‘Child’s Play’: Chucky Didn’t Terrify Young Andy Actor At All
Alex Vincent has come a long way from twinning with Chucky in Child’s Play. At just six years old, he landed the role of Andy Barclay, the little boy who became the target of Chucky’s soul transfer quest. The evil doll was anything but a good guy, and the movie turned fears about creepy toys coming to life into a reality. But for Vincent, he insists that Chucky’s rampage didn’t harm him during or after filming.
Chucky may have scared Andy, but not actor Alex Vincent
Serial killer Charles Lee Ray’s relentless mission to succeed with his ritual wreaked havoc on innocent Andy Barclay. After transferring himself into Chucky, he found his way into Andy’s home and started a new killing spree.
He killed Aunt Maggie, and then made Andy an accomplice to arson before landing the poor kid in a psychiatric hospital. Andy witnessed more trauma when Chucky killed Dr. Ardmore and later at home when he attempted to take out his mother.
None of that fazed Vincent. Why? Production used puppetry to engineer Chucky’s movements, and he didn’t see the murder sequences play out during filming. During an interview with Pounding the Meat podcast, he explained the non-frightening process.
“We didn’t see what Chucky looked like on screen at that point. We didn’t know,” said Vincent. “It did not look real in real life, so we were trying to sell that and make it look real.”
He explained that as a kid actor, he didn’t see any clips as they filmed. Instead, Vincent saw Chucky in action for the first time when fans did. “I didn’t see anything on film until that premiere.” He loved watching the story unfold on screen, people’s reactions, and then participating in the sequel.
Vincent’s mother only had 1 worry about ‘Child’s Play’
Ever wonder how parents react to their children playing victims in horror movies? Though Child’s Play centered on Chucky pursuing Andy, Vincent’s mom had one stipulation for her son. He spoke about it in a 2011 chat with The MacGuffin.
“My mother didn’t want me to be killed in the film,” he said. “That was her only concern — well, the only one I’ve been told about all these years.”
Vincent stated that the audition process narrowed it down to him and two other kids, and his mom was excited about him getting the part. “There was no real concern about the nature of the film having an effect on me. I was a pretty bright kid, so no one expected me to handle it in a bad way.”
Fans will see adult Andy in the ‘Chucky’ TV series
In Child’s Play 2, Andy and his foster sister Kyle had to ward off Chucky’s terrifying pursuit. Charles Lee Ray, still stuck inside the doll, also faces off against the pair in adulthood. SyFy/USA teamed up with original creator Don Mancini to introduce Chucky as a TV series.
The show premieres on Oct. 12 and features Vincent reprising his role as Andy alongside Christine Elise as Kyle. Tune in on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST.
