realize because I’d always hidden these weird parts of myself. I tried to appear as normal as possible. You know, I have kind of a scary look, people would say. And I always try to like, you know, comb my hair in a certain way and try to be really affable and “Hey, how you doing?” When I got out to Los Angeles, I realized that if I’m gonna be a camera actor, I can’t lie anymore, because the camera doesn’t let you lie. And so I just started to embrace who I was and started doing all of these really weird Horror roles. And yeah, that was the point at which I realized, okay, then maybe who I am is actually okay and can also be beneficial. And that’s I think when my vocation became my occupation.

Greg Staffa 5:45 Hearing some of that, I find – I don’t know if the word depressing is the right word – it almost sounds like you’ve, based on what other people have told you and the bullying…have you kind of pigeonholed yourself into saying this is my value, Horror is my my niche? I mean, could do you could you see yourself going out for like a romantic comedy? Or is that just something that mentally and emotionally just isn’t in the cards for you and you’re happy with what you’re doing doing the horror genre?

Bill Oberst Jr. 6:21 That is a really insightful question, brother. Mentally and emotionally, yes, of course. I would love it. Because you know, I’m not a scary killer. But the the camera sees what the camera sees. It’s a visual medium. You can only swim against the tide so much. If, you know, I was, like, Robert Englund, well known, then people would be like, “We want to have you do romantic comedy for fun, just because you’re Robert Englund and it’s gonna be something weird,” and then you could get away with it, but not at my level. What I do on camera is what I do on camera. I’ve tried to become really good at it, and I do enjoy it. I love it, in fact, because I was a monster kid, because I felt like a monster. I love the monsters. So to play monsters and monstrous humans is it’s really an odd kick for me.

Greg Staffa 7:13 Tell us a little bit about the first couple – you move to Hollywood – tell us about the first couple roles, What was it like to realize that you were not only talented, but I think there’s a feeling of being wanted. You know, anytime we get hired for a job, we feel wanted, and you talk about your struggles and and feeling accepted. Now you’re getting these roles. What was that like?

Bill Oberst Jr. 7:39 All actors, maybe all performers, are needy. We have this crushing need for other people to say, you’re okay, you’re okay. And so, yeah, to get any role as an actor, especially in a competitive environment like Los Angeles, makes you feel like, yay, it’s a win. When I started – and it was not immediate, I had to really, really work and just take every job I could get – when I started to get these sort of semi-high profile horror roles, that’s when it really felt like, okay, you know, now I’m being more accepted for who I am. And in return, what I’ve gotta do is start shedding these layers of lies about who I am, because I found that the more I was who I really was, how I physically present myself and the way that I am, the more work I got in Horror. For instance, when I started out when I was supposed to kill people I’d be really loud and aggressive. I had one really great director, and I remember the moment when he pulled me to the side and he said, “Bill, screaming is not your strength. Whisper. When you want to scream, whisper.” And really, in life, this is my normal speaking tone. I speak like this. So I started saying things on camera like, “I’m really sorry that it has to be this way. But it does.” And the more soft you get combined with the more violent the action, the more frightening it is. So the more I surrendered to who I really am and poured it into the roles, the more work I got.

Horror As Healing And Warning

Bill Oberst Jr. 9:54 It has been, yeah. I hope now after all these years that the scream is pretty much out, you know, it’s down to like just a little whimper. But absolutely, it would it was part of the way that I healed from being told you’re an abomination, you don’t fit in, you’re this, you’re that. It’s the way that I healed, yeah, absolutely. And I mean, when you put it that way and I think about it that way, it seems kind of a dangerous way to heal, you know, had I not had these roles, what would I have done in life? I don’t know. I guess I was lucky that I had this way to heal. But I what I try to be also, Greg, is a cautionary tale for people. Like all my guys that I play are wounded monsters. They do bad things, but they’re wounded. And usually they got wounded because of the way people and the world treated them. And so I always tell people be really careful because you can create monsters so easily by the way – you can say something to somebody that you know is going to hurt them, but you say it anyway because you think it’s cute or funny or whatever, and that hurt is gonna stick with that person probably for the rest of their life. And you do not know what events you have set in motion with your cruelty.

