Barbara Crampton’s recent roles are "more interesting than ever before".
The 58-year-old actress made her name starring in a series of 80s horror flicks including ‘Re-Animator’, ‘Chopping Mall’ and ‘From Beyond’ before deciding to take a "self-imposed retirement" after finding work had dried up.
However, she is now back working again, having appeared in a number of modern horror movies including ‘You’re Next’, ‘We Are Still Here’ and ‘Sun Choke’.
She said: "I think the kind of roles I’m getting are probably, to me collectively, more interesting than I’ve ever had before. Of course, when I was younger I loved the parts I played, especially in ‘Re-Animator’ and to a larger degree ‘From Beyond’.
"But as I’ve matured, the roles are a bit more layered and representative of where I am today as an older person with more responsibilities, perspective and hopefully not too may regrets. I’ve been lucky to tackle big issues in films like ‘We Are Still Here’ and ‘Sun Choke’ that really speak to me on a very human level."
And Barbara has expressed her disappointment that women don’t appear as much in "common and often used movie themes" like films about superheros.
She told Collider.com: "There was a period in my late 30s where work slowed down for me, as it does for a lot of women. You’re no longer the young, cute thing anymore and maybe you’re not quite old enough to play [what others think of] in terms of women in charge. I guess in society there’s no place for women in their older thirties. We’re supposed to go sit on a shelf at some point … and wait. Maybe for others, they found continuing work at that age. I didn’t.
"But being an older person now, I’m finding that people are calling me to play various things. Variations on the theme of mother, caretaker, and in some cases, doctors, heads of organisations and things like that. For some people, I’m finally old enough to play those roles. We see men playing them when they’re a little bit younger, and also in roles that call for some form of conflict and violence, either generating it or trying to curtail it.
"Women don’t seem to be a big part of those common and often used movie themes. Superhero roles seem to be popular. I’d like to see more female superheroes. How about a grandmother superhero? I’d pay good money to see that."
Barbara Crampton’s interesting roles
