We got the chance to interview the big bad bully, Thor van Lingen, from Return of the Living Dead: Part 2 after we heard he was writing reviews for The Box Set. It's always a pleasure interviewing actors from films that, here at The Flesh Farm, we've watched while growing up and this was no exception. Mr. van Lingen gave us some insight into some very interesting facts about his life and what he's been up to all these years which is always interesting and appreciated. Mr. Thor van Lingen was kind enough to let us all know how he's doing so throw him an email over at The Box Set and let him know Return of the Living Dead: Part 2 fans are still out there!

          Thank you for this interview Thor! Tell us about yourself... what have you been up to since the filming of Return of the Living Dead: Part 2?

          - It has been a long time.  I rounded out my teen years acting from time to time in small stuff, but nothing major.  I have only one true imdb.com credit to my name.  I went to college in my early 20s, and graduated with a degree in Mathematics.  Since my graduation, I have worked for two major American aerospace companies.  I live in the San Francisco area, and I review DVDs for www.theboxset.com.  I'm just an average Joe who made a movie 17 years ago.  :-)

          How did you come about getting the role as Billy Crowley in Return of the Living Dead: Part 2?

          - There was an ad for an open audition in the local newspaper (The Signal) for the role of Jesse.  I tried out, and the casting director said I'd make a better bully (Billy) than I would the little kid that gets beat up.  So I kept auditioning and eventually got the part.

          Did you keep any souvenirs from the whole Return 2 experience?

          - I got to keep a few things, and I bought a few others.  They let me keep one set of clothes and a few of the prosthetic masks.  I bought the poster and a press kit on my own dime, as well as the VHS tape, Laserdisc, and most recently the DVD.

          What was the most memorable moment of the whole Return 2 filming?

         - I like all of the stunts Billy gets to do at the end. The screwdriver scene is probably my favorite, but the truck running Billy over and the whole control room sequence were also really fun.

          Any macabre, strange, or bizarre events happen during filming?

          - Nothing like that.  Two accidents happened during the course of the filming schedule, but that's about all.  The catering truck had a grease fire which burned one of the guys working in there.  There was also a minor injury during the scene where Doc's car crashes through the garage.  Nothing major, but you asked.

          On average, how long did it take to apply your zombie make-up?

          - The full blown make up and hair took up to three hours to do.  It was a pain in the butt, but I think it turned out really well.  Taking it off didn't take as long, but it HURT.  A couple days in a row of that, and I was no happy camper.

          Give us an idea of what a young man gets paid in 1988 to play a living-dead bully.

          - For a kid like me with NO NAME, it was standard SAG "scale" wages.  I don't remember what the exact figure was back then, but it was over $1000 a week.

          If there was anything you could change about how Return 2 turned out, what would it be?

          - Not knowing much about movie making when I was only 13, I thought it turned out great considering the budget (or lack thereof).  The film was Ken's project, and he did pretty much what he wanted.  I was hoping the DVD would have deleted scenes or something, but it was pretty bare bones aside from the commentary track with Ken and myself.

          What are you up to now? Any big projects?

          - Just a regular 9 to 5 guy, and I'm fine with that.  My big projects now are my new marriage, my job, and my house.

          For my final question. How do you feel about the direction that the horror genre is heading? Do you think it has gotten better or worse since your beginnings in the genre?

          - As I've told different interviewers, I'm not much of a horror movie fan, funny enough.  I don't go out of my way to watch horror movies; give me a good drama over a horror picture any day.  Some seem to be better than most, but some are just plain awful.  Sadly, even some of the really bad ones make money.  Go figure.  As for the subsequent "return" films, I haven't and won't bother.