MARCH 2004

APRIL MOORE’S STRUGGLE FOR SUCCESS P26

THE
MAN
BEHIND
THE
CHAINSAW
Actor Andr ew
Br yniarski talks
P34

NITRO-
CHARGED
WORKOUTS
P50

TRANSFORM
YOUR BODY
BUILD BIG P30

SHOULDERS Compliments of:

P.46

Huge Sale On Supplements

Inside back cover
www.maxsportsmag.com
 by Stephanie Starr • photos by Jasonellisphotography.com

THE MAN BEHIND THE CHAINSAW

Actor Andrew Bryniarksi wields a mean chainsaw as Leatherface in New Line’s remake of
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but find out what he is really like.

“Bring it!” mals are a joy,” Bryniarski says. At present they have
three dogs (pomeranians), two cats, an Amazon parrot,
The rhythmic thump of a cane connects with the filthy
several box turtles and four giant African land tortoises.
wooden floor. The wheelchair creaks as the old man
yells yet again at the top of For a man who’s childhood
his lungs, “Bring it, boy!” hero was the nature-loving
John James Audabon,
Then it happens. The roar jumping into character
of a chain saw cuts through required that he delve into
the speakers and the the darkest areas of his
audience jumps as psyche. “I began some
Leatherface charges onto intense character studies on
the screen full bore at the psycho murdering types,”
unsuspecting teenagers. he says. “It’s simple
Three hundred pounds of psychology, this character’s
psycho wielding 35 pounds motivation: Hunt, kill, eat,
of twisting metal rips provide. For necessity first,
through the door and into then followed shortly by
the room. release and sweetened by
revenge.”
He towers above his victims
at an impressive 6’5” and Slipping into Leatherface’s
stares them down behind skin meant placing himself
the eye sockets of a in the right frame of mind.
gruesome mask stitched Bryniarski states that he
together with the skin of didn’t play the character for
victims past. Who is this his likability. The character
creature and what must the is, in Bryniarski’s words, “a
actor playing him do to towering, evil, powerful,
prepare for such a journey? imperfect beast.” He knew
“I was born to wear he needed to play that to
Don’t be fooled. The man
behind the mask may be
the mask.” the hilt and he did what
had to be done. But that
towering, powerful and was only half the journey.
intense, but that is where the similarities end. Actor
Andrew Bryniarski was raised just outside Philadelphia, However daunting the mental challenge of playing
Penn. by his hard-working father and librarian mother. Leatherface, the physical challenges of the role proved
He enjoys music, reading and spending time with his even more strenuous. Bryniarski wasn’t the first choice
wife, Gretchen, and the many animals they have res- to play the part. Another actor was originally slated for
cued together. “She is my love, my sanity and the ani- the performance, but on the first day, during the first
 HEAR
take, he fell injured. Not only did the actor misrepresent his
size, he’d now nearly crippled the production by landing in
the hospital. Producer Michael Bay knew of Bryniarski’s
interest in the role early on and made the call.

“I was born to wear the mask,” Bryniarski says.

The pressure was on. Bryniarski gained as many pounds as

he could to prepare for the physical demands of the part. He
managed to add 30 pounds to his frame by stuffing down
white bread and brisket. The discomfort of moving around
with that extra poundage was nothing compared to the rest of
it. Each day he strapped himself into a heavy fat suit, donned
the mask and maneuvered a live chainsaw while moving
about the set. Smoke coughed out from the machine, often
gagging him and drying his throat. Some days he wore the

SEE
latex mask, other days he endured a silicone one, which did
not breathe and contributed to the ever-present problem of
him overheating.

“I had to jump off the van’s

roof — an 8-to-9-foot drop —
with the chainsaw in hand,
mask on, running in slime, full
speed after people I actually
like and respect.”

