This week, when deciding our Huntingtonian of the week, many worthy names stood out; only one of those names has appeared in over 50 ending credit sequences however, actor Wally Dempsey. Appearing in Scragglepop commercials, short and feature films, and live stage productions, Wally is a former National Guardsman who is known for playing straight laced figures of authority.
When HNN’s Trey Cobb caught up with Dempsey for his HOTW interview, he was polishing brass fixtures for Foundry Theatre at Huntington City Hall, clearly happy and comfortable in his element near the stage. Here’s what he had to say to us:
Trey: How long you’ve been in Huntington?
Wally: Since 1991, when I came to Marshall to go to school, and I’ve been here ever since.
Trey: What was your first line of work when you moved to Huntington?
Wally: First line of work? A file clerk at the VA. I was in the National Guard during college and so they would give you part time jobs. And that was my first Huntington job yes, being a file clerk.
Trey: How long did you do that?
Wally: Not even a semester because it was so boring. I wanted to just chew my own hands off to get out of there. Eight hours a day of “here’s a stack of photos, put them in alphabetical order, put them in the filing cabinets. And when you’re done, we’ll have another pile for you. And when you’re done with that one, we have another pile for you,” It was before databasing and the internet, all this was in the early 90s. So everything was still paperwork.
Trey: How soon after that did you get involved in acting and theater? Or were you involved in that prior?
Wally: Around that time? Yeah, it was about that time I was a weird student as in, believe it or not speech class scared the hell out of me…finally had speech class. And it just so happened that my speech professor was also the drama Professor. Halfway through the speech class, he pulled me aside after one class and said, Hey, did you ever think about trying out for a play or taking any drama? And I said, No. And he said, Well, you’d be really good at it. And so he got me to take a bunch of drama classes and got me into some plays at school and…It got me into it seriously enough, I changed from a science background to a more liberal arts or video production. Should have went with the acting right off the bat, because I wasted a lot of time…not wasted. I learned so much. And I really wish I stuck with his advice and said, Hey, you should be an actor. Then I would say about 15 years ago, I said, Hey, I really enjoy this. You know, it’s the one thing in my life that I really enjoy that brings me joy and happiness, I’m going to keep doing it. And now it just seems like every year doing more. Now I’m helping a lot of the kids of Marshall, who have their film studies. And if anybody asks, I’m like sure, I’m good. I’ve made a couple short films myself. Don’t ask me how many I’ve been in. I have no idea and lost count a few years ago…50-75? Maybe…that shows you how much fun it is and how much I want to just keep doing it as much as possible.
Trey: I would say one of the areas in which you excel most on screen is your character work.
Wally: I do like characters. To me the most important thing is putting costume pieces on. If I can put a piece of a costume…growing beards and changing my hair and wearing odd clothing…but you might be able to see with the way I look and glasses and my body shape I end up typically being managers or lawyers, a doctor, things like that. Like, I want to play a crazy psychopathic hillbilly. Nope! You’re gonna be the store manager.
Trey: The short film “Charged” is being shown at the Mountaineer Film Festival this year and you’re in that. How did you come up with your southern accent? It is very distinctive and heavy.
Wally: That actually came from Richard (Sperry), talking about a couple of lines in there where he was like…I want you to knock on the door, “Well howdy there, sir!” And it just came out. I just suddenly hear every Smokey and the Bandit type southern sheriff type thing. I don’t know why I think that’s funny, probably because I grew up with it. But it just felt funny to be an annoying police officer with that voice trying to talk to someone…it’s just ridiculous.
Trey: What does the city of Huntington mean to you in terms of opportunity and what it’s given you?
Wally: The close knit community…first thing that popped in my head was family, but my family is not from here. I always equate that with the people that I’ve hung around with or worked with. Around here you really become sort of a family. There’s just this this kinship from such a small community…My family is from Mingo County, which I mean, one year in Mingo County is just like 10 years in West Virginia. It just comes from having that identity of being from West Virginia makes you want to strive a little harder, work a little harder, and really respect and pay attention to your comrades and partners around you. And that is just so refreshing. There’s more opportunities to help someone and have someone help you get your projects off the board than it is working against each other. There’s less competition here and more helpfulness…
Trey: Who are you? Without using your name.
Wally: Honestly, I can’t think of a “who”…the first thing that popped in my head was a magpie. I’ve always said, since we’re talking about acting, the way my acting technique is not a method actor. I’m a mimic. So who I am…I mimic what I see. Just a mere reflection. If someone wants me to play a certain part or character, I find something I can mimic. And that in essence is what somebody can see what acting is, you’re mimicking real life. I want to find that one instance in particular, mimic it for the film. So I don’t know why…I feel like if I was to describe myself as something…a magpie.
Wally Dempsey can be seen in the short film “Charged” available here: https://youtu.be/ LuZhUH8PFWw
And “Two Bits”, available here: https://youtu.be/VYGdfskhTag