Available now on DVD, we caught up with the SLENDER MAN himself, Javier Botet, for a quick chat about the film and his career so far…

STARBURST: First off, thank you for speaking to us today.

Javier Botet: Absolutely, thank you so much

It’s safe to say that in recent years you have become a household name when it comes to horror. What films inspired you to become an actor?

I remember when I was younger watching the Nightmare on Elm Street series with my family and it was the first horror movie that I watched. I watched it with my Uncle and my cousins and it was a great family moment being scared together. I was so absorbed in the world and the scares. I remember some other movies that I watched with other friends but it was difficult to get some of them here in Spain. The Shining, The Exorcist and The Omen were some of the best films I watched in the 80s. The end of the 70s and early 80s were the glory days of horror.

In your mind, what film do you see as your big break since you began acting?

I think that there are definitely two movies that are important in my career. The first one is one we did here in Spain called [REC] which was a huge success that we never expected to get that kind of reaction considering it was a low budget foreign horror, and we had so much fun doing the movie especially because we had no expectation. It was a very important movie for me here at home and around the world. Sony liked my performance so much that when they remade it a year later as a film called Quarantine, they wanted me to play the same role but I couldn’t unfortunately because of my visa at that moment in time.

A few years later, Mama came out and that’s where I met Guillermo Del Toro and Andy Muschietti. This was the next big step in my career, because [REC] was a great starting point but being involved with a big studio production really helped me out considering that here in Spain we don’t have the biggest film production presence. After this, other filmmakers and studios saw my Mama test footage which led to them offering me jobs because of seeing that video on YouTube. That’s definitely my showcase reel.

On a side note, [REC] is one of our all time favourite horror movies…

Thank you so much, it was crazy to see how popular the movie was outside of Spain after its release. Due to having to travel a lot, I meet many people who tell me how much they love the movie too.

When you were approached to play Slender Man, were you aware of the history of the story behind the character?

Yes I was always aware, I discovered Slender Man a long time ago and always kept my eye on the stories on the internet. I was always sure that I was a very good choice to play the character. Especially because of my body, so when the movie was announced I researched him in more depth and truly felt like I met Slender Man.

How did you prepare for the role? Did you play the games?

I played some of the games and that helped me out too. It was cool to see where the character’s popularity grew from its early days.

What was your favourite moment on set and during the film?

We had a very good time on set especially in the library when we got to really explore the scenario, and that was also the case for the high school scenes too. We did some scenes that didn’t make the theatrical cut so hopefully they will make the deleted scenes on the DVD. One of the other reasons that I enjoyed playing Slender Man so much was because the suit was very easy to wear in comparison to most of my other work! I didn’t have to sit in makeup for over 5 hours each day which meant I had more time and freedom to enjoy filming my scenes with my co-stars.

If you had to pick one famous monster or creature that you are yet to play, who or what would it be and why?

Absolutely, there are a lot of roles that I want to do. I have a special love and want to be involved with the story of Nosferatu. I think it would be very intense and special for me. I love all of the stories in the background of the role since the very first film. It would be an honour for me to be involved with a new take on that story.

Thank you once again for taking the time to speak with us!

Thank you for talking with me and I hope everyone enjoys the movie.