Greg Staffa 11:17 That’s well said. It reminds me, I and I wish I could remember who said it, but there was an actor once talking about how someone came up to him and said, you know, what is it like playing such horrible, horrible people? And he looked at the person and says, Well, what do you mean? And the person interviewing him realized that this actor didn’t feel like he played horrible people. He played people that were, like you said, wounded and put in situations where they had to react in a way, and to him, as an actor, that’s what he found fascinating. That they weren’t necessarily all evil just to be evil, but there was more to it that that layered that they really found enjoyable. That there wasn’t just bad guy to be bad guy, it’s you know, why did this person choose to do what he was, what what put him in those circumstances? It sounds like you have a similar approach.

Bill Oberst Jr. 12:22 That’s absolutely right. That’s the whole point. Everybody is scared, everybody’s lonely, and we all play out that in different ways. And if you don’t feel a basic acceptance from your fellow human beings, that you are worthy and that you have dignity, then you’re gonna play that out usually in some kind of a way that involves retribution, or you’re just gonna disappear into yourself and curl up and die. But the survival instinct takes over, and that’s how we create monsters. We have got to learn that all life is sacred, every life is sacred, and that we are equally sacred. Every life deserves dignity because it is life, and until we learn that, we’re gonna keep doing this to each other.

Faith, Darkness, And Self Control

Greg Staffa 13:13 Actors like Neil McDonough won’t kiss someone on film because he has he’s married and he’s considers that a sacred vow. Other actors refuse to do certain things because of their beliefs. You’re a spiritual person, you even spent years portraying Jesus if I’m not mistaken, but you’re a very spiritual person. Does portraying Horror and getting into that darkness have any impact on your faith? And how does that impact you as trying to be the good person that you are?

Bill Oberst Jr. 13:44 It’s strengthened my faith because every bit of this darkness that I play is in me and in you, I believe, and in everybody. We all have the same potential. So these are all versions of myself. I am that killer, I am that rapist, I am that homicidal maniac, I am that devious CEO, I am that lying politician that causes death and takes the profits. I am all of those people unless I choose not to be. I have to actively choose not to be those people. So when I’m playing a role, all I’m doing really is just saying, okay, I’m gonna allow myself to be what I could be. I’ve never played anybody or done anything on screen that I wouldn’t be quite capable of in real life if I chose to let that go. I mean, we live in a society that really encourages, oh, be yourself, you know, if it feels good, it’s okay. Just follow your instincts. I don’t think following our instincts is always really good. I don’t, because I think we have murderous, hateful, selfish impulses. And a little bit of discipline is not a bad thing.

Greg Staffa 15:02 Does that ever scare you? I mean, it makes sense, but to be able to admit that, does it ever scare you that that is deep within all of us? Or is that just something that you accept and you realize that the good person in you outweighs those kind of things, but it’s also important to realize that they’re there?

Bill Oberst Jr. 15:24 It’s it’s a daily choice not to be the person that you could be. But I find it really liberating to say, when I’m standing naked before my creator, as we all are, I can say, “I got no bullshit to offer you. I got no defenses. I got no pretenses. I’m not a good person. I got nothing. But I need the goodness and the love that I believe is at the center of the universe to be in me. Please help me.” That feels like an honest prayer, whereas a lot of the other prayers just feel like bullshit.

Ray Bradbury And Lon Chaney Lessons

Greg Staffa 16:08 You mentioned Ray Bradbury, who along with Lon Chaney are two people that you deeply admire and kind of follow their their career path, and they’re influential in you and your work. If you could have lunch with them and sit down and talk about, you know, what you guys do, what would you guys talk about and how would they view your career as you admire their career?

Bill Oberst Jr. 16:35 Well, Bradbury wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise, which is the charm of Bradbury. He would go on and on. I don’t think Lon would want to say anything. Lon was so taciturn. What I would want to talk to both of them about is, I would want to say, “Lon, you said that the point of your career was to point out the humanity in monsters and the monsters in humans. And I thank you for that because that’s what I’ve tried to do. Do you think I’d done a little of it? Maybe like 10%?” So I’d totally be looking for that validation. From Ray, I think I’d just say, “Ray, you saved my life when I was an adolescent because I thought I was the only weird person in the world, and then I encountered you who wrote these wonderful stories about dinosaurs who got their hearts broken and tore down lighthouses because they were hurt and all of these things.” Yeah, I would I would just spend the evening doing what I’m doing right now, gushing. You made me gush just thinking about it.

Greg Staffa 17:47 And what would they think? You know, you’ve admired their career, you’ve studied their career. Well, what did they think about your career?

