By Joe Puccio

Best known for his chilling turn as Malachai in 1984’s supernatural slasher hit Children of the Corn, it may be slightly surprising to some that Courtney Gains has carved out quite an eclectic career for himself since appearing in the seminal shocker. A variety of parts in non-genre fare ranging from science fiction classic Back to the Future to romantic teen comedy Can’t Buy Me Love to the small screen’s mystery/drama procedural Monk has solidified Gains as an adept maverick in an industry that’s easy to be typecast in a one-dimensional manner. A one trick pony he is not.

This versatile dynamic extends even beyond the performer’s dramatic capacities in the form of another of his artistic endeavors – music. “If you go to my IMDb page and type in ‘categories,’ you’ll see that I have thrillers, comedies, dramas, and so on. You can’t say I’m just a horror guy,” Gains clarified, during a recent conversation with Generation X Wire. “People have a hard time categorizing me and my ability as a character actor is that I can do many things. That’s how I made the transition from being a teen actor to an adult one. Regarding my music, I don’t try to write a jazz tune, a folk tune, or a country tune. I write from mood and base it on whatever’s going on in my subconscious.”

Gains’ interest in the auditory arts began right around the same time that he discovered acting. However, he considered the two activities to be rather distinctive from each other. “I looked at acting as a profession, and I prepared for it as such,” he explained. “I started taking guitar lessons at 13 but I never considered it to be an occupation for me, so my approach was far different. Within a year of learning chords, I started writing, and that’s what I really grew to love – crafting songs.”

A situation that is surely relatable to many, the pandemic in 2020 caused Gains to reflect on his life, accomplishments, and his own mortality. Writing his own music for an astounding 40 years by that point, the Angeleno decided it was finally the right time to share some of it with the public. “I moved to Savannah, Georgia, and there’s a fantastic music scene out here with a lot of opportunities. Between that and the technology that’s available now, the door opened and I’ve been building on that,” he offered. “The next step is putting out a full album early next year.”

Gains has already released two EPs – 2018’s Acoustic Gains Vol. 1, followed by Safe Haven, a six-track amalgamation of rock, folk, country, Americana, and even some psychedelia, five years later. Like the diverse assortment of roles he has portrayed since breaking into show business at 19, the talented renaissance man fully admits his sonic style is hard to narrow down. “I don’t try to write like anybody because to me, that’s not the definition of an artist. Some people can be very proficient as a musician, but they can’t find their own voice,” he contended. “It took me a long time to find mine and it took me a while to feel ready to put it out there but I’m at that point in my life and career now.”

“Fear the Boogie,” Gains’ latest single, is a collaboration with acclaimed Peruvian guitarist/producer Wal. A clear departure in both sound and tone from his previous recordings, the track is a dark, moody, heavy metal banger.

“Right around the time I was filming my new movie, The Barn III, Wal, who was in my band for about a year, bought a seven-string guitar with a drop D – perfect for metal,” he shared. “Then last year when I was doing the rounds all over the world for the 40^th anniversary of (Children of the) Corn, the film ended up at the Sitges Film Festival, which is a really big deal. While it was being screened, the host told me that when he was a kid, he and his friends called me the Boogie Man of Barcelona.” The Spanish city, approximately 30 minutes from Sitges, combined with the made-up moniker inspired by Gains’ ghastly depiction of Malachai, resulted in the hauntingly intricate composition. “I wanted to write a song for the movie, we banged it out, and “Fear the Boogie” was born.”

It’s difficult to imagine Children of the Corn without its core cast of Linda Hamilton, Peter Horton, John Franklin, and, of course, Gains. However, when discovering the circumstances in which Gains secured the coveted role, one would be hard pressed to believe he was even considered at all after his highly unconventional audition for the picture based on Stephen King’s 1977 short story of the same name.

“I brought a fake knife with me that day,” Gains remembered. “I put it right under the casting director’s (Jeff Greenberg) throat quickly before he could tell it wasn’t real. The director (Fritz Kiersch) could see it was fine. Jeff went on to become a very famous casting director who often tells the story of what not to do during an audition, which is to pull a knife on someone,” he continued, laughing. Although Gains read for Greenberg for other parts after that, he was, perhaps unsurprisingly, never cast again by the scout. “I scared him to death,” he added, matter-of-factly.

While clearly appreciative of the ample opportunities that Children of the Corn and its success afforded him, Gains was mature enough at a young age to not simply rest on his laurels, especially considering the visceral reactions that the film evoked. “I pushed back on it immediately because I wasn’t ready for how I instantly became recognized everywhere. But not just getting noticed. Recognized in a way where kids would see me and go crying to their parents,” he smiled. “It made me really self-conscious back then. People would tell me how I gave them nightmares. It really speaks to the power of cinema.”

Gains’ decision to never play the same character twice and to branch out into new directions was one that he is still thankful for making today. “It was one of the wiser decisions that I made at that age because I wound up having a hit in every genre with very different types of characters. It established me in other parts,” he acknowledged. “I didn’t want to just play Malachai for the rest of my life.”

Although it’s been over 40 years since Children of the Corn terrified filmgoers, Gains believes it still holds up quite well. “I always thought the special effects at the end were terrible, even for the ‘80s,” he joked. “I think it’s really relatable for kids. Every new generation of teenagers who discover it like it. It speaks of rebellion. And that’s never going away.”

Currently, Gains is focused on finishing his full-length record, tentatively titled Wandering Dream, in addition to hopefully touring to support it. “The goal is to go out on the road next year, which isn’t an easy thing to accomplish. The music business is tougher to figure out than the film industry,” he opined. The actor’s plate is full regarding his future cinematic offerings as well. “I have Infernal coming out, which is a raunchy metal horror comedy,” he stated. “I made a cameo in something called October 31^st.  And The Barn III is the biggest since it’s part of a pretty well-known franchise.”

And while Children of the Corn’s ruby anniversary is now in the rear-view mirror, the pivotal milestone is right around the corner for Can’t Buy Me Love, in 2027. “I’d like to pivot to ‘80s and ‘90s Comic Con-type shows to explore some of the other stuff. We’re already partnering up with some people to see if we can get a reunion going for that,” Gains commented. “It’ll be something fun and different for me that I’d enjoy doing.”

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