Bill Oberst Jr. usually plays dark, conflicted characters on film and television. He is a veteran stage actor who came to Hollywood in 2008 and quickly began to be cast in horror and thriller films. A notable exception was the 2011 TV-movie THE SHUNNING, in which director Michael Landon Jr. cast Oberst in the movie's male lead role of an Amish farmer. Bill Oberst Jr. has also toured in a first-person stage recreation of the teachings of Jesus Of Nazareth. He remains best known as a horror genre actor, however, which is much nicer than selling used snowmobiles.

Bill Oberst Jr.'s trademark piercing star and rough-hewn face have led him to be cast as monsters, murderers, vampires and cannibals, often in minimal wardrobe. His oddly shaped torso and partially-exposed ribcage are almost as recognizable to genre fans as his face. Oberst is often quoted as saying that he believes the human body's capacity to disturb on film is just as strong as its capacity to entice. In person, his quiet demeanor and interest in things spiritual seem sharply at odds with the roles he plays. A native Southerner, Bill Oberst Jr. is a fulltime actor living in Los Angeles.

A PERSONAL MESSAGE From Bill Oberst. Jr.:

My sympathy has always been with the monster. As a kid, I wanted to be The Wolfman, and I practiced his wicked balls-of-the-feet walk barefoot in the moonlight on the beaches of South Carolina. I must have been a sight. In college, I bought an old opera cape for five bucks and wore it with a suit and black shiny shoes, leaving my dorm at midnight to walk down silent sidewalks and imagine the power the Count must have felt. I have always rooted for the monster. Now I get to play monsters. And monstrous human beings. And all manner of things in between.

I love what I do. I love every second of it. I try not to show it sometimes, because actors aren't supposed to be enthusiastic; especially not film actors. We're supposed to be slightly jaded and mostly sophisticated. Enthusiasm is seen as a sign of the amateur. But I can't hold it in. I love my job. I love rooting out the parts of our human nature that we like to hide and laying them out for inspection. I love looking in the dark mirror of the soul right along with the viewer. I'm a fan, too. That's why I love horror. Darkness recognized is danger avoided.

To fans, I say thank you for the passion that you put into keeping this old form of storytelling alive and kicking (and screaming.)

To directors, I say thank you for the chances you've given me, and for the chances yet to come. Your instincts are right far more often than mine.

And to writers, I say what are you waiting for? Reinvigorate this grand old genre with fresh blood! Tear apart the tired old formulaic screenplays with your jagged teeth and scrawl new nightmares by the light of the moon. And if you write a role for the likes of me, even better.

Let's make monsters. Let's make movies.

~ BILL OBERST JR 2011

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Contact "Bill Oberst Jr." at billoberstjr@gmail.com