![Chris Jericho on Channeling Randall Flagg and Wrestling with Horror in ‘Dark Match’ [Interview]](https://i0.wp.com/bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/darkmatch-jericho.jpg?resize=1000%2C600&ssl=1 "Chris Jericho on Channeling Randall Flagg and Wrestling with Horror in ‘Dark Match’ [Interview]")
With significant runs in every major wrestling promotion from ECW to WCW to WWE and now AEW, Chris Jericho has done it all in the wrestling ring — but it wasn’t until his new role in Shudder’s Dark Match that he led a Satanic cult in a series of literal death matches.
I sat down with the reigning ROH World Champion to discuss playing Dark Match‘s evil prophet, the similarities between wrestling and horror, channeling one of Stephen King‘s deadliest villains, and joining the Terrifier franchise.
Dark Match came to Jericho as an offer — the part was his if he wanted it, no audition necessary — but he was apprehensive about doing a movie about wrestling.
“I didn’t want to do wrestling movies. I’ve been wrestling enough. Most wrestling movies aren’t any good,” he admits. “But then I saw that Lowell Dean was the director and writer. I was a fan of his from the Wolf Cop movies, so I thought, ‘Well, let me give it a read.’”
Upon reading the script, he quickly realized Dark Match was more than the typical wrestling-horror mashup. “I just really loved the character, the depths of the story, the twists and turns that it took. Once I kind of took my own head out of my ass, I realized this is pretty fucking cool, and it really is up my alley in every single way.”
In order to embody evil as the mysterious Prophet, Jericho drew inspiration from Randall Flagg from Stephen King’s The Stand.
“When I saw the wardrobe, with the big hat and the Western duster overcoat, it really struck me as The Walkin’ Dude, Randall Flagg, from The Stand. I really liked that relation. I thought there was a real connection there with The Prophet and The Walkin’ Dude, so that’s where I wanted to take it.
“If you know Randall Flagg, he is basically evil personified on Earth. He’s very calm, but he’s also completely batshit crazy when the time comes and will have no problem devouring one of his followers if they don’t bring him the right type of coffee or something, and treating it completely normal. That really helped me lock into what the character was.”
While Jericho was of course never involved in a ritualistic sacrifice, Dark Match reminded him of his early days on the indie wrestling circuit.
“Something I really liked about the movie is how Lowell was able to capture small-time wrestling. For a guy that’s not in the wrestling business, he really nailed it with the van and traveling together through desert roads where there’s no services for 200 kilometers. Sorry, Canadian,” he smiles.
“I’ve been there, I’ve done that. Lowell really fucking nailed the wrestling business, and it’s very hard and rare to do that. The only other time I’ve ever seen that in any wrestling movie was in The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke, where Darren Aronofsky really got that right.”
In addition to appearing on screen, Jericho earned an executive producer credit on the film by lending his expertise to ensure the wrestling aspects of the story were as accurate as possible.
“For me to really want to be involved, I have to believe in the project, and I really believed in this project. Especially since I’ve been in the business for so long, I’m very sensitive to when people don’t understand it but think they do,” he says.
“Lowell really nailed it. I got a real respect for him. He did his research to get it right.”
Sharing intense scenes opposite Steven Ogg as fan-favorite wrestler “Mean” Joe Lean reminded Jericho of his iconic WWE debut.
“I’m a fan of Steven from ‘Walking Dead’ as Negan’s guy, Simon. Obviously I’ve been acting for 34 years in wrestling, but in the movies I’m 10 or 12 in. My very first scene in Dark Match was when the leader comes out on the balcony and Steven is there. I hadn’t even met him yet. Nobody knows what Chris Jericho can do on set, and there’s Stephen Ogg, who I’m a fan of.”
He adds, “It reminded me of my first night at WWE in Chicago, the famous debut. It’s like, ‘You better be good, because this is it. Everyone’s watching you. Alright, Mr. Jericho, you think you’re some kind of hotshot? Prove it!’
“No one said that to me on set, but that’s what I was thinking. Steven Ogg is there. Lowell Dean is there. I better be great on my first take. It was very intimidating, but then after that was out of the way, what a great actor and what a great guy Steven is.
“We had so much fun on that set. It was December in Edmonton. Where we filmed, it was literally in the middle of nowhere, wind blowing, snow everywhere, fucking cold as shit — so it’s good to have some friends on set, and he’s a guy still keep in touch with.”
The pressure helped to elevate Jericho’s performance. “I know this is the real deal. I felt that way when I did the movies with Kevin Smith. It’s like, ‘This is Kevin Smith, man. He’s directed Ben Affleck. He’s directed Val Kilmer. He’s directed George Carlin.’”
He explains, “I think that really does make you a better actor. You’re only as good as the production that you’re in. It’s like a wrestling match. You’re only as good as the person that you’re in the ring with, and the better the people you work with, the better you’re going to be.”
Dark Match is not Jericho’s first foray into a horror, having previously played psychiatric hospital orderly Burke in Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3, the latter coming in a stroke of fate thanks to a certain James Wan production.
“Terrifier 2, the end scene with myself and Leah Voysey, where we’re sitting there in the lobby of the mental institution and there’s a scream, that whole scene was originally about 10 minutes long,” Jericho recalls.
“It involved me and Leah fighting Victoria, and Leah getting her fingers bitten off, and blood in my face, and food being thrown, and an actual choreographed fight where, at the very end, Victoria’s face turns around and it’s Art’s face on the back of her head.
“That was the end of the movie. Leah is done. Victoria is done. Burke is done. We move forward.”
He continues, “The problem was it took such a long time for the movie to be released that Malignant came out in the meantime. Damien [Leone, writer/director] called me saying he’s got to reshoot the ending. I was like, ‘Oh well, cutting room floor for me. At least we tried.’
“He came up with a new idea where Victoria gives birth to Art’s head. Suddenly in Terrifier 3, Burke is back. Victoria is the second lead in the movie. That never would have happened if there was no Malignant.”
Jericho takes pride in his small part in modern horror history. “It was awesome. Very quick part, but it was a great part. What a great experience to be killed with my face viciously ripped off while I’m literally behind the camera watching.
“To be in the number one movie in America, that’s amazing. That’s like having a gold record. I never expected that.”
Despite showing no signs of slowing down in the wrestling ring, Jericho is interested in exploring more acting opportunities in the future.
“I had a really good fiscal year. I filmed two movies for a Hallmark offshoot [Country Hearts and Country Hearts Christmas]. I did the two horror movies, number one movie in America, all the the pomp and circumstance for Dark Match right now, and I got absolutely nothing on the books afterwards. But that’s the acting world,” he acknowledges.
“I’ve been interested in it for years. Over the last few years, I’ve been getting some great parts, and you can’t take anything for granted. Any offer that you get, that is like Manna from Heaven. I will take any offer that I get that has some sort of cool factor to it and some sort of creativity behind it.”
Dark Match certainly fits that description for Jericho. “I really like this film because I’m a horror fan, I’m a wrestling fan, I’m a fan of good movies, so it ticks all those boxes.”
He adds, “It reminds me of ‘The Walking Dead,’ and ‘Walking Dead’ is not really a zombie show; it’s a show about the collapse of society with zombies as a background. This is not a wrestling movie; it’s about people trying to survive a Satanic cult with wrestling as a backdrop.
“If you like wrestling, you’ll like this movie because it respects wrestling. If you like horror, you’ll like this movie because it’s batshit crazy with some great gore, some great kills, a great script, great characters. It really does have all of the things you could want in a movie.”
Dark Match debuts on Shudder on January 31.
