“Jamie came out with something that was much more sensual,” he explained. Set loose from the expectation to match Bradley, Clayton brought new layers to the Priest, which opened up surprising storytelling avenues for Bruckner.

Bradley also portrayed Pinhead’s pre-Lament Configuration human form Captain Elliot Spencer in Hellraiser II and Hellraiser III. Bradley first played Pinhead in the 1987 original Hellraiser, directed by Barker, and continued in the role for the seven movies that followed, finally replaced by Stephan Smith Collins (with Fred Tatasciore providing Pinhead’s voice) for 2011’s Hellraiser: Revelations and by Paul T. “It was also a way for us to not replicate Doug Bradley’s incredible, iconic performance,” explained Bruckner. “We were never afraid of it,” he declared.įurthermore, the gender change allowed Clayton freedom away from previous film takes. For Bruckner, the decision has its roots in Barker’s work, as The Hellbound Heart “was suggestive of a female Pinhead, and the comic books also explored the idea.” Bruckner also points to fan art of female and non-binary versions of The Priest as sources of inspiration. “We always knew that made sense given the history of the franchise and the kinds of fans that have embraced it,” Bruckner told The Hollywood Reporter. But even as it became increasingly standard, the name always seemed like an ill-fitting title for the elegant character portrayed by Doug Bradley.įor those reasons, director David Bruckner had no qualms about casting Jamie Clayton as the Priest for his Hellraiser reboot, which comes to Hulu on October 7. But in an era of gimmicky slashers like Freddy, Leatherface, and Jason, the Priest needed a catchier sobriquet, and so he was dubbed Pinhead, much to Barker’s chagrin.

Any Clive Barker fan will be quick to point out that the iconic character from the beloved adaptation of the novel The Hellbound Heart is credited as Lead Cenobite, and known in the fiction as “the Priest,” a devotee of a dark, arcane religion.

The hellbound heart novel