Bill Oberst Jr. 17:56 They’d probably point out my flaws. As you would want your your mentors and your heroes to do. Maybe I might get an attaboy from Ray. I think maybe if Lon did not outwardly criticize me, I’d take that as you know, being okay. God, they were just such amazing talents, both of them.

Greg Staffa 18:17 For those that aren’t familiar with them, tell us a little bit about each of them and what is it about them that you admired. You said a little bit, but for others that don’t know who they are.

Bill Oberst Jr. 18:30 That’s a good point. Not everybody knows all of my cultural references. Lon Chaney was way before my time. He was a silent film actor, and he was the first actor to play what we today would recognize as monstrous figures who are also pitiable figures. He played Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, in 1925, and he played Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, in ’23. He also had numerous roles where he played these deformed killers and people who were outcasts of the world who were sympathetic but were also malevolent. And that’s what I love about him – that combination of sympathy and malevolence. When you watch his stuff, you know, you have to understand that the acting style was very different, but watch Lon’s hands and his face. He was raised by deaf parents, so he communicated through his hands and his face to his parents. That’s what gave him his magic. Bradbury was the most popular writer of fantasy and science fiction of my era. He was born in ’25 and he died in 2012. So he spanned three or four generations of us who were so influenced by Ray. Everyone knows Fahrenheit 451, but to me, the heart of his work is The Martian Chronicles, in which he imagined Mars not as a scientific future – technically what it would be like – but spiritually and emotionally what would it be like for humans to be on Mars? And what of ourselves would we take up there? It’s a magical, magical piece of writing.

Screen Deaths And Real Fear

Greg Staffa 20:16 You’ve had a lot of memorable deaths on screen. Was there anyone in particular that was your favorite?

Bill Oberst Jr. 20:22 My favorite death on screen…a really, really great question. I’m trying to remember now the ones that I have truly enjoyed. I’ve never enjoyed being shot much because of the blood. It’s usually cold and I’m really skinny. I’m always freezing when there’s blood. You know one that I really liked? I think it was called Ditch Day Massacre, where my character was spent; he had had his revenge, had his retribution, and he’d killed everybody he was going to kill, and he just walked over into this pond and fell face forward and just purposely didn’t get up and took the water into his mouth and then his body goes limp and he’s just floating. That was sort of that was a peaceful death. And that was actually okay to film too. So yeah, if I enjoyed a death, I think that one.

Greg Staffa 21:24 You’ve you’ve played a lot of frightening characters through the years. As an adult now, is there anything that scares you?

Bill Oberst Jr. 21:32 Yeah. I would be scared if in the middle of the night the doorknob rattled on my bedroom. And I bolted upright, and then it stopped rattling. And nothing happened for an hour. And I sat there for an hour, unable to go to sleep, afraid to use the phone because whatever was out there might hear me – maybe it doesn’t know I’m in here – and I just gotta sit and stare at that door for an hour. Those are the kind of fantasies that really, really freak me out. Other than that, in real life I’m not afraid of anything in nature, I’m cautious of the things I should be cautious of. I’m not surprised by anything in humanity, so there’s nothing in humanity that would really frighten me. I wouldn’t be scared if I talked to a ghost or an alien. Even if I talked to a demon, I would just say, “Get the hell out of here. What are you doing? I’ve seen you before, go away.” So yeah, I’m gonna go with the doorknob, Greg. That’s the that’s the one fantasy that would freak me out.

Greg Staffa 22:41 I can see that. Now you’ve played – I mean you have the niche now of Horror – how do you go about – I mean, I’m sure you get a lot of offers, you’re the go-to guy for horror – how do you go about finding the right roles? And what is your process for for going through those scripts and choosing what roles you want to take?

Choosing Roles Through Relationships

Bill Oberst Jr. 23:03 It used to be that my process was they offered me the role and I said yes. That was the rule for like 200 movies. That was the process. But I have slowed down because I’m older now. And you know, I don’t want to be cold and wet and covered in blood just for the sake of being cold and wet and covered in blood and saying, “Hey, I was in a movie.” Really, to tell you the truth, now it’s more about the relationship with the production team and the director than it is the script. You can always make a script a little bit better if you’ve got a producer and a director who you really have a good connection with on a personal level, and you feel like I want to work with them and they want to work with me so we can create something together, even if what we got to work with is not great, we can make it better. That’s what excites me so much. Even more so than oh, this role looks perfect, but the director and I really do not get along. Don’t take that job. Whether it pays you good or not, don’t take it because it’s not going to be good if the personal relationship is not there.

