os Angeles is in a heap of trouble. After three seasons of battling a multitude of demons (both personal and physical) in any number of death defying situations, Angel Investigations is up against their ultimate foe this fourth season - the Devil incarnate. In the last episode before the winter break entitled "Rain of Fire", the terrifying visage of The Beast rose from the bowels of hell to unleash apocalyptic mayhem on the denizens of LA and in particular Angel and those closest to him. That's right, in the tradition of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel welcomes its first official Big Bad to thwart the heroes through the arc of the season. The distinction of playing The Beast goes to an actor of equally imposing stature, the Czech-born Vladimir Kulich. While he's already a striking figure at 6'5" with flowing blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, Kulich is just about unrecognizable playing The Beast in full demonic body make-up and prosthetics. CoA recently had a chance to catch up with the man behind the hooves and horns to learn exactly what Angel is up against this season.
HOW A NICE BOY FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA
ENDED UP IN HOLLYWOOD
"Spoilers? I could tell you, but then I'd have to eat you!"
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Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Vladimir was attracted to the dramatic arts since his youth. "My uncle had a theater company in Czechoslovakia. From my earliest memories, I was always hanging out in the theater," he recalls. "The fantasy, colors and the costumes of the theater were my first impressions." He performed some small parts in the theater there until he and his mother moved to Canada while he was still a youth.
In Canada, Vladimir found a very different cultural environment than the one he was used to in the Czech Republic. "Where I lived in Montreal, there was no theater. It was a blue-collar neighborhood and it was all about sports. So, I forgot about acting and I played sports. I became a professional ice hockey player. I did that until I was twenty and then something started to pull at me and I knew that I didn't want to keep playing ice hockey." Thus, he hung up his skates and went about pursuing his original passion - acting. "I found the acting industry in Vancouver was picking up." So he relocated to pursue his craft. Vancouver, dubbed "Hollywood North" because of the large number of television and film projects shot there was fertile ground for an actor looking for work. "I started to work in television there: 21 Jump Street, MacGyver and other TV shows." He worked steadily throughout the eighties into the nineties including feature work in the films, Red Scorpion 2, Firestorm with Howie Long, and Crackerjack with Christopher Plummer. After a decade of successfully building his acting resume, Vladimir knew the time had come to try new challenges by heading south - to Hollywood.
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"I think that happens if you truly envision it happening, providence takes over and you are moving."
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"I moved to LA because I knew if I was to get good lead roles, I would have to come down here." And like many an actor lured to Los Angeles in pursuit of the acting dream, Vladimir knew the odds were against him but he had a plan. "This is the funniest thing," he admits, "I gave myself thirty days. I came down here in January of 1990 but I had a white water rafting company back in Canada. I had to go back because it was going to be spring soon and I had to get [the company] going for the season. So, I said 'Ok, I'll move to LA for a month.' I'd never been here before. I drove down from Vancouver. I made phone calls and had meetings and nothing was happening. I was going to leave, I had like two more days. On the twenty-ninth day, my phone rang and an agent picked me up. So, I gave myself another thirty days to get a job. The funny part was [my agent] sent me out for a miniseries called The Great Los Angeles Earthquake. It was a big miniseries for ABC. I was supposed to play a sniper who tries to kill Nelson Mandela," explains Vlad. "I auditioned for it and that was my first introduction to the way things are done [in LA]. You go and read and they look at you like you are crazy and say 'Thanks, goodbye.' I walked out of the building going, 'I thought I was good but they didn't tell me if they liked it or not. Am I not good?'" Vladimir daunted, returned to Canada. Yet once again as fate would have it, on the thirtieth day the phone rang saying he got the job and he needed to go back to LA. "I think stuff like that happens if you truly envision it happening and if you put that kind of pressure on yourself, providence takes over and you are moving."
Antonio Banderas and Vlad as King Buliwyf in
The 13th Warrior
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Vladimir parlayed his sixty days in Los Angeles into a decade of consistent work. He did character guest stints on a variety of television dramas including The X-Files episode "Dod Kalm" (written by Angel and Buffy scribe Howard Gordon) and the occasional film until he got the role for which most audiences know him best, the Viking King Buliwyf in The 13th Warrior. "I was very lucky," he admits. "I screen tested for John McTiernan for a movie at that time called Eaters of the Dead [the title would be changed to The 13th Warrior for release] written by Michael Crichton. I got the job and that was actually my first lead in a Hollywood movie." With a $100 million dollar budget, top shelf talent including Antonio Banderas and Omar Shariff, The 13th Warrior should have been that "dream role" with the potential to propel Vladimir to new heights of success. Alas, The 13th Warrior instead ended up becoming the textbook Hollywood nightmare. The project suffered from "creative differences" between McTiernan and Crichton, which eventually resulted in McTiernan leaving the film and Crichton stepping in to direct. Suffice it to say, the film that was eventually released was a pale shadow of what it could have been both critically and financially. "Unfortunately, [the film] wasn't promoted by the studio but it has found a kind of weird cult following on video. It suffered completely from McTiernan and Crichton's battles, they could have had a wonderful film." Despite the film's problems, it did provide Vladimir with a memorable professional experience as well as serving to put him on the proverbial "Hollywood map." His portrayal of the brave but battle weary leader Buliwyf earned him critical praise, a more pronounced fan following and eventually his role as The Beast on Angel.
HOLLYWOOD LESSONS
When asked if he was familiar with Angel prior to his casting, Vladimir laughs and provides a surprising answer for an actor. "I didn't watch TV until last year. All of a sudden, I decided to get a big screen TV to watch films. I started to rabbit-ear it and then watch certain stations that played stuff that was kind of cool but I didn't watch Angel because there was just too much stuff out there." Vladimir's awareness of the show came from the more typical Hollywood experience - who you know. "The funny thing is David Boreanaz's manager was my manager for a year. So, that's the only reason I'd heard of Angel."
As Olafsson with John Savage in The X-Files, "Dod Kalm" of Season 2
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He got a call from Angel casting agents to audition for the role of the villain in 2002. "When I first went in, I didn't have a clue what it was going to entail besides the materials which they had faxed over which were cool. It was well written in my opinion and I could do stuff with it. I went in there wanting to do it and I just cut loose," he says. "It was just the two casting directors that time and they got very excited after I read. I could tell that I gave them what they were looking for within the boundaries. So, they started showing me drawings of The Beast." Vladimir laughs as he remembers, "I was getting all excited thinking they were interested in me because they were showing me all this stuff. In my excitement, I forgot to take a close look at the drawings because I was going to have to put all this stuff on me!" Vladimir chuckled and added, "Originally they called him The Big Bad and I kind of liked that. It could have rhymed with my name - Big Bad Vlad."
Vladimir did indeed make the first cut and he was called back for another reading with the studio representatives and the show's producers. Despite the positive vibes, Vladimir still wasn't totally sure what he was up for. "They called me back to meet the studio people, never telling me it was going to be seven episodes. That's typical Hollywood, but I could tell by the effort they put into the costume that it was going to be a long run." "I went back and read again. It's a very cute story," recalls Vlad, "I was late. I ran up the stairs and I didn't have a chance to sit down and get normal. They walked me straight in and there were twenty people staring at me and I was just trying to get my breath. Then, this lady in the far corner said, 'I just wanted to say one thing before we start - I just loved you in The 13th Warrior! It's my favorite film!'" Vladimir laughs and adds "I just looked at her and said 'Thank you' and that absolutely relaxed me and I got the job. The 'lady' just happened to be Angel's writer Mere Smith who actually along with Steven DeKnight, created The Beast."
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