Lee Majors and Bruce Campbell are Ash vs. Evil Dead’s feisty father and son

Matt Klitscher/Starz
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Fill 1
September 15, 2016
In The Mix

Back in Action

The bionic man who bulldozed through bad guys finds a new identity on Ash vs. Evil Dead.

Bruce Fretts

Get this straight: a likeness of Lee Majors was never turned into a doll.

“A lot of people say, ‘I had your doll when I was a kid,’” says the veteran of ABC’s The Six Million Dollar Man. “I correct them and say, ‘No, it was an action figure .’”

Majors is still getting a piece of the action, joining the cast of Starz’s horror-comedy Ash vs. Evil Dead in its second season, playing the father of the titular zombie killer (Bruce Campbell). “I’d heard of it, but I hadn’t seen any of the shows,” he admits. “Before I started work on it, I sat through all 10 episodes at one time and was thoroughly entertained. I didn’t realize it had so much humor. I love that.”

The TV landscape has changed considerably since Majors made a name for himself more than 50 years ago as rough-and-tumble cowboy Heath Barkley on The Big Valley, but some lessons he learned from its legendary star, Barbara Stanwyck, still apply. “She was like a mentor to me, and I’ll always be grateful for that,” he says. “She taught me to be on time, know your lines, hit your mark and shut your mouth.”

Starting in 1973, his Six Million Dollar Man role as astronaut–turned– bionic superhero Steve Austin (and his tabloid-magnet marriage to Farrah Fawcett) shot his career into the stratosphere. “The paparazzi were pretty strong back then, but now it’s all selfies,” he says. “I don’t do social media, Twitter and all that stuff. I’ve got better things to do.”

That includes performing some of his action sequences on Ash vs. Evil Dead. Who would expect anything less from the star who played stuntman Colt Seavers on ABC’s The Fall Guy from 1981 to ‘86? On Ash, “there were some scenes that were a little tough to do, because I have one bad knee — it probably needs some new bionic parts.”

He adds: “Bruce and I have a bull-riding competition that’s hilarious.”  But that wasn’t his favorite stunt: “One of the funniest scenes is when I try to make out with Lucy Lawless at a bar. You can see where Ash gets all his  charm and sense of humor — and gets all the ladies.”

Once they started working together, Majors and Campbell found they  had a mutual-admiration society. “I’ve been a fan of Bruce’s since Burn  Notice,” Majors says. “I don’t know if I got used to him calling me Pop, but it was just a delight.”

Actually, Majors doesn’t mind taking on older characters — he once played God on According to Jim.

“It’s an actor’s dream to get to a certain age where you can do all these different roles,” he says. “Playing in a series, you keep the same look and the same clothes for years. I remember, on the Six Million Dollar Man, running through the forest with bell-bottom pants swinging and catching on branches. It seemed so silly, but that was the style of the ‘70s.”

And while Million’s Steve Austin was frequently seen running in slow motion, Majors shows no signs of slowing down. ”What else would I do?” he asks. “It keeps me young.”


This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, Issue No. 8, 2016

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