His Personal Favorite Movies

Greg Staffa 24:14 You talked about your heroes and the films that they did. If I was to go to the video store, if we still had them these days, what would be the five videos that I should be getting?

Bill Oberst Jr. 24:28 You know, I would be a lot better known if we had video stores now, because actors like me used to really thrive in the Blockbuster environment. Now there’s so little opportunity. I feel sometimes like everything that we do on my level, we do these movies and we put them out on streaming platforms, and then they just fall off into the abyss. Sometimes you don’t hear anything of them, and sometimes something happens. I cannot specifically, unfortunately, name those five projects because then the other 195 projects would be like, “You didn’t mention my movie. I thought I thought we were friends.” So for that reason, no, but I can tell you that the number you hit is just about right. I’ll tell you one non-Horror title. I’ve done so few non-Horror, but there’s one that’s non-Horror that I would say include in there. It’s a film called The Retrieval. The director is Chris Eska. It’s a largely Black cast, it’s set in the American Civil War, it’s a coming of age story, and I play a despicable character. I’m a slave bounty hunter. It’s a really, really quiet and nuanced and extremely powerful movie. I always say young people should see this movie because the choice this young man has to make in this movie is a choice that most of us are gonna have to make throughout our life in one form or another. It’s a great movie for families to watch together. It’s called The Retrieval. But other than that, a lot of horror movies which I can’t single out, although I have my personal favorites.

Papa Corn Fame And Boundaries

Greg Staffa 26:08 I’m gonna accept your answer but I’m also gonna rephrase it now to see if I can get you to answer it in a different way. If, like Walt Disney World, they opened Bill Oberst Jr. World, and it was a horror theme park filled with all of the characters that you’ve played throughout the years, who would be the Mickey, the Goofy, the Pluto of the attractions?

Bill Oberst Jr. 26:37 Papa Corn from Circus of the Dead. Which is a horrible thought to have people running around in Papa Corn costumes doing these heinous things. But Papa Corn is pretty darn popular. There’s a sequel in the works that will be made soon for it. He was a really, really disturbing character for me to play. I did not enjoy the movie the first time I watched it, not because I thought it was a bad movie, but because I was just horrified that I had done and said these things. It it filled me with such darkness that I had to go outside. It was raining – sometimes it rains in LA – and I just went out and walked in the rain. I needed to feel the rain on my face, to see the outside, I needed to know that there was goodness in the world. Now I’m comfortable with the movie and somewhat with the character, but yeah, I guess it would have to be Papa Corn, who people really like. People have his image tattooed on various body parts. They send me pictures.

Greg Staffa 27:42 Here’s the the little boy in you that was afraid of his image and bullied for his image. Now you’re being applauded with these characters that you’ve played, and you know, it might not be fully your image, but it’s you, I mean, you know that you were Papa Corn. What is that like to to have that kind of now appreciation shown where people are putting your image, whether it be as a character that you played or not, on their bodies? Is there an acceptance? Is it kind of still weird for you? How do you how does the person that grew up being feeling almost ashamed now kind of look at that?

Bill Oberst Jr. 28:29 It’s always weird. There’s the kid in you who likes it and says, Yay, but you want to be like, “Kid, don’t get too full of yourself. You got a lot to learn, boy.” You want to lecture your inner child, but yes, your inner child says, “Hey, cool.” But when people take it too far, which for me it’s too far if somebody writes and says, Hey, you know, I really love the way you cut off that guy’s tongue in Circus of the Dead, then I’m like, Whoa, this is really, you know, it wasn’t me, it was the character, I’m just an actor, I’m just a guy. When they want to talk endlessly and obsessively about that particular character you played, that that gets a little weird. But in general, yeah, your inner kid says, “Yay.”

Why He Cannot Play Benign

Greg Staffa 29:20 The roles that you’ve taken, even you’ve admitted, were kind of an escape because of the bullying. But you’re also an actor, and actors play roles that aren’t necessarily them, but you have kind of adopted the approach that all my characters have a little bit of me. As an actor, is there a sense to want to push yourself into like could you be Jim, the next door lovable neighbor on a TV series? Is that something that interests you, or are you more comfortable mind, body, and soul, playing these deeper, darker characters?

