10 THINGS with Logan Huffman

Logan Huffman, you have quite an amazing story. Early on, you were diagnosed with dyslexia and yet, that didn’t prevent you from becoming an actor. What motivated you to pursue this career despite your challenges?

Dyslexia, was always the greatest pain of my childhood. Kids didn’t treat me the same as others. I never learned how to read, until the 9th grade. So, as a result, I was always paired with mentally challenged peers in learning disability classes. A lot of my fellow classmates thought I was slow, some were cruel. My mother was always there telling me, that nothing is a handicap, that they really are gifts. This gave me courage and strength. I chose to actively be weird and different. I chose not to grow up so fast, and to play with my imagination. Why the hell not. You should believe in Bigfoot! We should believe that something happened in Roswell in 1947! Call me kooky and I’ll tell you that I saw Santa Clause on my roof last night. Dyslexia allows me to think differently than most people, and as a result, I’ll bet you two bucks I’m more fun to watch. So, I embrace my gift. And nothing’s too challenging.

As an artist in your field, it’s natural to be inspired by your peers. Which actors’ work do you admire the most and which ones have influenced your career thus far?

The goofy thing about me is, I don’t watch anything new. I always get an odd look when I answer this question. I like the old stuff. I like Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Buster Keaton. They inspire me, not to take myself seriously and to perform for the beloved audience. The new guys are great too. I love history and when I study something, I go back as far as I possibly can. So, I guess I’m just playing catch up. I’ll talk to you about the new guys in 40 years or so… deal?

As for actors who have influenced my career, the ones I admire… on a personal note I really adore Rosie O’Donnell. She took the first big risk on me, in a little Lifetime movie called ‘America’. I played a last chance delinquent, stuck in the system, his name was Marshall. He was my first taste portraying evil and he enjoyed masochism. The producers wanted a local hire due to budget reasons, but Rosie was in the audition room when I shouted out to the director, as I was miming burning myself with an iron poker, “I want to enjoy it! I want to love it!”. I think she knew how much I loved the part and she said “No, I want you to get me that long haired boy from New York”.

Previously, you were known for your work on the ABC series V. Although the show was short-lived, what were some of your most memorable moments from this project?

I never got to go to college, so, when I was 19 and got this show, it was my intention to treat this, as college. I wanted an education, a degree in production. The most memorable moments had to be with the crew and cast, and the actors who were extraordinarly sweet, kind and generous to me. I chose to spend each week with a different department of the set, so I could learn everything I possibly could. The show runners and producers looked at me like a nuisance, because I was there everyday. I cared about the message of the show. Growing up as a “armature ufologist”, my heart was completely invested in sci-fi. I loved the show. Looking back, I probably loved it too much and I got on some peoples nerves, I’m sure. I questioned the accuracy and the treatment of the intelligence of the audience a little too much. It was a cover up, man! And what do the manevilent structures do when you know too much?… They kill you off.

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We saw you in Bad Turn Worse, a film about some teens that wanted to escape their small town but find trouble elsewhere. This was a pretty intense role that you played. How much of your personal circumstances or experiences did you pull out and fueled into this character?

My perspective on acting is a wee bit different than a great deal of the community. I am a bastard child of 3 forms. My foundation is of the Samford Meisner technique. I believe in existing truthfully and being ever aware of the world and players around me, letting them feed my choices. I do not take the selfish aspect of what is my character thinking. Rather, how are we existing. My house is held up by timbers of a method sort. I live with the character throughout the duration, a sort of controlled schizophrenia. And, the decor of the space, is finessed with vaudeville accessories. I didn’t pull from Logan’s reality, because you see, Logan never was there.

You’re in two Tyler Shields directed films this year, Final Girl and Outlaw. Let’s first talk about Outlaw. What is the film about and what role do you play in this dramatic thriller?

Outlaw is about how far a man is willing to go, when he is betrayed by the ones he loves. Tyler directs and stars in it, in a way that mirrors a pot of hot oil standing on top a stove ready to blow and catch fire. I play “Matt” his best friend, who abuses and successfully conspires to take his love away from him. I wish I could speak more freely about this project, but now is not the time. Tyler Shields and I did something that is quite dangerous, it has never been done on film. I can provide you with one hint, it’s quite literally heart stopping.

What can you tell us about your experience on the set of Final Girl and what can we expect from you in this story?

Final Girl was an experiment for me. An aspect of my craft, that I’ve been dying to let loose. The character was originally written, seldom speaking with little on the page. I chose to perform in front of the perscenium. I was vaudeville. I was a cartoon character howling at the moon. Danny is the primal bloodhound in me. A laughing goon. In my heart, he is all that I am wild. I shocked the producers and they loved it. Tyler said he saw me for 15 minutes, but then, my hair was cut into a pompadour. I was adorned with a tuxedo and when I held my sweet axe Annabelle, he didn’t see Logan till I got back to Los Angeles. I chose and created an axe murderer with the feet of Fred Astaire. I was truly free. This film is a visual spectacle and wonder.

You seem poised to have a successful career in acting. But, hypothetically speaking, what kind of career would you have, if you weren’t in front of the camera?

I already am engaged in a lot of things. I love writing, it really is the greatest gift we’ve been given. Words, the ability to read as a species, it can keep us warmer than any fire. My grandfather always said, know a little about a lot. I love farming. I do it on a personal scale. Enough to take care of myself. I must paint, just as much as a cave man, to pay homage to the world around him. I will read and I will build. I must make things with my hands always. No matter what my occupation is classed, my occupation is human.

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When you’re not working on set, what do you typically do to relax?

I work the earth. I love it. I think it’s the only proper way for man to pray. Give back to her. And she gives back to you. I’m a Bonsai artist, and I have 28 trees. I like to shape them and watch them grow. They say Bonsai is the quest for ever changing perfection. That helps me. It relaxes me, knowing I have a lifetime to watch.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us. What other projects do you have coming up on the horizon?

Thank you for providing me with lovely questions. I found them to be well thought out and the perfect amount of care to me. I love that. It’s a rarity sometimes you know?!

I have a cocaine addict from 1984 in the mix with a lovely film called ‘Preppy Connection’.

I’m very excited about my future. I don’t know what it entails exactly, but I can promise you that I will expose everything for you. That my struggle and my joy, my pain and my love, I will give to you. Do as you wish. If I must do it on screen, stage, the odd internet box, or at your local drug store, it is all for you.

Twitter: @LoganHuffman77

Instagram: @LoganHuffman77

Photos: James Stenson