Australian-actor Costas Mandylor is making a ‘killing' in Hollywood - literally-speaking. Clint Morris talks to the actor about reprising his role as the villainous detective Hoffman in the highly-anticipated Saw 6.

You haven't been back home to Melbourne in a while?

The most recent trip was to shoot the film Torn, but before that, I hadn't been home in eleven years. It was so great to come back last year and make the movie [Torn] -but so strange to be back after such a long time away; I had cousins who were ten when I left, now they're twenty-one and six-foot-four. It's so great to come back and rediscover things; reacquaint yourself with people and places. I'm only here briefly to promote the film, so there's not a lot of time to catch up with people, but I'll be back soon and hopefully I'll spend a few weeks here then. But the town is beautiful - - funny, I was doing an interview [earlier] and looked out the window of my hotel room and saw my mother's primary school.

How did you get involved in the Saw series?

I was invited to come up and do ‘'Saw 3'' - basically just come up and have a good time with the gang. I said ‘sure, I'll come up and do it'. I mean, it was a nothing role. Tiny. Easy. But they were giving me these Hollywood threats, telling me I could be the next [Jigsaw]. I was like ‘Yeah, sure... whatever' but nevertheless when they wrote Saw 4 they wrote me in as the surprise ending. And in Saw 5 my involvement got even bigger, and in Saw 6, as you'll see, I've completely taken over. It's such a gift - and a tad nerve-wracking, only because it's so successful and I'm not use to carrying a picture.

Are they pretty tight with the script?

Yeah, oh yeah, we get no more than fifteen pages at a time.

Really?

Yeah, but I don't mind not having the whole script because I like to watch these movies with an audience. I like to be surprised myself.

Is it fun playing a villain?

Yeah, and I also think it's good for an actor. Look at Tom Berenger - he was the villain of Platoon, and went onto bigger and better things, and Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for his role as Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. But yeah, it is definitely fun.

Had you played a villain before?

I've played a gangster before in a couple of shows...

Mobsters!

Yeah [Laughs] but they were all ‘gentlemen', weren't they? [Smiles]

I actually did a small movie recently, a boy's action movie called Saints and Sinners, in which I play a serial killer -great speeches and all that. That was fun. So I guess if I think I can pull it off, I'll do it. But I wanna do some romantic stuff too, ya know!? And there's no kissing in Saw!

How is it working with Tobin Bell on the Saw series?

He's great. And he cares so much about this series - I mean, it's made him a household name. I was getting calls late at night from him, ‘Hey, it's Jigsaw - come to my room so we can talk'. He cares so much about the series, that he wants to make sure you're going to give it your most too. The fact that I take over in these new movies adds a little different dimension to them - different dynamics. Keeps it fresh.

Why do you think the Saw films are so popular?

I think they're hard-hitting, with the traps and all that, but ultimately, I think it's because they're clever. I've been to a lot of signings and conventions and the fans really appreciate that so much goes into the plot. They demand the level gets kept high, too. They say Saw 6 is the best since the first one. It has a very plausible story; fills in a lot of gaps.

Were you a fan of the genre before signing onto Saw?

I loved scary movies as a kid - The Exorcist is one that certainly got to me.

And it still holds up really well, too.

I'm sure it does. But I think Saw now is the king of horror!

And Lionsgate must be thankful for that!

Yeah, they've had a few films that missed lately.

But then they release another Saw, and they're...

... back up again!

You've worked with some great filmmakers - Oliver Stone...

Yep, I worked with Oliver on The Doors. Sean Penn, on The Pledge. He was great. I have a lot of respect for Sean. Robert Zemeckis is great - I worked with him on Beowulf. He's really open to ideas...

It's funny, looking over towards South Melbourne [here, out the window], and thinking about my early days in Hollywood - doing The Doors, Mobsters etc -and it hits you how fast time really does go by. I'm just glad I'm still in the game.

The offers still come as thick and fast as they did back then?

Well, some little things come thick and fast but the big things you have to fight for. I got close to being in 300. Some other things are cooking now though. Saw doesn't hurt - it keeps you in the public eye. I just want to capitalise on it with some quality stuff.

How was it working with Kevin Greutert on Saw 6?

