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What did you first think when you read the script for this film?
"I had two reactions. One, I thought, 'Who on Earth would take the time to sit down and write a script about vagina dentata?' The second thought was, 'I'm going to give my agent a good talking to tomorrow!' I couldn't believe he had the nerve to send me something like that. Before I called to yell at him I decided to read it so I had some good ammunition to lob at him. I cracked the script open and within four pages I was laughing out loud. I did make that call but instead of yelling at him I said 'Yes, please, I would love to meet this Mitchell Lichtenstein'."
In terms of genre, would you describe this film as a comedy more than anything else?
"I honestly would. If I was forced to put it into a box - it definitely walks that line between horror and comedy - if I had to classify it, it would be as a dark comedy more than anything. There are truly some funny moments in this movie."
The character you play in this is a real villain. Was it fun playing someone that bad?
"It was a lot of fun actually. It was kind of fun trying to find some sort of humanity in him."
Does he have any humanity?
"It's arguable I suppose. The way I look at it is that this is a young guy whose first moment of attraction, his first sexual experience ended in pain. This little girl that he was infatuated with not only bit the tip of his finger off but was also made to be his stepsister. I thought maybe it's possibly that if a guy had that as his first experience it might send him on a tricky road."
It's an incredibly brave performance from Jess Weixler, how was she to work with?
"How good is she in this movie? She's fantastic! We discovered that we're both from the same small town in Kentucky, which was odd because they cast her out of New York and me out of Los Angeles. We were immediately on friendly terms without knowing each other. She was fantastic to work with and, in my opinion, kind of brilliant in this film. She brought a unique quality to that role."
What was Mitchell Lichtenstein like as a first-time director?
"He's got a gentle hand. There were moments where I thought 'Are we shooting a straight horror movie or retaining some of the comedy that I read in the script?' The reason I had those questions, I had to explain it to him one night over dinner, I said, 'Are we giving you what you want for this thing?' He said 'I trust my actors, I trust them to be able to do what they have to without me having to force them'. He was the quiet madman/leader of the whole thing."
Your Nip/Tuck character seems to get dragged further down into the mire. Do you ever ask Ryan Murphy to give Matt some happy times?
"You know what, I don't. Matt's the prince of wrong choices. The bad times are often the most fun to play as an actor. I feel fortunate that in these five and half years he's always felt like a different character every year that just happens to have the same name. I'd take that any day working on a TV show, it keeps it pretty live and interesting for me."
How long do you think the show will go on for? Ryan Murphy has discussed ending the show before but carried on.
"I think we're taking that as it comes. Because of Ryan Murphy and his writers we're in the fortunate position of sort of being able to determine that for ourselves. I think the show will be there for as long as Ryan's interested. I could be wrong, this is all speculation on my part, but when you're the creative driving force behind something you can only tell a story for as long as it inspires you. For Ryan, there might have been a moment where he thought 'Gosh, is there more to this story that I can tell?'
Teeth is released in cinemas this Friday.
More: John Hensley, Movies
