I thought it would be fun to cull through my archives of old horror and sci-fi magazines and put up a handful of Beastmaster articles.  The first one is an interview with Tanya Roberts from Fangoria, issue #26, 1983 titled simply “Tanya Roberts!”

If you can get past film critic James Verniere’s ridiculously, creepy and fawning perspective, this interview piece on Beastmaster star Tanya Roberts has some interesting tidbits about how the actress came up in New York.  I say ridiculously, creepy and fawning because this interview almost reads like a piece of Penthouse mail (Dear Penthouse, I never thought being alone with Tanya Roberts in a private suite would give me such ideas…)

Anyway, I found it intriguing that Roberts dropped out of school at 15 to pursue a career on the New York stage, staring in a handful of plays and a movie or two before becoming one of Charlie’s Angels (her big break.)  She goes on to say that she chose the role of Kiri in Beastmaster because it felt like an ensemble piece where she wouldn’t be the main focus.  Considering Marc Singer and John Amos’ butt are practically nude 345% more than Roberts, I think it’s actually a fair assessment, even considering her frigid topless scene in the flick.

 

Just as I was worrying that Veriere was getting a bit too salacious with his silent observations during the Fangoria interview (“I didn’t have the heart to tell her that every time she reached over her blouse opened…”), Roberts actually threw me for a loop when she related a story about the filming of her post-Beastmaster fantasy film, Hearts in Armor.  “In one scene I almost get raped by a priest who can make himself invisible, so they’ll be pulling my clothes off with wires.  It”s a funny scene though, not sleazy…”  Sigh, nothing says classy fun like almost-spectral-rape…