Creepshow Star Keith David Talks Season 2 and a Hopeful Return to the Series

Part of the charm of the original Creepshow movie is that, not only did it enlist top-tier talent behind the scenes with director George A. Romero and writer Stephen King, but the cast was equally impressive, starring the likes of Adrienne Barbeau, Ted Danson, and Hal Holbrook. The Creepshow TV series on Shudder embraces a similar approach to casting by bringing in a number of beloved genre actors into the fold, a feat that’s easier to accomplish due to its anthological nature. Season 2 of the series saw Keith David join the cast for an episode, who recently shared his enthusiasm for the experience. Creepshow Season 2 is out now on Blu-ray and DVD. 

The home video release is described, “It’s still the most fun you’ll ever have being scared! Following Creepshow Season 1’s Saturn Award 2021 win for Best DVD/BD Television Release comes the second season of Creepshow, the anthology series based on the 1982 horror-comedy classic. A comic book comes to life in nine chilling tales told across five episodes. Explore terrors ranging from murder, creatures, monsters, and delusions to the supernatural and unexplainable. You never know what will be on the next page…”

ComicBook.com caught up with David to talk about his enthusiasm for the genre, his desire to return to the program, and a former collaborator he’d want to reunite with.

ComicBook.com: You have such a diverse variety of projects that you’ve starred in, across all genres, and as a big horror fan myself, I have a soft spot for all of your genre work. For you, as a fan of stories and movies, do you particularly consider yourself to be a horror fan?

Keith David: Oh, yeah. I grew up with, like, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The Invisible Man. Those are some of my favorite movies. In modern times, of course, Halloween and all the Freddy Krueger movies and stuff, but I love that stuff, man. Everybody loves being scared a little bit. It makes you feel alive, and it reminds you that you can come home and, “Whew, my life ain’t as bad as all that,” you know?

Speaking to your interest in horror and your involvement with Creepshow, how did this opportunity come about? Whether it be the original movie or this TV series, what was it that excited you about the role and joining the franchise?

Well, they offered me the job. But I was a huge Twilight Zone fan, so I love those anthology series. What’s the other one? “We are in control of your television set,”? What was the name of that show? The Outer Limits.

I loved that show. Now, they told some creepy stories. I remember the one where the guy that … it was a radioactive rain, and they told you, “Don’t go outside,” and he went outside and then looked up, and the rain got in his eyes, and when he came back, his eyes, they were like fried eggs. They looked like fried … it was like, oh, my God, it was so creepy.

Given how much you loved those effects, your episode has some special effects makeup, were you at all jealous that you didn’t get to do any of that heavier makeup for the role?

Not this time, because I love the character. But I would love to come back one day and do a character that’s total makeup and so that I’m unrecognizable. That would be fantastic.

Well, that Greg Nicotero, he’s a maniac. So I’d be careful of what you say, because if you volunteer yourself, he might really put you through the wringer.

Well, I’m saying this, so Greg, if you’re listening, hear me out. I want to be one of those things. Let me be the bug.

You yourself seem like a larger-than-life, charming character in your own right, so I feel like when horror fans know you’ll be in something, they look forward to seeing Keith David the character as much as whatever new character you’re playing. So when you join a genre project, how do you develop these fresh characters while also maintaining a Keith David spin on them?

Well, it’s got to be in the writing, you know what I mean? That’s what I look for. I’m always interested in telling a good story, and is it on the page? I love when it’s on the page, because then I just have to find the personality of the character. And if you want to meet me, let’s meet in the restaurant and have a drink afterwards. I’m trying to find the character.

You have this impressive roster of projects and have starred in many genre films and have so many fans, and you’ve worked with so many people in different capacities and met other genre favorites at conventions and such. Is there someone you’ve worked with before that you’d like to reunite with, or maybe someone you’ve befriended behind the scenes that you haven’t had the opportunity to work with yet?

I loved working with John Carpenter. And it’s not really … it’s more sort of sci-fi than horror, necessarily. But I would love … even playing one of the creatures. I mean, getting to play one of the creatures, like from They Live, where you pull the mask off. I don’t know if it was The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, with an episode like that, where you pulled the head back, and all of a sudden, it was like an exposed skeleton head. It was like, oh, my God.

Well, you bring up a good point, because I love They Live so much. That film was so ahead of its time and feels more relevant than ever, to the point that some people would be interested in seeing that story continue or be rebooted for our current media climate. Would you like to see a new take on They Live or are you so in love with your own version that you think it should stand on its own?

Well, I can be leery about remakes, but it all depends on what you do with it. There have been some reinventions that have been quite wonderful. Not all of them are, but I think that when filmmakers maintain the integrity of the original, and not try to make it something so vastly different. If, in fact, you’re going to do a remake, then you have to honor the integrity of the original. And when that happens, some wonderful stuff happens. You get new energy, you get new actors. But again, it’s the story that’s the star.

Are we telling a good story, or are we sacrificing all of that for a new special effect, new CGI? As much as I enjoyed a lot of the Hulk movies, the original TV series with Lou Ferrigno and there was something so magical about that, and it had its own special effects. That was really quite wonderful.

Well, I tell you what, we don’t see your character die in They Live, it’s just implied, so let’s bring him back. You can show up, you can be a monster. I’ll get John Carpenter to direct it, and we’ve got a plan.

Hey, man, from your lips to God’s ears.

And Nicotero can do the makeup.

I would be there in a New York heartbeat.

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Season 2 of Creepshow is out now on Blu-ray and DVD.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You can contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter.