Interview with "Spanking Priest" Actor

The Halfway House is an interested movie combining elements of horror, humor, and soft porn. I have a review of the movie here. One of the film's odd characters, Father Fogerty, is likely to raise thoughts of the recent sex scandals involving Roman Catholic priests, as Fr. Fogerty is a cleric who loves paddling the bottoms of naughty young ladies. I interviewed actor Joseph Tatner, who plays the part, about his feelings regarding it. I was especially interested in his thoughts on the role since Tatner is a practicing Roman Catholic and once studied for that church's seminary.

Joseph Tatner has had a wonderfully varied career. As a child actor, he played guest roles on The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch. As an adult, he has served in the US Air Force and been a substitute teacher as well as studying for the Roman Catholic seminary. He has also continued to pursue his entertainment career. Tatner has played in stage productions of Grease, Amadeus, and Into the Woods. He has played prominent parts in productions of the History Channel: Nazi saboteur/defector George John Dasch in Shadow Enemies: Spies Against America, Nostradamus in Nostradamus: The First 500 Years, and played the title character in General William Howe.

Denise Noe: Did you like playing Father Fogerty? If so, what did you like most about playing him?

Joseph Tatner: I loved playing Father Fogerty. I was given a lot of freedom with the character. I like the fact that he is so confident that he's right about everything when he couldn't be more wrong. At the same time, I think the ending scene shows his true nature, although I don't want to give it away to those who haven't seen the movie. You are never sure until the end of the movie if he's just a pervert, if he's part of the secret society of the monster, or if he's completely a moron. You don't know if he's good or evil until the very end.

DN: I think I read that you used the uniform you had when you were in fact in the seminary in this movie. Is that true?

JT: Yes.

DN: As a former seminarian, did you feel any conflict about playing a "perverted priest" and using the seminary uniform to play him?

JT: Actually, the way I played Fr. Fogerty, I don't really see him as perverted. I see him like most people who are blind to their own faults. He thinks he's doing the right thing by giving these girls the discipline they need to stay out of trouble. The extremes he goes to or the fact that he loves his "work" a little too much never dawns on him. He can see everything around him except what's most obvious. That's what makes him both very comical and a little pathetic.

DN: Are you still a Roman Catholic? If so, how do you feel about being in a movie that depicts a priest and a nun so negatively?

JT: I am still a practicing Catholic, and a movie isn't going to do any more damage to the Church than priests in this country have done to themselves recently. There are wonderful priests and nuns and I have met many of them. I have also met many who are an absolute disgrace to humanity, let alone the Church. Some people join the Church to serve others, some join to hide behind a veneer of respectability to do evil. I have no problem with a movie showing that. Besides, it's supposed to be a creepy, funny, horror film and I think it accomplishes those goals tremendously.

DN: How do you feel about playing a spankophile?

JT: I don't really see Fr. Fogerty as a "spankophile." I think of him more like a parent who says, "I'm doing this for your own good." I see him as very clinical. He studies from all sorts of source material and applies what he learns. He probably writes notes afterwards on the effects different punishments have on the girls. The real evil in this world is often done by people who never see it in themselves but point the finger at everyone else.

DN: Did you enjoy doing scenes with pretty actresses bent over and bare bottomed?

JT: Actually, I got to see very little of that. To protect the safety of the actresses, all I was looking at was a thick piece of foam rubber taped over their butts when I paddled. The one exception was the very brief scene where you actually see the girls from behind. I pulled back and barely hit the girls, except for Tomy X, who specifically asked me to really whack her. So I gave her the best shot on the last paddle. She appreciated it.

DN: What was most challenging about playing Father Fogerty?

JT: Comedy is always much more challenging than drama. If you yell and scream people think you're a great actor. The big challenge was to make him funny. Think about it, how do you make people laugh at a guy who's basically dominating and brutalizing the women in his charge and failing to protect them at the same time? The only way was to make him totally clueless. I created his character thinking of someone who watched "Father Knows Best" and "Going My Way" too many times growing up. He identifies with and sees himself as these totally wholesome, "perfect" characters so he really thinks he can't be doing anything wrong. He's trying to live his life the way it would happen on a '50s TV show. Of course, the fifties are over and his own little world doesn't exist. Still, for all his faults, he really does have courage and is concerned for these girls.

DN: What do you think of The Halfway House as a movie?

JT: I think it's amazing what they did on the budget they had and the very short shooting schedule. Ken Hall, the director, wanted to see it as a terrifying horror film, but from the moment I read his script I kept telling him it isn't that kind of movie. It is FUNNY. He eventually came to realize I was right. Sure there's some blood, a cool monster, and a lot of naked girls, but there are many movies like that out there that are just terrible and unwatchable. What sets this movie apart is the way humor is blended throughout it. The movie is campy and funny but not to the point that it takes away from the story. I was also a bit surprised at how funny I am in the behind-the-scenes documentary. I had forgotten most of the comments I had even made to the camera.

DN: Would you like another kinky role?

JT: I am an actor. I want ANY role. If I only wanted a kinky role, though, I would do porn. What was fun about this role was that Ken even allowed me to write some of my own dialogue, most of which is still in the edited version of the movie. It's fun as an actor to explore characters with more than one side to them. Especially if they have some dark secret they don't want anyone to know.