Brad Dourif; Chucky inChild’s Play(1988).Photo:United Artists;Getty
United Artists;Getty
Brad Dourifis still a friend to the end.
As the firstChild’s Playfilm turns 35 Thursday, the longtime voice of Chucky tells PEOPLE about the legacy of his killer-doll character, including how he was surprised the slasher film became such a success.
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Catherine Hicks as Karen Barclay and Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay inChild’s Play(1988).United Artists/Getty
United Artists/Getty
“Chucky really acts out of fear, and what he’s frightened of is oblivion,” Dourif says of the villain’s staying power. “He does not want to die and that be the end, and there’d be nothing. So he figures out a way around that through this voodoo thing. And the second thing about him, and I discovered this along the way, is he f—ing loves his job.”
The success ofChild’s Playled to two immediate sequels in 1990 and 1991. Chucky was later reworked a bit to boast more humor in 1998’sBride of Chucky, in which Dourif teamed up withJennifer Tillyas Chucky’s love interest and fellow serial killer Tiffany Valentine for the first time. Dourif calls that one his “favorite movie” of the franchise so far.
He also returns once again as Andy in the series, as does hisChild’s Play 2costarChristine Elise McCarthy, who first reappeared for a quick cameo in aCult of Chuckypost-credits scene.
“Chucky said we would be friends till the end in 1988. Andy said, ‘This is the end, friend.’ Only one of them was correct,” Vincent tells PEOPLE about his continued involvement in the franchise, referencing the Good Guy doll’s catchphrase and Andy’s line at the end ofChild’s Playbefore throwing Chucky into a fireplace.
Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay with Chucky in season 3 ofChucky(2023).SYFY
SYFY
“I wasn’t trying to make a movie that would be sequel-ized — I was trying to make the definitive killer-doll movie, of which there were none that I can think of beforeChild’s Play,“Holland tells PEOPLE. “And I succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.”
“You still had the influence of what I did, and then it changed to something else,” Holland adds of subsequent films, claiming that some were “afraid that I was making the movie too scary” to the point where they “would never be able to sell all the merchandise to” younger fans.
As for casting the perennial Good Guy himself, “If you go look at the end ofFatal Beauty, you’ll see Chucky there in Brad Dourif’s performance, and what Brad brought to it was a fiendish delight in being evil,” Holland says.
“He really loved it. Brad sold that, and I wrote [the part of Chucky] for him. I don’t know if he knows I wrote it for him, but I did.”
Tom Holland; Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray/Chucky inChild’s Play(1988).Getty;Alamy
Getty;Alamy
Child’s Playis one of only two movies in the saga that Dourif appeared in in the flesh, the other beingCurse of Chucky. As he and Sarandon can both attest, they filmed during “one of the coldest winters on record” in Chicago, says Holland.
A memory that is perhaps even more “not particularly a pleasant one” for Sarandon was filming a scene inside a car, in which Chucky attempts tostab Detective Norris between the legsvia some intense knife work from under the seat while Norris is driving.
Sarandon had previously starred as bloodthirsty antagonistic Jerry Dandridge in the 1985 vampire thrillerFright Night, which Holland wrote and directed. And like Holland and Hicks, 72, Sarandon didn’t return to theChild’s Playfranchise after its first film in 1988.
“Tom wasn’t involved in the second one, so I just said, ‘Thank you, but no thank you,’ " he recalls of his decision not to take part inChild’s Play 2.
Asked whether he’d ever consider a return as Norris, who survived Chucky’s wrath, “Yeah, sure,” the Oscar nominee says. “It always depends on the circumstance. [But] I would think that, at this point, Mike Norris is retired.”
Chris Sarandon as Detective Mike Norris inChild’s Play(1988).United Artists/Getty
Nowadays, Dourif is enjoying continuing to voice the iconic villain inChucky— and, asteased during a promofollowing the show’s midseason finale last month, he will even make a live-action return in some capacity during the second half of season 3, out next year.
His favoritepart of still playing Chucky35 years afterChild’s Play? Dourif tells PEOPLE, “I think the excitement is the opportunity to work with my daughter.”
The actor and father of two is referring to his younger child, actressFiona Dourif, who first starred as Nica Pierce inCurse of ChuckyandCult of Chucky. (Dourif is also dad to daughter Kristina Dourif and has one grandchild.)
Fiona, 42, reprises her role as Nica on theChuckytelevision show — where she has also appeared as a younger version of her dad’s live-action character Charles Lee Ray, in a spitting image of Dourif.
“The first time I saw what she looked like … I was looking at some footage and I go, ‘I don’t remember doing that.’ I mean, she was weird, and she was exactly like me,” Dourif says. “Her accent was a little different, but she was exactly like me.”
“So at this point, I hardly dare make a prediction, because he is going to come up with something really extraordinary,” he adds.
Chuckyis now streaming onPeacock.
source: people.com
