In the horror film, Bury the Bride, Chaz Bono plays Puppy, a man of few words who is hiding a terrifying secret when he crashes a bachelorette party with friends including the groom-to-be. The film, directed by Spider One, was also produced by Bono, whose credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm and American Horror Story. The actor is also the son of Cher and Sonny Bono and in 2000, after previously coming out as gay, his publicist confirmed he was transitioning from female to male. Bono wrote two books: Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families (1998) and the memoir, The End of Innocence (2003) and participated in a documentary about his experience in Becoming Chaz, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Bono spoke to us on Zoom.

What can you tell us about your new film and your role in it?

I’m going to be vague about it, not to ruin anything, but it’s about a group of women that are away together for a bachelorette weekend, staying at the groom’s family home, and you get the feeling when they get there that things just don’t look quite right, and they aren’t going to go well. Then the groom and his friends show up and things start to go a little crazy, which is all I can say. My character, Puppy, doesn’t speak for probably 90% of the film, and then he gets to tell his story.

When did you first discover your love of horror movies?

I think one of my favorite memories is being with my grandmother and her boyfriend, who I adored, and watching The Exorcist with them when I was probably nine or ten. I talked them into it, and I was really scared afterwards but I loved it and love working in the genre. I like playing weird, creepy characters and as an actor, the genre gives you so many different types of roles to play.

When did you first catch the acting bug?

When I was 14, I started taking acting classes at Strasberg (Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute). Then I auditioned and went to a performing arts high school (Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York) as a drama major. In my senior year, I got cast in a Midsummer’s Night Dream playing a male part and it was the first time I ever felt like I totally knew what I was doing and was comfortable with the character. Obviously, I did not know why at that time, but I do now.

Did your parents encourage you to act?

I was having a rough time in the eighth grade and didn’t have a lot of friends in school so my mom had this idea that I should go to Strasberg and take an acting class. It’s one of her favorite stories because in her memory, I didn’t want to go. I remember not wanting to go, but she makes it seem like I was refusing to go, which is not true. (laughs) But she did say, ‘look, just go once, if you hate it, you don’t have to go back.’ And, of course, I went and had a great time.

You shot the film in the Lancaster desert area outside L.A. What were the biggest challenges?

We dealt with a lot of wind, so that was very tricky every night to battle with. And then we had some pest issues, so while we were shooting, there were these kind of ‘attack’ spiders and weird beetles everywhere. Krsy Fox (the film’s star) is terrified of spiders. It’s hysterical her partner (the director) is named Spider!

How was your experience working with Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm?

I auditioned for the part, and I was just excited to do improv with Larry in the audition even if I never got the part.  It’s a very different way to work because everything is improv, so your script comes and it’s just a description of the scenes, but there’s no dialogue. I’m happy with the way it turned out.

What did it mean to you to be cast in Ryan Murphy’s show,  American Horror Story?

When I was getting absolutely nowhere fast in my career and couldn’t get arrested, I had a good scene in a not great film called Dirty and I remember thinking ‘if I could just get that to Ryan Murphy, I bet he would give me a shot.’ And it took me a few years, but we were finally able to get that to Ryan and he offered me a part in the Roanoke season and then I got to come back for Cult.

Is it true you went to high school with Jennifer Aniston?

Yes, it was a performing arts high school, and we had a pretty successful class and we’re still good friends. I was on American Horror Story with both Sarah Paulson and Adina Porter who also graduated from my high school, so it was cool to have three alumni on set.

Tubi Original “Bury the Bride” debuting Across North America on April 21, 2023.