Marc Senter

Interview with Marc Senter (the main actor in Chris Sivertson’s The Lost)
by LM Campbell

-Marc, you were exceptional in the role of Ray Pye…

Thanks man…

-Let’s forget about everybody else involved in the film for a minute –  explain to me the mindset you had going into a film as the lead actor –  knowing that it’s success would be decided by your ability to bring Ray to life?

This was my first lead in a film…  When Lucky and Chris offered me the role, I couldn’t believe it!  I wanted this role so bad and when I found out I got it I was blown away…  They invited me for lunch at El Coyote, Chris’ favorite Mexican place, and I just remember sitting there and being like, holy shit… are they for real?  OK, so you get where I’m coming from… I was offered my first dream role.  Travis Bickle, Michael Corleone, Hando (Crowe in Romper Stomper) Samuel Bicke (Penn in assassination…)… and now comes Ray Pye.  These are the “heavy weight” characters that guys like me fuckin’ dream about… A couple days after the dust settled it was time for me to get to work…  Yes I was fuckin nervous…  but “the work” is so important to me that I just jumped right in and started “The Journey”…  I was given two months to prepare and didn’t waste one minute. With such a wonderful gift that Sivertson gave me came a very big responsibility..  I had to nail this guy…  So yes, I was a fuckin nightmare, especially my first day on set when I threw up..  Ha!  But also I was swimming in some pretty heavy energies so I was fuckin all over the place anyway… Story is most important! And it was my responsibility a Sivertson’s actor to bring Pye to life to service his vision.  That’s my job..  I think I also just came to the realization that this gift came to me for a reason so fuck my fears!  I’m goin’ big or goin’ home…

-I discussed my skewered sense of morality with the film’s director… because I found Ray to be a sympathetic character. I knew guys like him in highschool: the great embellisher; the constant liar; where their image superseded everything else. Unfortunately, they never went on a killing spree. Was the idea to be able to empathize with Ray a conscious decision, or am I just imagining things again?

Absolutely!  One of my heroes, Bobby D, once said that as artists we can never judge our characters..  All my work at the core was about empathizing with this guy…  Digging and digging to discover who he is the way he is..  Why does he have this deep-rooted anger and hate towards woman?  Why is he so obsessed with his image?  Why Elvis?  I would have failed miserably had I not empathized with this guy..  On the surface we see Ray, much like the guys you described in high school, but to truly see and understand these people as they really are we must look between the lines…  Empathizing with Ray opened the doors to all of his pain and insecurity which was my ticket  in…

-What I find interesting about what you said, is that if there really was a Ray Pye – you probably understand him better than he would understand himself. When I think of Ray in the book, I think of a guy who has been living a hyperbolic lifestyle for so long that even he believes his lies – and you are lucky enough to be able to look from the outside in…

Absolutely.  We are all made up of sub-parts or sub-personalities..  This is the psychology of Carl Jung, which I have studied, and use in my work.  When we are born we enter the world totally pure and as we grow older we are exposed to all sorts of different kinds of stimuli, which are the seeds that give birth to new sub-parts..  These new sub-parts pilot our lives, some obviously more than others, but they are married to us weather we are conscious of them or not…  A conscious human being is in touch with most of his parts and can live in/with society to the best of his ability.  An unconscious person, someone who is stuck or “Lost” in a certain sub-part, totally disconnected
from the others, is completely in a world of his own…  Ray Pye was living entirely in his own world, which made complete sense to him..

-Who had a more direct impact on how you portrayed Ray Pye: Dallas (author of The Lost, Jack Ketchum), or Chris (Sivertson, director of The Lost)?

OK…  Did you know that Ray was loosely based on a real guy?  Get to that a little later.  Let’s just say this, if my buddy Ketchum never would have written The Lost then my boy Chris never would have adapted the book and thus no Ray Pye.. I worked on Ray from a few different angles, no one more important then the other..  Ketchum’s book influenced me heavily and obviously there was more story so it was just that much more info that I could pull from and also Jack’s incredible gift of detail really opened up some major doors..  What a fuckin killer writer that guy is… And then there’s Chris Sivertson..  What a genius…  I  strongly believe our generations Scorsese.  He respectfully and truthfully adapted this mans book and then went off to totally create his own vision on top of it…  Just his idea to give each character their own color was so creative and brilliant… Chris Sivertson’s adaptation of Ketchum’s book is still to this day one of the best scripts I have ever read.  This guy is the real deal.  The script was my blue print…  After all that was the story I was brought on board to help tell.  Lastly, just to touch on, I also spent some time with a man, whose name I can’t reveal, that my wonderful sister found for me who happen to tie into this whole thing as well..  Let’s just say he new a guy not to far off from Mr. Pye.  Not to far off at all…  He also had a very profound impact on me…

-I had no idea that Ray was based upon a real person. However, with the number of teens and young adults going on shooting sprees nowadays – so much that such an event does not even make it into the newspapers – it doesn’t seem that unbelievable…

It’s not.  These people are everywhere.  Some choose to act and others just fantasize..  Remember the song “Pied Piper” in the movie?  Do a little research on that song…

-What was Dallas’ first impression upon meeting the ‘Ray Pye’ in the flesh for the first time?

The first time we met was on set when Robin Sydney (Katherine) and I were shooting a scene that actually never made it in the movie.  The scene was hilarious though, so I really hope Sivertson puts it on the DVD somewhere.  I’m not quite sure I can say what Dallas’ very first impression was..  I know I was in a bit of shock!  I remember in between takes looking over at him as he stood with the rest of the crew.  He was
wearing his headphones and was smiling into the monitor.  I really wanted him to dig it..  So, judging from the grin on his face I would say his first impression was either who the fuck is this guy?!  Or, Hell Yeah!

-With all the pussy you got in the film, did Chris even have to pay you?

Pay me?!  Bro, I just sent out my final installment to him…