Great! He was the editor on 3, 4 and 5 so he definitely knows what he's doing; he's very familiar with the series. He was very particular and specific, and knew exactly what the film needed to work.

Have you met the Aussie guys - James Wan and Leigh Whannell - behind the Saw series?

I met them before they started shooting the first film. I met them out the front of a building. They were telling me how they'd recently met my Dad, who is a Taxi Driver. Apparently Dad started telling them how I was a big star over in Hollywood, and pulled out a picture of me to show them. That's nice - the old man is still promoting my career. And a year later, James and Leigh exploded with Saw.

Would you ever do TV again?

If I did it would have to be something I'd want to give up four or five years to be in, because it can become a little mundane. It'd have to be for a show like a Sopranos or a Mad Men. Anthony LaPaglia got a good one [Without a Trace], and he's been doing it for seven years - now he can do whatever he wants.

Picket Fences was a great show though.

Yeah, that was a really good experience. Looking back, I might have done some things differently - but ya know, that was my approach [at the time]. So be it. I originally didn't want to do the show. I remembered going to the set of Cagney & Lacey, and it was just ugly, I didn't want to work on something like that. And they kept offering me more and more money. I finally asked, ‘Who else is in this thing'? And they like were ‘Tom Skerrit, Kathy Baker..'. I was like, ‘oh hold on... maybe I should consider this'. I was just too afraid to commit.

Did you ever envision the show being a success?

No. I knew David Kelley had won an Emmy for L.A Law, but that's all I knew about him. So it was just as a surprise to me when it turned into a hit.

Do you keep in touch with any of your former co-stars?

No, they've all gone their separate ways - different cities. But I do see David Kelly here and there. And it's like yesterday. I bumped into him at the Four Seasons about a month ago with Michelle [Pfeiffer], his lovely girl. You've got your Hollywood shit, and then you've got the real deal - he's the real deal.

It must be hard to put up with some of that Hollywood shit sometimes

Oh yeah. Only because it's so different here - here, we're not allowed to be full of shit.

Did you do Comic Con?

Yeah, I went this year. I've gone a couple of times but this year was huge - there was like 100,000 people from out of San Diego that went to the thing. I actually went for a walk down to the show floors... my god! I couldn't even walk through there!

I didn't go this year - but it is getting a bit out-of-hand.

Yeah, and I hear they're now considering moving it to Vegas or something.

That's the rumour, yeah. Signed any limbs for anyone at these conventions?

No, but I've signed things like Pig Noses [Laughs].

Straight-up. Do you think the horror genre is healthy right now?

I'm lucky because I'm involved in the king of the horror movies, but I know they're not all as good as Saw. I have been intrigued by a few horror trailers lately though - the names of which escape me - so I'll go check them out.

There's a lot of rubbish out there - like The Final Destination. 80-odd minutes of your life you won't get back. But there are some gems too, like My Bloody Valentine.

Yeah, I heard that was good. I will definitely have to check it out.

If a series can sustain itself by sequel five, in the case of Saw, it's doing alright. But some franchises can even get to sequel one without burning out these days.

Yeah, true. Well, from what they're telling me, the fans are going to be really happy with this one. And I just can't wait to see it with an audience - because I haven't seen it either. I've seen bits and pieces of it, but I'd rather see it all in one piece. And I'd rather see it with an audience - they go crazy for this stuff. I remember seeing the sequence with the first trap with an audience and when that finished, they went crazy! So I'd rather be there, watching it with them, than a group of people who know exactly what's next and how everything works.

And they're doing Saw 7 now - are you back for it?

I don't actually know. They've shot three endings to Saw 6 - and I don't know which one they're going to use yet. My agents are a bit shaky at the moment [Laughs].

But the next one is in 3-D?

Yeah, it's going to be fantastic.

Which is not only a way of keeping the series fresh, but it gives punters a reason to have to watch it at the cinema, as opposed to DVD.

For sure, for the experience.

But nobody's ever really dead in this series.

They're not, no.

They've got some great writers on this thing who can dream up anything. And Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton wrote this latest one, didn't they?

Yeah, they're terrific.

I remember seeing them on Project Greenlight - was really pleased their script Feast was chosen to be made. Good writers. A few of my friends were involved in that film, and have nothing but praise for the guys.

Indeed. They did a wonderful job.