When it comes to icons of the horror genre, today marks the 63rdbirthdayof one that stands head and shoulder above many - especially if that head has been dismembered with a chainsaw and lofted high on the end of a boomstick. Yes, Bruce Campbell, the man responsible for bringing Ash Williams and theEvil Deadfranchise to life, celebrated his birthday today and of course so did his many fans. With Campbell currently producing the newEvil Dead Risereboot, it seems that his fans have not forgotten his gory screen persona or the unexpected icon of cinema he has become over the years.
Bruce Campbellwas born in 1958 in Royal Oak, Michigan and he is best known for playing the often put-upon plaything of the Deadites in theEvil Deadfranchise. Starting in short film Within The Woods in 1978, Campbell appeared in threeEvil Deadmovies, as well as theAsh vs Evil DeadTV show which ran for three gloriously gory seasons and gave fans a much needed blast of the chainsaw wielding unlikely hero.
Outside theEvil Dead, Campbell has had a varied career, appearing in many low-budget cult movies such asManiac Cop, Sundown: The Vampire Retreatand in the role of Elvis Presley inBubba Ho-Tep, as well as numerous TV series includingHercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, and as Sam Axe inBurn Noticefor six years between 2007 and 2013. He had also dabbled in directing, withA Community Speaks, The Man With The Screaming BrainandMy Name Is Bruce, a spoof movie about his own strange and sometimes unexpected career.
Back inEvil Deadterritory, from which Campbell has never strayed too far, he has provided voice-overs for several video games based on the franchise includingHail to The KingandA Fistful of Boomstick, and the upcomingEvil Dead The Game, in which he appears as one of the playable characters from the movies and series. He has also worked on other game titles, including theSpidermangames based onEvil Deadcohort Sam Raimi’s first foray into the world of Marvel,Pitfall 3DandDead By Daylight.
In the near future we will also seeBruce Campbell step into the Marvel Cinematic Universefor the first time, again seemingly via the invisible cord that ties him to Raimi, inDoctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness, which he has an as yet unspecified role. What the future holds beyond that is anyone’s guess, but after the crazy life he has had so far, I wouldn’t like to try and work out where he will show up next.
So on his birthday, it was only right for his fans, and horror lovers, to come out and wish the actor many happy returns. Campbell himself is active on Twitter, recently having posted teases for the newEvil Deadgame and providing updates on theEvil Dead Risemovie, so it is likely that he will show up at some point to thank everyone for their thoughts. Here are just a small amount of the posts shared via the social media site to mark the occasion.
