Former teen idols Bonaduce, Williams play rivals in 'Bigfoot'

NEW YORK, June 29 (UPI) -- Barry Williams and Danny Bonaduce say they had a blast poking fun at their images as rival former teen idols while making the new Syfy creature feature "Bigfoot."

The actors, who grew up on the small-screen in classic sitcoms -- Williams in "The Brady Bunch" and Bonaduce in "The Partridge Family" -- have known each other for decades and even duked it out on the reality show "Celebrity Boxing" in 2002. They had cameos in the 2003 comedy feature, "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star."

In their latest collaboration, Bonaduce and Williams play former band-mates in South Dakota still sniping at each other years after an epic falling-out. When a huge, hairy monster wreaks havoc at an outdoor concert featuring Alice Cooper, Bonaduce's and Williams' characters clash over how the Sasquatch should be stopped.

Asked during a recent teleconference promoting the movie if it was an attraction to work with Williams specifically or whether he would have been just as happy to work with another ex-child star in "Bigfoot," Bonaduce said: "Barry and I, we are a part of a club that, by the way, gets smaller as time passes. But it was a small club to begin with.

"The only reason I would have ever said 'no' was if they asked me to do it with Corey Feldman. Shy of that, I'd have done it. But doing it with Barry Williams really meant something to me," Bonaduce, 52, told reporters. "I grew up a big fan [of his.] It's funny, I believe 'The Brady Bunch' came on right before 'The Partridge Family' and I was just the right age to be a fan. ... 'The Partridge Family,' I didn't really watch when it was on because I kind of knew what happened. I had spent all week working on it, but I was a huge fan of 'The Brady Bunch.' ... On the few things that Barry and I have done together, I've had nothing but the utmost respect for him. So it was cool for me that it was specifically Barry Williams."

Williams, who was also on the call with the media, added, "If it wasn't Danny Bonaduce, there was no movie.

"First of all, I feel that way," said Williams, 57. "But, also, Syfy itself told me, 'Look, if Danny doesn't do this, Barry, there's no movie.'"

"If I had only known I was that important," Bonaduce quipped.

"So, it was a package deal and that's the way it came down. And I think they had the right formula," Williams concluded.

Although the actors are seen running, jumping, flying and shooting in the flick, they said they did little physical preparation for their roles before director Bruce Davison yelled, "Action!" during the shoot in Washington state.

"Bruce's being able to direct on the absolute fly was amazing," Bonaduce told United Press International during the teleconference. "What I've seen of [the finished product,] he did an incredible job. But I must say for the intensity and you talk about actors and things like them having dressing rooms and fruit plates and stuff like that. None of that was going on. This was harsh. It was cold. It was muddy. We had to change the script all the time to accommodate the weather because this was supposed to be an outdoor festival. And all of a sudden snow came out of the sky from nowhere. So I would say the whole movie was a Bigfoot boot camp."

"I didn't do any particular training for it. I've been a hang-glider. I handled some guns. I do a little running, a little hiking. That's well within my, you know, everyday parameter. So just enduring the cold [was a challenge,]" Williams said.

"Bigfoot" is to air Saturday night on Syfy.