The Devil in Devon

By: April P. Bernard
Photographs by: Sheryl Nields
(Article from May 1999)
thanks to Katie for the article.

You've got to hand it to Devon Sawa: His fiendishly funny new horror film has truly made Casper a ghost

First Casper, Now Bugs Bunny. It may not seem like it, but actor Devon Sawa really has come a long way.

Four years after he spooked Christina Ricci as the friendliest ghost you know, the 20 year old again takes on the supernatural — with cartoonish results — in the comic horror movie Idle Hands.

As Anton Tobias, whom Devon describes as "the laziest kid in the world," he goes on a fiendish spree of murdering, maiming and inappropriate groping after his right hand is possessed by the devil. "The hand was like Bugs Bunny," Devon theorizes. "It's a smart ass; it just toys with [Anton]." Before the slacker teen decides to chop off the homicidal appendage, it manages to kill his parents and best friends (played living, dead and undead by Seth Green of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Elden Henson of She's All That) and make a move on his girlfriend (Never Been Kissed's Jessica Alba).

Obviously, this levil of, er, handiwork requires major stunts — "throwing myself down stairs and into walls and smashing things over my head," recalls Devon. He sharpened his physical-comedy skills with inspiration from Jim Carrey and advice from the coach who helped Kevin Kline make 1988's A Fish Called Wanda so hilariously memorable. Nonetheless, says the battered actor,"a lot of massages were needed after work."

On a warmer, fuzzier note, Devon also learned to knit for the role. (Because if the devil makes work for idle hands, what better way for Anton to combat the evil within him?) "Now I'm going to town," he says teasingly. "making my family blankets and sweater and hats."

When not knitting afghans, Devon's a big fan of other recreation activities: movies, video games (he's a two — system man-Nintendo and PlayStation-who's addicted to GoldenEye 007), music ("anything and everything", from Dwight Yoakam to Puff Daddy) and "just basically hanging out", he says. "Devon's a very relaxed kind of guy," agrees Idle costar Elden. "Not high-strung and freaking out...but he works real hard at what he does."

Right now, being interviewed in his hometown Vancouver, Devon's looking forward to 48 glorious hours of downtime (he's got a break from The Guilty, a drama co-starring former Casper cast mate Bill Pullman.)

As soon as this shoot ends, Devon will head back to his one-bedroom apartment in L.A. (the single guy's place features "bachelor pad" art of framed advertisements from the '50s-one for tequila, one for a cigar company).

The Dark Side

During the Teen People photo shoot at the desolate Topango Ranch Motel near Malibu, however, Devon projects a little less of laid-back attitude. "I don't smile a lot in pictures," he says matter-of-fact. "I'm not into being the cheese ball."

That comment coupled with his off-kilter observation that the "straight out of Psycho" location seems like a ideal home for "cats roaming around and chickens and weird old men" leads photographer Sheryl Nields to decide that Devon is "into the underbelly of things...If he gave me any smile, it was definitely a bit wicked," she says by way of a compliment. "It was like the cat that ate the canary."

Sounds about right for a guy who skipped school one day when he was 17 and "bused it down to the tattoo parlor" to get a grinning little devil with a halo and a pitchfork to adorn his right biceps. "I had to lie to the guy and tell him that I was 18," confesses Devon. His second tattoo, a cross on the other arm, was a 19th-birthday gift from his best friend. And there's more ink to come: The third is "planned out" (and top secret) but won't be executed until this summer.

Luckily, those tattoos served as the perfect accessories for Devon's brief but crucial part as a small-time dealer in the just-released S.L.C. Punk!, in which Matthew Lillard (Scream) exemplifies punk-rock-era anarchy in the U.S.-Salt Lake City, to be exact. For Devon, it's a different kind of Wild America (remember his 1997 adventure film with Jonathon Taylor Thomas and Party of Five's Scott Bairstow?). Instead of enjoying the adrenaline high you get from cavorting with wildlife, in Punk! he freaks out on acid and chases his mother around with a knife. Is it just a coincidence that his Idle Hands character also has a fondness for drugs (specifically marijuana,) or is Hollywood trying to typecast Devon as a deviant? "Do i look like a drug addict? I have no idea," says Devon, who doesn't touch the stuff. Well,no, but he didn't exactly promote a clean cut, clean-living image when he wore his Punk! hairdo (dyed, gelled and sprayed into vertical spikes) during a plane ride home from the Utah shoot. "I was crazy sitting in first class with these big blue cones [on my head]," he says. "Everybody treated me like a normal person, which was weird. they must have thought I was a rock star just back from doing a concert."

Despite the radical display, Devon swears that he's easily embarrassed, which is nearly impossible to believe after that last story. Example: His father (Ed, a mechanic who lives in Vancouver with Devon's mother, Joyce, and his two siblings, Brandon, 17, and Stephanie, 13) wants him to try to get an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, but Devon finds the prospect more than a little big intimidating. "Just to grow up and watch him and [then] maybe be on his show...," he says. "Very scary."

Behind the scenes, this shy guy has also dabbled in writing scripts, but he won't show anyone his work. "Who knows? I could go with the Good Will Hunting thing. [But] I really keep it to myself," he says. "I am the worst speller."

Let's hope that his trends-potting talents are better. Idle Hands, although not totally gore-free, could usher in a new wave of teen-oriented movies that capitalize on sight gags instead of sights that induce gags. "Audiences are getting sick of these young horror films," says Devon. "We started out serious [with Idle Hands] and decided to go to comedy, try something new." The stakes are high for Canada, who hasn't hit it big with the U.S. audiences since Casper. "This is my comeback," he says, with more than a trace of self mockery. "I'm doing the John Travolta thing."

Back 12.31.2007.