Tony Todd inCandyman(1992).Photo: Everett
Tony Todd’sCandymanpaycheck was as sweet as honey.
Fans of the film will remember that bees played a major role in one of the more famous, spine-chilling scenes, when Todd’s Candyman is shown kissing Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) with a mouth full of the insects.
“The bees were the worst nemesis,” said the actor, 67.
But due to the sting-payment clause in his contract, “I didn’t mind it,” Todd added. “I’m going like, ‘Bring it on!’ "
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Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen inCandyman(1992).Everett
“I had a great lawyer at the time and we got paid,” he quipped, revealing that his total sting count came out to 27.
On the other hand, Madsen, 61, is extremely allergic to bees — to the point where they had “paramedics on the set,” just in case, “which didn’t make [her] feel very confident.”
Tony Todd inCandyman(1992).Everett
While Madsen did not appear alongside Todd in 1995’sCandyman: Farewell to the Fleshand 1999’s direct-to-videoCandyman 3: Day of the Dead, she reprised her role of Helen via a voice and archive-image cameo in2021’sCandyman.
Of the new film, starYahya Abdul-Mateen IIadmitted to PEOPLE last year that he “couldn’t have told you the plot of the (original) movie at all” when he was invited to join the cast — “But I could have told you the myth of Candyman.”
“So I think it’s a nod to that story, about how certain parts of it, some of the more impressive parts, really stood the test of time,” he added. “And I think that’s why a lot of people are really excited about this,because it gave them that visceral feeling.”
source: people.com
