DAY OF THE DEAD, part three of George Romero's zombie trilogy, had zombies out in full-force and taking over the world, while a group of surviving soldiers and scientists bicker in a military bunker.

We caught up with one of the main zomies in the film, Mark "Beef Treats" Tierno, to talk about his role and more.

Horror News Network: How did you get the role on Day of the Dead movie?

Mark Tierno: Well luckily I didn't have to die first and I wasn't just hanging around the cave with nothing to do! lol I had auditioned for another role in Day. I didn't get that one but they offered me the zombie known as Beef Treats which was a blast. 


Horror News Network: Were you a fan of the Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead movies?

Mark Tierno:  Absolutely, I actually saw Dawn of the Dead first before seeing Night. I remember thinking how brilliant it was to have Dawn set in a shopping mall, the zombies go where they're comfortable. David Emge's character says, "Some kind of instinct...This was an important place in their lives." Then Ken Foree's character later says, " They don't know why, they just remember...that they want to be in here." Weren't the Dawn zombies the ultimate consumers, they continue in death?  I think of this often when I go shopping!


Horror News Network: How many days were you on set shooting the film?

Mark Tierno: I think it was a total of four days. I believe I had to come back to re-shoot something later also.


Horror News Network: What was the make-up process like?

Mark Tierno: The make-up process started a month or so before shooting when I visited Tom Savini's studio to do a life-cast of my face that he would use to make the latex mask that I wore in Day of the Dead. He also cast my mouth to fit me with the dental appliance that my character wore. I remember the plaster felt as if it was going to pull my teeth out when Tom removed it. Then later when I arrived on the set I had the special effects dream team of Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, Howard Burger and Mike Trcic all working on me for two and a half to three hours to apply the mask and make-up along with the dentures. That was also the first day of shooting on the film so the whole set was electric. It was very exciting.
 

Horror News Network: What were your thoughts on George Romero as a director?

Mark Tierno: I think George is a incredibly brilliant director and writer. I worked with him on three different films, Knightriders, Creepshow and Day, and got to see how he transforms his writing and vision onto the screen. What amazes me about Day of the Dead, and in my mind makes it great, is not only the zombies but the human interaction in a tense and practically hopeless situation between people who are so different and don't understand each other. George is so good with actors. He listens and let's you bring your own creativity and contributions to a scene. In Day, for example, when Dr. Logan (Richard Liberty) admonishes me for turning over the gurney and then switches off the lights in the lab, George allowed me free rein to experiment. I wanted to show that the zombie Beef Treats was somewhat scared and regretful of his action (I also lightly whimpered) to convey that Dr. Logan's experiments to re-humanize me were somewhat successful. And of course they were very successful with the zombie Bub (Howard Sherman).


Horror News Network: Did you get to keep anything from the set?

Mark Tierno: For a long time I had one of my latex masks but it eventually disintegrated. I have the dentures somewhere and I wore them for a few Halloweens! Another thing I was glad I had done was take photographs with my own camera.


Horror News Network: When you think back about Day of the Dead, what stands out as your favorite memory?

Mark Tierno: I have to say it's really the bond that we all still have as a cast. It's been so many years and we're still close. I think everyone believes they made something special. Gary Klar, who played Steele, even has hats for sale that say, "Nice hat asshole," his line to me in the movie before he knocks the hat off. 


Horror News Network: What are your thoughts on the huge following that Day of the Dead and the Dead movies have in general?

Mark Tierno: It blows me away! I love to talk with people about Day of the Dead at conventions or wherever. I'm always amazed to hear the stories of how they went to see Day and it somehow set the the pattern of their lives to work in film, write, do special effects or other related careers. Wow. I especially love the stories of fans who say they saw it as a kid and how it influenced them ever since. One man at the Chiller Theatre Expo in New Jersey recently told me he saw it when he was five years old. My agent Lee Karr snuck in to see it when he was 11, was strongly influenced to this day and now he's writing a book on Day of the Dead.  It's great too that George gets his due, that fans recognize what a fantastic director he is and to see how much influence he has had on the genre. Also when people tell me they remember my performance I'm flattered. The Dead movies in general have had so much cultural influence, confirmed by how often you will see or hear some broadcast or written reference without needing an explanation, people just know what it means, "It was like Night of the Living Dead in there." 
 

Horror News Network: Tell us about your current movie Mercury Men.

Mark Tierno: The Mercury Men started out as a short that was chosen as an official selection of the San Diego Comic Con 2008. An incredible honor; they choose so few films. From there the director and screenwriter Chris Preksta decided we have to do a full feature and wrote the screenplay. It's set in 1975 and a hapless government office worker, Edward Borman, is working late by himself and goes to investigate sounds which sets off a chain of cosmic events. He's trapped by the deadly men of Mercury but is soon met by Jack Yeager, (Curt Wootton in a great performance), a daring aerospace engineer who is a member of a mysterious organization known as "The League" and who arrives in time to save Edward but then gets him involved in a prolonged battle to stop the invaders and their nefarious plot to trigger a doomsday device. As per Chris Preksta, "It draws from the same retro serials that inspired such films as Star Wars and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Mercury Men attempts to reintroduce audiences to the great mystery, danger, and suspense the stories were originally known for." The series consists of 10 episodes, each approximately 7 minutes in length and also stars Amy Staggs as a woman caught in the crossfire. It's shot in retro black and white. The cinematographer is LA based PJ Gaynard. To me the look resembles film noir with it's strong shadows and lighting.


Horror News Network: What drew you to the character of Edward Borman?

Mark Tierno: He's a nerdy Everyman drawn into a world he knew nothing about to save mankind in the tradition of Raiders, etc. Chris wrote this great character with me in mind and I related to him right away. (We had first worked together in a film called Captain Blasto about eight years ago. It's a comic book style film about a high school kid who is without direction in his life until he takes on the persona of a superhero. Your readers can see the trailer along with the whole movie online at www.captainblasto.com.


Horror News Network: Where can our readers find out more about the Mercury Men movie?

Mark Tierno: You can go online to www.mercuryseries.com . We'll be announcing a release date very, very soon, maybe by the time everyone reads this. That's where you can see the trailer and also other short Mercury Men informational films along with things like MM retro trading cards!  


Horror News Network: Are there any other projects that you are working on that you would like to give mention to?

Mark Tierno: I still work on films, commercials and theater. I recently completed a touching short called Micah about a seriously ill little boy. I play his puzzled, dedicated doctor.  


Horror News Network: Where can our readers find out more about you?

Mark Tierno: They can go onto Facebook. I will have a fan page there soon. I'm honored. Thanks so much for having me. 

Horror News Network: Thank you for your time Mark! Comment on this interview here or on our forum.