Black Light Guides You

“When we started that morning it was like, ‘Okay, maybe this is kinda the direction,’ and within an hour I was howling in a southern accent and running around baptising people and holy-ghosting.” -Brendan McGowan

Interview by Ash Briscoe, July 2022

I had the opportunity to interview the multifaceted actor/director/cinematographer Brendan McGowan. In our Ghost universe, he most notably portrayed Papa III in the “He Is” music video. In this short-but-sweet interview, Brendan gets into previously unknown “behind the scenes” details, including dropping a secret about who actually played Papa III in the music video for “Square Hammer.” Enjoy! 

Who created the concept for the “He Is” music video, and was it inspired by anyone in particular? 

The concept for “He Is” came from director Zev Deans - seemed all too obvious to allude to cults for a Ghost video so we concocted this sort of southern-baptist-preacher-Papa inspired in large part by Tony Alamo. I won’t go into specifics surrounding his illustrious and bizarre career as a cult leader (and fashion designer) but google him, you won’t be disappointed. He actually died while we were filming this so that was an eerie coincidence. Jim Jones also crept into the performance, obviously.

The sets were fabulous. Please describe the location(s)

We shot in Detroit - the lake was someone’s backyard about thirty minutes outside of the city and the church was this abandoned church with no running water; it was wild. We shot in May so the water was brutal - we were all wearing wetsuits and the poor cult followers were all in white dresses being baptized in freezing water, I felt awful for them! I was in the water there for a few hours while we got the women in and out as quickly as possible. Nico (the DP) and I were in there ALL day.

What was it like under the mask? Please describe any malfunctions or alterations that were needed to fit the mask correctly. 

Our MUA for that video, Emma, built these prosthetic jaws that filled the mask out a little bit, and I was in it all day, so It was hot and gross. However, I’d worn the Papa digs before so I knew what I was getting into. Much better than the whole ecclesiastical getup with the pallium and everything from “Square Hammer,” that was truly unforgiving.

(Wait… what?! He played Papa in Square Hammer, as well? Watch his performance as Papa III, co-starring with himself as the long-haired torch guy HERE)

There are some rumors that Tobias was also in the “He Is” video. Did you play Papa Emeritus III the entire time? 

There are just a couple closeups during the intro - those are Forge. The mask was huge and my lip-syncing looked insane in closeup so we had him do it instead for two or three shots.

Please describe how you got into character. Did you draw inspiration from real life experiences? 

I grew up in Georgia and remember seeing those southern baptist preachers on TV and I remember thinking they were the most evil and sinister people imaginable, and everyone that followed them were a bunch of suckers. I don’t think I planned to fully embody that archetype when we got to set but once I put the costume on I just blacked out for about twelve hours. Being able to have an actual congregation there helped me get a sense of the absurd power those southern baptist creeps feel, so I just followed the energy. One of the things that works so well about being in front of the camera when Zev’s behind it is that we have this real chaotic synchronicity and we start reading each other’s minds. We’re both into the same weird shit so we talk about what we’re thinking en route to a shoot and then things just start happening. Almost all of my performances in his videos are zero preparation, just makeup and adrenaline. When we started that morning it was like, “Okay, maybe this is kinda the direction,” and within an hour I was howling in a southern accent and running around baptising people and holy-ghosting. His suggestions are always great and he gives me the freedom to fill them with electricity.

What was the casting process like for the video? Were most of the people in the video your friends? 

Some were friends - most of the members of the congregation responded to an announcement on a local radio station that we were shooting a Ghost video and we got some of our friends like Ed (who we also put in the Square Hammer video) - he’s a big Ghost fan and we put him in there as an usher pocketing some cash. Sam (Papa’s tattooed henchman) is a good friend of ours who’s in tons of videos. Many of the members of the choir and baptism sequence are friends of ours like Tamara & Samantha (who we’ve worked with extensively since and you can see both of them in the Cannibal Corpse video we shot back in Detroit). It’s always good to keep it in the family.

Looking back, are there any changes you’d make to the video/performance/outfits/locations/storyline?

No way. “He Is” is probably my favorite video Zev and I have ever done together. (Note: Brendan was also in Square Hammer, Dance Macabre, and worked on From The Pinnacle To The Pit)

Stay up-to-date on Brendan McGowan’s work on his Instagram, including his most recent music video for MASTODON. Watch “He Is”  Director: Zev Deans DP: Nico Poalillo HMU: Emma Prentice-DeWeber