This past weekend, the producers behind Midsummer Scream held their first-ever holiday-themed convention Season’s Screamings at the Pasadena Convention Center in California. At the event, “Gremlins” actor Zach Galligan was on hand to meet fans and sign autographs, but on Saturday, he joined The Boo Crew Podcast hosts Leone D’Antonio, Trevor Shand, and Lauren Shand on stage for a live interview to talk a bit about his career and more specifically “Gremlins.”
Galligan appeared on stage with a stuffed Gizmo figure that he quickly distanced from the bottle of water they left in his seat and dove into some of the more interesting facets of his career. While there was plenty shared during the hour-long interview, these are some of the things Galligan shared that I found particularly interesting.
“Gremlins” Wasn’t the First Time Galligan Acted Opposite Phoebe Cates
While it was the first time they acted together on screen, “Gremlins” wasn’t the first time Galligan had performed opposite his co-star, actress Phoebe Cates. Galligan was paired with Cates for a read during an audition for the 1982 film “Tempest.” The role Galligan was up for was eventually given to actor Sam Robards, but this fateful meeting between Galligan and Cates likely helped him land his role in “Gremlins.”
Galligan’s First Feature Is Actually An Unreleased Film Called “Nothing Lasts Forever”
An Unreleased 1982 film called “Nothing Last Forever” was the film Galligan believed would be his big break. The film, produced by Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels, was supposed to star John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray, but Belushi passed away just before shooting began. MGM would go on to shoot the film without Belushi, but the film was ultimately shelved after receiving poor reception in advanced screenings. The film has since appeared on both European and American television.
Matthew Broderick Was Galligan’s Nemesis While Coming Up As An Actor
During the interview, Galligan shared, “Broderick was my nemesis for a long time.” The rivalry, of course, was a result of Broderick landing many of the roles that Galligan was also up for, including “War Games” and the Broadway production of “Brighton Beach Memoirs.” Galligan was offered the role of Broderick’s understudy in the Broadway performance. Still, he turned it down after the show’s producer and director couldn’t guarantee at least one performance in the role. A week later, Galligan booked “Gremlins.”
Galligan Was Given the Role of Billy in “Gremlins” Because Steven Spielberg Believed Galligan Looked Legitinately Infatuated with Cates During Their Audition Together
After two initial auditions for “Gremlins,” Galligan was invited back to audition alongside an actress to see the kind of chemistry they had. When Galligan returned for the audition, he ran into actress Phoebe Cates who was also auditioning for the film. Recognizing each other from their “Tempest” audition two years earlier, the two hit it off and decided to run their lines together in case they were paired up. As fate would have it, the two were paired up and ultimately wound up auditioning opposite each other.
The two ran their lines in front of a camera, but director Joe Dante never calls cut. The two awkwardly improv a bit before Galligan decides to lay his head on Cates’ shoulder and let out a sigh. “And then I looked straight at the camera, said Galligan. “Like, look how lucky I am, being with the world’s most beautiful woman, and I have no idea what to say next, and I give up, and I’m in love with her. Can we just stop this?” It was that moment that earned Galligan the part.
Steven Spielberg saw the tape, and after seeing Galligan rest his head on Cates’ shoulder and sigh, said, “Oh my God, he’s in love with her. I don’t need to see the rest of the tape, and I don’t need to see anybody else because this kid’s not even going to be doing any acting.”
Galligan Could Not Read the “Gremlins” Script Before Accepting the Role
The “Gremlins” script was very much a secret. The scenes used in auditions had nothing to do with Mogwai, Gremlins, or the like and only focused on the characters Billy and Kate. Even after being offered the part, Galligan was not allowed to read the script and had to make a decision, with his only reassurance being that Steven Spielberg’s name was tied to it. Only once he signed on to the film was he allowed to see the script.
Galligan’s Stuttering in the Scene Where His Car Won’t Start Wasn’t Planned. He Was Just That Nervous
The first scene Galligan shot in “Gremlins” that had a significant amount of dialogue was where Billy’s car wouldn’t start, and he interacts with Mr. Futterman, played by Dick Miller. “If you go back and you watch it, you can see that I’m actually sort of stuttering,” said Galligan. “And it’s not because I’m making choices. It’s because I’m terrified.” During the interview, Galligan shared that he felt during the early days of filming that he wasn’t going to be good enough and would be fired since he was a relatively new actor and this was a major production.
Galligan Has Never Met Howie Mandel, Who Voiced Billy’s Mogwai Gizmo
Despite voicing the lovable Mogwai Gizmo, with which Galligan’s character Billy spends much of the film, he’s never met actor Howie Mandel. Galligan shared that the most interaction the two ever had was on Twitter following the release of this year’s “Gremlins” MTN DEW Zero Sugar commercial, but otherwise, the two have never met in person.
You’ll Never See Galligan from the Waist Down if He’s In a Scene With Gizmo
If you go back and watch “Gremlins,” Galligan says you won’t find any scenes with Billy and Gizmo together where you can see the actor from the waist down. The reason being that the actor and the Gizmo puppet had a bit of a symbiotic relationship. The cables that controlled Gizmo would run through a hole in Galligan’s sock, up his leg, and out his leave whenever he was holding the fan-favorite Mogwai.
During these scenes, Galligan shared that he was trailed by a group of 12 people crouched behind him with joysticks controlling Gizmo for the scene. If you thought performing with that kind of setup sounds bad, Galligan adds that anytime they would move the joystick, the cables would pinch his skin and pull hairs on his body. The first few times made for an awkward performance as he fought through the pain of the cables pulling. “It took a while to kind of filter out the agony that I was going through when they did particularly violent reactions for Gizmo,” said Galligan.
Every Day Galligan Left the Warner Bros. Studio Lot While Filming “Gremlins 2” Security Had to Search His Car To Make Sure He Wasn’t Stealing Gremlins
“Every day that I left the Warner Bros. studio lot, security would go, ‘Hi Mr. Galligan, can you pop your trunk please?’ and I was like, ‘Uh, Why?’ and they were like, ‘To make sure that you’re not stealing any Gremlins,'” explained Galligan during the interview. At first, Galligan thought it was a joke, but it turned out to be totally serious, as Galligan had “opportunity” being one of the stars of the film to run off with one of the hundreds of Gremlins or Mogwai created for the film. Galligan shared that each Gremlin cost about $75,000 to make, which is why security was so strict to check the cars of those on the production as they left.
Galligan Feels Like The Only Hope For Future “Gremlins” Films Is Through Supporting the Animated Series “The Secrets of the Mogwai”
When asked what he hopes the resurgence in the love for Gremlins means for the franchise’s future, Galligan joked with the aid of his stuffed Gizmo that it would mean a Gremlins 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Adding he probably wouldn’t make it for a 4, 5, 6, or 7, but that he’d do a Gremlins 3.
“The fact of the matter is, Warner Bros. is sinking a ginormous amount of money in ‘Gremlins: The Secrets of the Mogwai,'” said Galligan. “All I can tell you is if any one of you that’s sitting there that has any desire to see a third Gremlins movie, you have to support that series as if your life depended on it.” “You just have to support the franchise,” added Galligan. “If you do that, my guess is even moderately, you’ll probably have ‘Gremlins 3’ in something like the next two to three years.”
