Jim Krut is best known for his roles as the helicopter zombie from one of the most memorable scenes in Dawn of the Dead! Besides Dawn he has done some other horror movies & some theatre acting as well! He also tries to attend a few horror conventions a year to meet with the fans. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim previously & he's one of my favorites! If you get a chance to meet him do so!

1. What was your favorite thing to dress up as for Halloween in childhood?

Cowboy. I had the holster, belt, hat, six-shooter (not real), and may even have had pointy-toed boots. The Halloween parades in our small town of Mount Union, Pennsylvania were thrilling, scary, loud, and filled with creatures you wouldn't find on the street any other day of the year. I wanted to know more about those strange creatures, and march along with them. Maybe, in some odd way, today I am marching along with them. Even after all of these years, I try not to miss one of those parades.

#2 What is your favorite horror movie past and present?

I have so many favorite horror films, including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Thing, Them, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

#3 Who are your favorite horror movie actors/actresses?

I was always fascinated by Boris Karloff, and by Bela Lugosi's exotic accent. Many well-known horror actors today are actually hidden behind masks, so we become afraid of their mask, rather than by the twisted humanity within. Sure, Frankenstein had a bit of makeup, but you could still see the facial movements and read the expression. Tony Todd was frightening in The Candy Man, and Ken Foree is a great fun guy with a lot of versatility, although they don't always do horror. Anthony Hopkins is just totally creepy in films like "Silence of the Lambs" yet is completely different and warmly engaging in other films.

#4 Is there any particular monster that fascinates you?

I'd always been fascinated by "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" because of its human-like form and characteristics and because I'd never seen anything else like it. It always seemed like the Creature got a raw deal.

5. You've been in quite a few horror movies. Which one was your favorite & why?

I would have to say Dawn of the Dead is my favorite horror film. That's partly because I had such a great and fun role in it, and I had a lot of friends who were involved with the film, but because it is also led to other films, convention appearances and lots of new friendships. My role as Helicopter Zombie has been identified by the Bravo Network as one of the top 100 moments in horror movie history. That may be more of a tribute to Tom Savini for creating the character and the role, but am certainly happy with it! My favorite film role, aside from Helicopter Zombie, was that of the evil Dr. Mitchell in "Deadlands 2: Trapped." The director, Gary Ugarek, gave me lots of reign with the role and was a joy to work with!

#6 Who did you idolize as a child?

There weren’t many children that I idolized! Unless, of course, you mean who did I idolize when I was a child? I thought Superman was pretty cool. One cloudy day, I looked up and thought I actually saw a man flying. When I tried to point him out to my friends, he disappeared into the clouds and did not reappear. They probably thought I was nuts. I thought they were missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime to see Superman.

#7 Going to conventions you have met a lot of famous people, who is your favorite?

At a Chiller Theater convention a couple years ago, I finally had a chance to meet Ricou Browning, who played the Creature from the Black Lagoon in all of the underwater shots. Talk about my boyhood thrills being realized! At the same show, I was absolutely thrilled to meet Marina Sirtis, who played counselor Troi in Star Trek. She has a great magnetism and warmth. They not only made my day, they made my year!

#8 What has been your favorite horror convention that you've been a guest at?

The first convention I ever attended was Cinema Wasteland in Cleveland. That will always have a particular fondness for me, since I got to meet several other actors from Dawn of the Dead for the first time in 20 years. Ken and Pam Kish, the convention promoters, were just so warm, gracious and welcoming that it made the convention a real pleasure. Meeting the fans, who had come from all over the United States and internationally, I was just stunned. It marked a turning point in my life and I always enjoy Cinema Wasteland. Last year, Horrorfind came to Gettysburg and it was only a 10-minute drive! You gotta love that, too!

#9 Who was your favorite director to work with?

George Romero. Partly because he had the experience and a larger vision of what film making was about, but also because he's just such a great and talented guy. He's my ideal of what a director should be. He knows what he's doing and obviously enjoys the fun and humor in what he's doing.

#10 What made you get into acting?

I had acted in plays since grade school. There I played Abraham Lincoln and had to recite the Gettysburg Address. It's odd that more than 40 years later I would end up in Gettysburg. In Pittsburgh, I worked with the Pittsburgh Laboratory Theatre, and another performing company called The Ironclad Agreement. The first gave me an appreciation for theater as both a physical and vocal discipline. The second gave me an appreciation for the characters we portrayed, as well as the extensive traveling we did both in the United States and internationally. Being on the road so much, however, was pretty wearing. After a few years, and once I was married, I left Pittsburgh and it was several years before I acted again.

#11 What do you feel makes a good horror movie?

Some of my favorite horror films are actually those by Alfred Hitchcock. When you think of films like Psycho and The Birds, there is an ongoing suspense that is rarely achieved today. There seemed to be less of a dwelling on screen of the violence, action, and car chases, than of the mental and psychic uncertainty and tension. Since we all deal with our own mental conflicts more than with actual violence on a daily basis, I believe that those creations of mental and psychic tensions reach a wider audience and affect it more deeply.

#12 What horror movie character was your favorite to play & why?

I never got to play Dracula in a movie, but I got to play Dracula in two different theatrical productions. One was in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania with the Carriage House Experimental Theater, more than 30 years ago. About six years ago I did the same character with Gettysburg Stage. The character can be played so differently, even within the confines of the same script. As you get a little older, you can appreciate different aspects of the character. Your life experiences certainly help with that, but different directors and fellow actors also can affect some of the choices you make in regard to the character. I loved the vocal work and accent which helped to flesh out the character of Dracula. Personally, I also like that Dracula didn't have so many lines. While it made memorization easier, I feel it also had a greater impact on the audience when Count Dracula did speak.

#13 Any current projects?

There's a film I was supposed to be involved with in Baltimore in the spring, but the production schedule has slipped on it. I'm looking forward to the Saturday Nightmares convention in New Jersey, which is the first weekend in June. I'm taking a little time off from some other involvements, but I hope to do a few other conventions this year, and possibly another film or so. I'm also involved with Community Media, the regional public, education and government television station that has been based in Gettysburg, and this is a challenging year for the station. The studio has just moved to New Oxford, Pennsylvania, and there is some exciting new programming on the horizon. We also worked with a similar station in Erie, Pa. to run a series of horror films that they produce.

I'll always be grateful to Tom Savini, who cast me as the Helicopter Zombie in Dawn of the Dead. Tom and I had gone to college together and worked in live theater, and it's been fascinating to watch his career and accomplishments grow.