Bruce Campbell Is Done Playing His Most Popular Character
Bruce Campbell is walking away from his most popular character. He's said the time has come to leave the role which has taken a physical toll
This article is more than 2 years old
Bruce Campbell may not have reached mainstream success like many other celebrities in Hollywood, but for horror fans, the actor is one of the most recognizable faces in genre films to date. He has had success in many different avenues in film and television. But his character with the most longevity is about to be retired for good. In a recent interview with Collider, Campbell announced that he will no longer be playing chainsaw-wielding, evil dead fighting character Ash Williams from Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead franchise. Ash put Campbell on the map in the eighties. And while some fans may be mourning the loss of the iconic character, Campbell goes on to explain that it is just the best thing for the actor.
“The three seasons were the longest seasons of my life,” Bruce Campbell admitted to Collider. “If you saw the emails pleading with various directors that were like, ‘Hey, my knee’s not working right. Be careful about tomorrow. Let’s have the stunt guy nearby. Hey, I can’t run anymore.’ It just was an endless physical struggle.” Campbell states that he is getting too old for the action stunts that he had pulled off in his twenties. For an actor who has played the same character for almost four decades, he has put in more work than anyone could have dreamed.
The Evil Dead first came to fruition in 1981. Director Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell were childhood friends, making Super 8 films together until The Evil Dead launched them into success (via Screenrant.) The film played into the cabin in the woods trope as a group of friends travel to a cabin where they unleash horrifying consequences in the form of flesh-possessing demons. This proved to create a brand all to itself.
Bruce Campbell continued to act in movie sequels Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. Even after these films, Campbell was recognizable for his cult success. He acted in the films Congo, Sky High, and joined USA’s show Burn Notice. Even so, he continued his working relationship with Raimi and would continue to act in his films. Campbell came back to the role in Ash vs. The Evil Dead, a television series for Starz. As Campbell states in the interview, the show lasted for three seasons but did take a physical toll on him.
Even if Bruce Campbell has left the demons of Evil Dead behind, he is not abandoning horror altogether. Campbell has voiced Ash in many of the Evil Dead video games and this year has come out with a movie with similar subject material. Campbell stars in Black Friday alongside Devon Sawa and Michael Jai White. The film follows the exploits of retail workers when a group of parasite-infected shoppers attack on Black Friday. In the trailer, Campbell continues his humorous tone in the face of almost certain death. Black Friday hit theaters on November 19th and became available on-demand on November 23rd.
The Evil Dead also proves to be resilient and will continue on. Evil Dead was rebooted in a 2013 film, starring Jane Levy and Shiloh Fernandez. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell produced the film and will continue to do so in the sequel that is currently in production. Entitled Evil Dead Rise, the film will be directed by Lee Cronin and return to the franchise’s original home at New Line Cinema (via Variety.) Although Ash will not be appearing in the new film, Raimi and Campbell’s support behind the camera bodes good news for the reboot. There is no news of when Evil Dead Rise will premiere but it will be available to stream on HBO Max when it becomes available.
