by Christina Radish | Collider.com / © Complex Media Inc. All Rights Reserved

The much-loved Starz horror-comedy series Ash vs. Evil Dead is back for Season 2, with Ash (Bruce Campbell) returning to his hometown of Elk Grove, Michigan. Although things with Ruby (Lucy Lawless) are shaky, at best, the former enemies, along with Pablo (Ray Santiago) and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo) must form an uneasy alliance, if they’re going to survive the growing evil and save the world.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, actor Lee Majors (who plays Brock Williams, Ash’s surly father who is not at all please that his son is back in town) talked about how he got involved with the show, his chemistry with Bruce Campbell, the relationship between Ash and his father, their competitive streak, dealing with all of the blood and gore, and how much he’d love to return for next season. Be aware that there are some spoilers discussed.
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Collider: How did you come to this show? Did Bruce Campbell reach out to you about doing this?

LEE MAJORS: No, they went through my agency and asked if I would be interested. I said, “I’m not familiar with the show, or all the old films.” I’ve never really done any horror pictures. Most of my work has been family-oriented action shows. But I said, “Let me take a look at the first couple of episodes of the first season.” So, I sat and watched the pilot, and then I ended up watching all 10 episodes in a row. It really reels you in, and I thought it was done so great. The cinematography was great, and everything was really good. Even though it’s so gory sometimes with the chainsawing, but he throws out such funny lines when he does it, it takes away from it being that bad. Bruce can be slashing somebody, but he makes it funny, so the horror doesn’t really come through as much. So, that’s the way it started, and I said, “Yeah.” Then, they said, “It’s in New Zealand.” And I said, “New Zealand?! That’s a long way!” But, I did it and fell into a cast of marvelous people.

Once you got on set, how was it to work with Bruce Campbell?

MAJORS: Bruce is a very underrated actor. He’s really good at drama and action and comedy. He and I gelled, right away. The chemistry was great. He’s just a ball to work with. And Lucy [Lawless] is very giving. The whole cast is just great.

What is the relationship between Ash and his father like, this season?

MAJORS: Well, this season he goes back to his hometown, searching for some evil. He goes back to his old house, and I had been living alone because he took my daughter away from me. I blame him for what happened to her, and I don’t like him and don’t want him around. When he shows up, there’s threatening stuff between us. I basically say, “Okay, do your business and get out!” It progresses a little from there and I accept him a little bit, but then we get a little more competitive. We have some competitive scenes, which are really funny, but I also draw a little bit of emotion out of him, when I’m talking about my daughter. You’ll see a little more of Ash’s character come out, which is good because he’s never had a chance to deal with that stuff.

Are we going to see the ways in which Ash takes after his father?

MAJORS: You’ll see where he gets all of his traits from. He gets all of the raunchy, women-chasing stuff from his old man, and there is some competition there. One of my funniest scenes is trying to pick up Lucy in a bar, with no success. And then, he sees me with a girl he used to date, in a later show.
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Is it fun to get to live in this kind of world, with all of the blood and gore?

MAJORS: My introduction to the blood was interesting. I was shoved into a bathroom stall, struggling with this person, and then I hear a chainsaw, on the other side of the wall, coming through. It hits the person in the back and the blood goes everywhere. That was my first experience with the blood. It was on a little machine, right there in front of me. It’s below the person, out of sight from the camera, but when they hit it, it just splattered my face. I didn’t know it was coming and it went into my eyes ‘cause I didn’t get my eyes closed in time. So, it was in my eyes, in my nose, and everywhere. That was my introduction to the blood. Also, you’re in that for the rest of the day. I had a Levi shirt on and it would stick to me and crinkle. You’d feel like you were going to tear it. It was miserable and sticky. I couldn’t touch anything. And Bruce supposedly had blood all over him, but his was rubber. They have a new thing where, when they put it on him, it’s rubber coated because he has to wear it all day, and it’s not sticky. I said, “No wonder you’re the executive producer!” But, it’s fun. It’s a well-done show. It’s surprising that the 30 minutes goes by so quick because it’s just total action. There’s a lot of stuff going on. They say it’s the bloodiest season yet.

How does your character feel when he finds out there are these supernatural things going on, all because of his son?

MAJORS: He can’t take it all in. He doesn’t understand what Ash is doing, so he thinks it’s all bullshit. He’s like, “You’re fighting evil?! You’re evil!” And then, he finally sees a Deadite attacking him and Ash helps him out of the situation. Then, he’s like, “You know what, son? I think you’re actually a hero.” But, that’s down the road.

Can their relationship be repaired?

MAJORS: I have to wait and see. What we did this season, we didn’t really get to where we should get to. Hopefully, that will happen next season, if I’m back. Everybody gets killed. I’ve been killed two or three times.
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Do you enjoy working with all of the special effects?

MAJORS: The special effects on this show are wonderful. How they make those creatures is unbelievable. It’s really scary, when you’re working with them. They are spooky. They’re so ugly. A lot of them are right there and you’re fighting with them. They’re actually there. They just do special effects work with these people. Before I went down there, I had to go do a whole head impression in plaster to make a mask. Everybody has to do that because you could turn into a Deadite, at any time. You never know. I might turn into a Deadite. We’ll see.

I’m so excited that you’ve joined the show! I think it’s one of the best casting decisions they’ve made.

MAJORS: Thank you! I’m humbled by that. Tell the producer! That way, maybe I’ll be back next season.