Bill Oberst Jr. 29:58 No. I don’t think it would be pushing myself to play Jim the Amiable Neighbor Next Door, because I would know that Jim the Amiable Neighbor Next Door has these dark undercurrents. We all do. It’s the natural waters that I swim in. So I wouldn’t be able to play Jim, even if I had this incredible plastic surgery, and they would be like, Oh my god, you look like a 30-year-old beautiful guy, I still couldn’t do it, Greg, because in my eyes, there would be this troubling look. I cannot be benign, I just can’t, because I’ve seen the dark currents. I’ve seen it in myself. I see it in other people. It’s the way I view the world. To know that the darkness is there is so inherently a part of me that I cannot not do it.

Greg Staffa 30:51 Some would argue that that’s kind of a sad way to live life. Others might argue that’s a realistic way to live life. Does it ever – I don’t want to say trouble you, but is it ever – I mean, to have that approach, it almost sounds like how do you find vulnerability? How do you open yourself up to trust others and have social relationships if that’s how you view certain people?

Bill Oberst Jr. 31:17 I view all people that way, including myself. I view all humanity that way. There’s something rotten at the core of all humanity. There are no exceptions. So for that reason, it’s a relief that I can, as John Lennon said in Instant Karma, “You better get yourself together, baby, join the human race.” For so many years, I didn’t join the human race because I was like, oh, well, you know, I’m not really like that, and you know, not everybody is. But once I accepted that, yes, there’s something rotten at the core of humanity itself, then I could join the human race. I don’t have to celebrate the rottenness all the time, but I have to always know that it’s there. And it makes other people more dear to me. It engenders affection for all humans, because I know everybody’s scared, everybody’s lonely, and everybody has this really dark part of them. But that’s where joy comes from. For me, there can’t be any joy or any happiness or any delight if it’s not played against that darkness that I’m not giving into. You know what I mean? It doesn’t the joy doesn’t have any meaning unless the joy is to overcome the darkness, if that makes any sense.

Advice For Kids Who Feel Different

Greg Staffa 32:36 You found your escape from being an outsider through the movies and the characters that you’ve played. If there is a kid today that found himself in a similar situation, he’s the young you and discovered your work, much like you discovered your your idols, what were some of the things that you hope that they take away and get from learning about you?

Bill Oberst Jr. 33:03 Don’t be afraid is what I would say to that kid. Don’t be afraid because you are beautifully and wonderfully made. The way that you’re made is a good thing. It’s a beautiful thing, it’s a wonderful thing. Be comfortable in your body, it’s your home. Be comfortable in nature, it’s your home, it’s where you belong. And you’re gonna – I would say to that kid – you’re going to have to fight, you’re gonna have to apply friction against a society which tries to force you into a mold into which you do not fit, but you must apply that friction. I would say it’s not gonna be easy, kid, but do not be afraid. Do not listen to the lies from other people, or inside you, that say, well, I should just be like everybody else. Don’t do it.

Greg Staffa 34:01 What are some of the things you have in the future? Are you looking at directing? Are you writing? What other outlets are there, or are you just looking to for more roles and love acting?

Bill Oberst Jr. 34:14 I’m at the stage in my life now where I’m looking away from acting. I enjoy it and I do it – roles come usually on offers, and I do the roles and they’re really great. Sometimes I have to audition. The last time was for a Netflix series called All The Sinners Bleed, where I played a snake-handling racist preacher. It was a great role, and that series, I think, is gonna air next year. So I enjoy the roles I do, but I don’t want my whole life, you know, this last quarter of my life, to be about acting roles, whether I got them or whether I didn’t get them. I’ve recently been wanting to help older adults with balance issues and with mobility issues, because I’ve gone through this now with a mother, a stepfather, and beginning to go through it with my remaining two parents. So I’m taking some courses to become a Corrective Exercise Specialist to work, as a ministry, with older folks on their balance and their mobility, particularly people who have not moved well in a long time, trying to teach them about their bodies, about their older bodies, what they can still do, how to be balanced, how to have the dignity of being in your own home as long as possible. That’s kind of a personal thing. And I’m also spending a lot of time in nature and a lot of time on my own body, working out, trying to be as healthy as I can be. Really, it’s like turning back into the boy that I was. Because when I was a kid I liked nothing better than to be outside, and I always wanted to help people. I think that kid is kind of like coming back and saying, Hey, let me take you through this last bit of the journey of your life. But I’ll never stop acting. And when people want me to play snake handling creatures, I’ll always do it.

Greg Staffa 36:26 We kind of talked about, you know, the kid in you. We talked about what a kid might think of your work. But what would little Bill Oberst Jr. see in you? And what is your message to that little kid that was scared, that was bullied, that was treated bad? What advice would you give to that little kid if you could?