It was in this condition that Bryniarski did all his own stunts.
SPEAK

What stuntman would have volunteered for such a task? Fact

is, no one else could have possibly handled them. Running
with all that weight strapped to him, overheating at times to
the point of his core body temperature going up to 103
degrees and swinging a live, smoking chainsaw while jumping
off the hood of vans and muscling through doorways could
only be handled by a very large, very masochistic man. A
self-described action junky, Bryniarski gave his all to the roll,
working his body past the point of normal physical torment.
Ironic as it is, he was the most physically uncomfortable of all
the actors, even those he pretended to butcher. At least the
brutalized victim in the bathtub had a cool place to sit.

The suit eventually became so sweltering Bryniarski instituted

what he called the “103 degree rule.” If his body temperature
went above 103 degrees, he’d stop for the day. However, on
many occasions he broke that rule. Taking time out from
N O EV I L
production is money and the pressure to continue despite the
odds is great. He may have chased after his co-workers with a
chainsaw, but Bryniarski has nothing but good things
to say about everyone he worked with on the set.
36
 Each day on the set he prayed he would not drop dead into so many different things creatively. Gaining
while remaining hyper- sensitive to the real danger one knowledge, never getting stuck in one thing, place or
wrong move from him could present to the other actors and train of thought. What is next is always the question
the set crew. “You can’t see shit in the mask and the burning in my mind. That’s the thrill.”
chainsaw weighs 35 pounds,” Bryniarski says. “I had to
jump off the van’s roof — an 8-to-9-foot drop — with the His creativity both on and off the screen has earned him a
chain saw in hand, mask on, running in slime, full speed place on Entertainment Weekly Magazine’s “It” list of the
after people I actually like and respect. That comes with a top 100 creative people in Hollywood this year.
high degree of responsibility. Any and all instances when
you are working with a chainsaw and priceless talent are Had he not ventured into acting, Bryniarski would have
dangerous and require most probably made
your complete and total music his full-time love.
attention in order to con- As it is, he plays in a rock
trol the chaos.” band call The M.F.S.
(Musical Freak Show) and
Years of being physically they have just finished up
active and working out a tour. Next step for them
with weights helped is recording an album.
him quite a bit. Despite Creatively he admits to
being a large man, having been influenced by
Bryniarski is particularly the band KISS and also
agile and has done by his cousin Jimmy who
everything from motor was always acting in
cross and swimming as plays and playing electric
a teen to football in bass in bands.
high school and college.
He used his body “I like to learn,”
building lifestyle not as Bryniarski says.
his main focus, but to “Anything, from anyone,
springboard himself into anywhere, anytime. I try
other goals. While the to turn anything I may be
face of his training has interested in back into my
changed, his consistent business. That brings me
focus has not. “Dorian growth, personally and
Yates said something professionally.”
Aside from his work as an actor, Bryniarski also enjoys playing
great about training,”
in his band, Musical Freak Show, and spending time with many
Bryniarski says, of the animals he and his wife Gretchen have rescued. His future projects
“Training is not include rolling his interest
instinctive, being lazy is. Training needs to be specific to be into Celtic mythology and literature into a screenplay he’s
effective. Set goals, be flexible. My training needs to change writing, continuing to perform with his band, sifting
and grow as my goals do. As in life, hard work pays off.” through new offers for acting parts and adjusting his
physique to the demands they present.
Bryniarski moved to Hollywood in 1990 and soon found
himself staring alongside Bruce Willis in Hudson Hawk. If you haven’t had the chance to see the new Texas
Later he landed rolls in Batman Returns, The Program, Street Chainsaw Massacre movie I urge you to rent it once it hits
Fighter, Any Given Sunday, Pearl Harbor, Rollerball, the shelves as a DVD. Knowing what you know now about
Scooby-Doo, 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout and, what it took to make it, I am still willing to bet it will scare
ultimately, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. the daylights out of you.

Years of hard work has made him a versatile actor and “I’m proud of this movie,” Bryniarski says “I promise you
he enjoys the challenge a new roll brings. “Part of what won’t soon forget it.”
I enjoy about the craft of acting is the freedom to segue

38