WHEN MOST people see Mason Gooding this month, it'll be on the big screen for Scream VI, his second tussle with Ghostface as part of the new "requel" iteration of the long-running slasher whodunit franchise. He plays Chad Meeks-Martin, part of the self-proclaimed "core four" (also including characters played by Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, and Jasmin Savoy Brown). Most of his role, takes place, predictably, under duress; fear of being stabbed by a knife-wielding lunatic is A1, yes, but surely a romance with Tara (Ortega, who has quickly become one of the industry's buzziest and most exciting stars), causes some youthful anxiety as well.
There's not a hint of that sheepishness in Gooding when he's walking shirtless through the halls of his Men's Health photoshoot, though, flashing a big smile and starting a gregarious conversation with anyone he comes in contact with. He's just finished modeling the best denim looks of the season for MH, and, within a moment, will be wearing his own clothes: a Guns N' Roses T-shirt and his best pair of jeans.
"Guns N Roses is a favorite," he says, covering his tracks for now. "But I have a bunch of shirts for bands, embarrassingly, that don't have music I listen to as much. I try to keep every band to one I at least am familiar with, so it's never a question of like, Oh, are you a fan of them? Or do you just the way the t-shirt looks? We know the answer is always the latter. But I like to indoctrinate myself, somewhat, into the fan base to at least contribute in that way."
OK, fair enough. Gooding, 26, has the kind of personality where he's so positive, so charming, and so seemingly into everything, that you'll find yourself agreeing with him on just about anything. Luckily, that wasn't too necessary; Gooding is a huge Scream fan, and found himself talking with the biggest Scream fan on the Men's Health staff.
When it comes to Scream, horror movies, and those Marvel rumors that just won't quit, we had questions—and he had answers.
Men's Health: Having now been in both Scream and Scream VI, what is it like to be attacked by a maniac in a Ghostface mask?
Mason Gooding: Specifically as it relates to the fifth one, I would say because of the nature of my altercation it was incredibly stressful and tiresome—because he pops out and chases me down. And I noticed how physically taxing it was to get chased. I was like, oh, I don't want this for anybody. This sucks. You're running, and you try to match your adrenaline in those moments to how it would be in real life.
We would do one or two takes, and I like to think I'm a pretty in-shape guy. It wasn't until I would get to take three or four that I was like, wow, this is hard. And I'm sweating. There were a few times where the makeup artist would come over to spray me down for more sweat, and she was like, Well, you don't need it. If anything, I can offer you a towel.
Before we get to the new movie, let's start with last year's—Scream (2022). Was the ending we saw the only one that was filmed?
The decision to end the movie with those survivors was always the plan. What altered even prior to us filming but as late as my arrival in North Carolina, was that Chad, my character, was supposed to be dead. It was made clear to me that at some point from when they started pre-production to the actual first day of filming, they had decided that Chad would stick around, which is nice.
It's also, a weird point of catharsis—because it felt like they had saved a life in doing so, which is such an actor/pretentious head-up-your-own-butt type of thing to say. Not to segue into the new movie, but that level of gratitude and appreciation of life in general is not lost on Chad, nor is it lost on me; he was literally supposed to be dead and then is very much alive and kicking.
I'm glad you went there. Did you think Chad was dead, even when you were filming that scene? Because it sure felt like he was dead.
They cut down the amount of times I was stabbed in that sequence from what it was originally.