Mark Patton (Jesse Walsh) talked to Dread Central before he sat down for his Never Sleep Again interview. Originally the producers of the documentary were having trouble finding Patton, who left Hollywood shortly after Freddy's Revenge, but they finally tracked him down in Mexico and brought him to L.A.. Here is his interview w/DC:
Twenty-five years after Patton took on the role of Jesse, the actor now weighs in on why he thinks the Nightmare franchise still remains so popular.
Patton: I think NOES is so popular because the franchise taps into an idea that goes into the depths of people's dreams and it's very easy for people to project themselves into that situation. I know my film was very different from the first, and my whole life since then has been involved in discussion on what was going on with the second film."
One of the bigger controversies surrounding Freddy's Revenge was the idea of casting a "final guy" instead of a "final girl." This is a phenomenon that Patton was keenly aware of.
Patton: :Essentially, I was playing a woman's part and fans back then didn't understand that. It's like they switched the rules of the genre on fans and a lot of people couldn't handle that so I think that's why some people have problems with part two. I do think the new generation of fans are more open to that idea now than audiences were back then."
Patton was also very candid in discussing his experiences on set and with director Jack Sholder.
Patton: "I was very well treated, but there are things I do still want to address. I know they tried to find me for the DVD release but they couldn't so there are things I do still take exception to from that release, but they really aren't bad things. I mean - you try having a giant tongue sticking out of your mouth for 10 hours and still be in a good mood."
"I think Jack is a wonderful man and I liked working with him, but I think they picked the wrong director for the second film. He mixed up too much of the comedy of Freddy to the point where I think he actually thought he was directing a comedy so you lose some of the magic of the first. I think there are a lot of fans that would agree with that too."