Bill Oberst Jr. 36:51 I talk to him all the time. I don’t know if you do this, Greg. I’ve talked to other people that do. Like, you know, picture yourself as a kid, particularly in a vulnerable or scared moment, and talk talk to yourself as a kid. Maybe he talks to me, I don’t know. But what I tell him is it’s gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay. Your life is going to be centered around love and positivity. And you’re gonna also have to accept that you’ve been given both the curse and the blessing of recognizing the darkness that exists around you. That’s part of who you are, Billy. So you’re gonna have to be with okay with that. You’re gonna be a little bit different, but you’re gonna be okay. That’s what I say to him. And I hope that maybe he occasionally says to me, Hey, we did it.

Upcoming Work And Closing Reflections

Greg Staffa 37:49 Nice. Wrapping things up, and I do appreciate you coming on, what are some of the things – you hinted at a couple of things like the Netflix thing – what else is there that you can talk about that you have coming up?

Bill Oberst Jr. 38:03 The Ray Bradbury Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, at Indiana University there, has moved into new quarters. They have Ray’s library, his personal effects, his office from Los Angeles – it’s one of the largest single-author repositories in the country. And the Ray Bradbury Center, this October of 2026, is having a grand opening of this new space. So I’m going to perform there with um the local, a local actor, Ben Asaykwee, and with Jason Auckerman, who’s the director of the Bradbury Center. We’re going to do a piece incorporating some of Ray’s works on stage as sort of a tribute to him. I’m really, really looking forward to that. Then I do a touring version of a One-Man Christmas Carol, and I have performances of that coming up this December. And I’ve got – one, two, three – three movies booked between now and the end of the year. The Netflix series will debut, I don’t know when, I’m assuming ’27, but it’ll be pretty big when it happens because it’s produced by Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, and Steven Spielberg’s production company, Amblin. So that’ll be heavily promoted. I think that’ll be, you know, as actors say, that’s gonna be a nice little hit. It’s a performance that will be seen. And by the way, I don’t know if you’ve ever handled snakes. I never had until this role, but if you’ve never had snakes wrapped around your arm preaching to a crowd of people saying “Amen!” I would recommend it. It was pretty cool.

Greg Staffa 39:45 Yeah, I’ll stick to watching you do it on Netflix. You’re more than welcome to to do that.

Bill Oberst Jr. 39:54 There’s nothing wrong with snakes, they’re great. I was surprised by how much I like them.

Greg Staffa 40:01 I’ll take your word for it and I’ll leave it at that. Wrapping things up, and again, like I said, I appreciate coming on, so much of your work is tied to the characters that you’ve played. So much, you know, that it’s hard to say your name without mentioning Horror. But when you get up in the morning and you go into the bathroom, splash a little water on your face, and look in the mirror, who is it that you see?

Bill Oberst Jr. 40:30 I see my damn self, the same damn self I was when I was a little boy. I see Billy. I see Bill. I see William. I recently shaved my head – I’ve wanted to do this for years, Greg – but I was always like, you know, you can’t do that because then what roles are you getting? And finally I was like, you know what? Screw it. I always envisioned myself this way, and now I look in the mirror and I smile because I say, Hey, ugly mug, that’s you. I see myself, and then I get out on the beach at 4:30 in the morning and start my day.

Greg Staffa 41:13 It’s great. I’ve shaved my head for many years. The only downside is if you don’t do it for two days you start looking like Bozo the clown.

Bill Oberst Jr. 41:21 Yeah, or like my dad says, this is my son, the escaped prison inmate, when I let it grow for a few days.

Greg Staffa 41:28 Yeah, that’s the only downside. Is great when it’s shaved, but you let it go for a few days and it looks a little bit weird. Bill Oberst Jr., thank you so much for coming on. It’s been great hearing about your story. And in all honesty, the struggles that you faced, I think those are important to get out and talk about. So I do appreciate you being a little bit vulnerable there and and talking about those things. It’s hard to kind of harp on them for questions, but yet at the source, it’s your story, and so it’s important to be able to talk about openly and honestly. I appreciate you coming on and being a little bit vulnerable and answering those questions.

Bill Oberst Jr. 42:07 Greg, I want to thank you for a real conversation. Thank you for having me, man. I’m gonna go shave my head.

Greg Staffa 42:13 There you go. Thank you, sir.