If you’ve been anywhere around film and television for the last thirty years, you’re likely familiar with Christian Slater. The actor has garnered over a hundred credits to his name since his debut in the early ‘80s, ranging from cult classics like Heathers to Oscar nominees like The Wife. On television, he’s known for his starring role in Mr. Robot, but he’s also made recent appearances in shows like Dr. Death and Fleishman Is in Trouble, as well as lending his voice to animated shows like Archer and Inside Job. So it’s only a little bit of a surprise that he showed up in Willow, the Disney+ series that serves as a sequel to the cult film of the same name.
Slater makes a brief appearance in the show’s sixth episode, “Prisoners of Skellin,” as Allagash, a great warrior who once adventured with protagonist Kit’s (Ruby Cruz) father, Madmartigan. Left to rot in a cage by trolls for ten years, Allagash may be a little off his rocker, but is still the key to saving the party, and pushing Kit in the direction that she needs to go to help save the world.
Collider was excited to sit down with Slater to discuss his appearance on the show, during which he discussed why playing a character like Allagash appealed to him. He also discussed why he chose to join a fantasy show like Willow, as well as what working on the episode was like, and whether there’s a possibility he could return for more adventures in the future.
All episodes of Willow are streaming now on Disney+. Check out the full interview below:
COLLIDER: You are an absolute joy in Willow. I was so excited to see you announced for the show, and then to watch the episode was just so much fun. Everyone I know loves it. But I was curious: you've done so little straight fantasy in that sense across the course of your career, so why Willow, why Allagash?
CHRISTIAN SLATER: Well, I mean, I was a fan of the movie. I mean, I was 16, I think, when I first saw it, and I loved the energy of the movie, the fun, the lighthearted fairytale fantasy aspects of it. So when I heard they were making a show about it, I thought, "Oh, that's sweet. I'd be curious to see what happened with these characters." And Jon and I, Jon Kasdan and I talked about it. And I've just been such a huge fan of Lucasfilm my whole life. I mean, I was born, I feel like, at the right time. I was seven years old when Star Wars came out, and it just made such an indelible impression on me, and it's just been imprinted on my brain, and I've always wanted to be involved in some capacity with George Lucas and Lucasfilm.
And when this character presented itself, it sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun, that they were going to keep the elements of danger and stakes and all of those things, but at the same time keep it lighthearted and fun and goofy. And I was excited to get the opportunity to be a part of something like that, and the way Jon explained the character to me, I really enjoyed, and they were open to ideas and improvs and goofing around on set. And they kept a lot of that stuff in, which doesn't typically happen, but I think the magic is in the mistakes.
Yeah. I mean, you seem like you were having so much fun, even in those massive fight sequences that you got to do.
SLATER: I felt like I had found my people. I was in my element, and I really loved the cast. I thought they were all great. Really, really sweet people, and I really loved the character. I liked the direction of him. I liked the craziness of him. And there was a lot of freedom there because I just imagined, well, certainly somebody that Madmartigan would hang out with would have to be a little nuts, and put that guy in a cage for 10 years, he's going to really be nuts. And I mean, they kept a lot of stuff in, there were a lot of other things that we did that were pretty insane, but you couldn't put it all in there.
Yeah, Allagash is definitely insane, and the thing that struck me about him is that I do believe that he's somebody who spent years adventuring with Madmartigan. So was there anything that wasn't on the page, or didn't end up on screen, that you were keeping in your head? Maybe a memory of his, or a concept, or was everything just kind of what you were given on the page?
SLATER: Well, I mean, certainly the page did give me the opportunity to get a better sense of the kind of history that Madmartigan and Allagash did have together. For me, it was more about, I guess, the future. That's the stuff that hasn't been put on the page, as far as I know yet. There were so many more avenues to explore, and certainly, if we were to continue with something like this, ways out of that situation at the end that I'm in, because you never do see me dead necessarily. So you could do, possibly, anything you want. I mean, it is fantasy, and Jon Kasdan is a pretty clever and creative guy. But I mean, I think we could probably put our heads together and figure out ways to continue to further these adventures.
One last question, and it's kind of a silly one, but since Allagash does go up against the trolls at the end of the episode, do you think you could take on a troll? Do you think you could do that?
SLATER: You think I could take on a troll?
Yeah!
SLATER: Oh, for sure. I mean, yeah. I could take on a hoard of trolls. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, that was insane. There were, like, 30 trolls there at the end, and it takes six hours for those guys to get all made up, so that was incredible. I know. It felt very, very like a lot of effort was put in to making this, and I appreciated that.
Willow is available to stream exclusively on Disney+. For more on the series, check out our interview with stars TonY Revolori and Ellie Bamber below: