‘Laid to Rest’ Actor Nick Principe Brings Chromeskull to the World of Muay Thai [Interview]

Introduced in Robert Hall’s 2009 slasher Laid to Rest, intimidating villain Chromeskull cut a striking figure onscreen, with multi-pointed shark blades in each hand and a shiny skull mask sat atop his pitch black suit. Co-created by the man behind the mask, Nick Principe, Chromeskull has been absent from screens for the last fourteen years, though Hall attempted to craft a trilogy capper with Laid to Rest: Exhumed before his untimely death in 2021.

When we last caught up with Principe, he detailed plans to move the slasher into another medium with the upcoming comic book The Reflection of Fear. Now, he’s pushing the character further still, this time into the world of…Muay Thai fighting?!

Bloody Disgusting recently interviewed Principe and Valiant Training Center’s head coach/manager Jeff Peterson about Chromeskull’s newest ventures into the ring…and onto 100% cotton.

Bloody Disgusting: Nick, you’ve been a hardcore punk singer, a stuntman, an actor, a screenwriter, and a comic book creator. Why Muay Thai, and why now…?

Nick Principe: So during the SAG/WGA strike, I had an inconsolable depression. My family had lost around $40K-$50K from projects that were canceled, and that depression was rapidly shifting to rage. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was already casually training Muay Thai.

About seventeen years ago, I took a minor attempt at amateur MMA and had a couple fights, but at that time I had a major drug addiction. While you can get away with acting with a needle hanging out of your arm (for a long while, at least), it’s absolutely impossible to be a full-fledged heroin addict and try to fight, as hard as I did try.

So I knew what to expect in a ring/cage. I just said to myself, “Well, if I’m gonna break my nose and face, now’s the time to do it since we’re on strike.”

Also worth noting, I’m right-handed, but to challenge myself I was training as a southpaw…just to make things harder for myself. So I went to my coach at the time, this guy Eric, and said “I’d like to book an amateur fight.” I did it and won, quickly. So, high off my incredibly small win. I jokingly said to my coach “Well, it’s pretty clear, it’s time to go pro!” Completely joking. Eric dead-faced looked at me and said, “You will never fight pro. Ever.”

I laughed. He didn’t. Huh.

“So even if I totally dedicated all my time to this? Lived and breathed it?”

He said… “Get it out of your head and stick to movies.”

So, I asked some friends, some family what they thought. They all said, “You’re too old. It’ll never happen.”

Now, Eric didn’t know – but my friends and family should have known – being a singer? Being an actor/stuntman? That all was born from people laughing in my face, saying I couldn’t do it or was crazy for trying. Telling me I am not capable of doing something is a hardbound promise that I am in fact going to do “it,” or fucking die trying.

So my family should’ve known better, but Eric had no clue the absolute bonfire they all had lit. I shook his hand, wished him well. If I was going forward with this, he was definitely not the guy to coach me, so I started going to another gym.

At this new spot I shacked up with Waylon Jenkins, ex-pro MMA guy training out of a gym in El Cajon. I started going there religiously, two hours a day. While I wanted to train eighteen hours a day, having kids and bills make it real hard.

So we started taking fights. I’m doing really good, Waylon has me fighting properly, ditching the southpaw style and fighting orthodox. Nine amateur fights/smokers later – smokers are unsanctioned fights set up either between gyms, or within them – and while at the time, the best way to describe my style was “2am fight at a Waffle House,” I’m feeling really comfortable in a fight. It’s nothing like a “street fight,” but I’m dropping people half my age or getting the decision.

“I’m actually doing this, and I’m kinda good!” Well, problem – Waylon is moving to Utah.

Fack. He moves. It sucks.

At the same time, I’m offered a great role in a Theo Rossi/Ron Perlman movie called Dirty (directed by Tom DeNucci, coming soon to Tubi!), and I leave town for two weeks.

I come home and have a big think. For me to keep going, a few things need to fall into place. The gym needs to be fairly close. I live on a mountain, my schedule is tight, and when I tag my wife in to watch the kids, I have a fifteen minute window to get to the gym.

Also, I need a new coach. If you’re just looking to do Muay Thai/MMA to just get in shape, you can go anywhere. It doesn’t matter. Any one of these places will generally suit those needs.

But if you’re trying to do this, like really do this…a good coach is your teacher, your boss, your father figure, almost. You can’t or don’t just pick anyone. You gotta vibe. It’s not as simple as it seems like it should be.

So when I landed at Valiant’s doorstep. They didn’t know it, but they were my last chance left to see this through. If it didn’t work out? This whole thing is over. Sometimes life just doesn’t allow you to live the way you want. But it worked out.

I have passed on work/jobs, I have absolutely no social life. At 46, I’ve 100% dedicated myself to this.

‘Chromeskull Fight Club’

BD: Jeff, can you talk a bit about first taking on Nick as a pupil?

Jeff Peterson: I first started training Nick in the spring of 2024, I believe. He started coming to Valiant and taking my kickboxing and boxing classes. He fit right in to the vibe around the gym. We have similar tastes in music, so that helps.

BD: Were you aware of Nick’s work as an actor/writer/stuntman before working with him? Have you seen any of how work since, if not?

JP: All I knew about Nick was that he was a stuntman. I thought he was like an amateur stuntman or something, maybe he had been in some commercials. I was more interested in training Nick and making him a better martial artist more than I was interested in his day job. It probably took a good four or five months before I realized that dude is a horror movie legend! It was definitely a trip to see Chromeskull cutting faces off knowing that’s Nick.

BD: Nick, have there been any drawbacks to starting out this kind of career later in life?

NP: The drawbacks are literally trying to mentally break me!

Because I’m 46 years old, I have to get a litany of medical clearances to get my license to fight. In proper fights, not the BS I’ve been doing. It is utterly insane.

All the three letter procedures – EKG, MRI – and a bunch I’ve never heard of. Since my gym doesn’t exactly get many middle aged guys trying to fight professionally, we all found out the hard way about the medical requirements.

So for the past two months I’ve been getting all this BS set up. It’s a giant bitch. But, I’ve come this far. I’m not stopping until I physically can’t.

BD: Jeff, what were some of the specific challenges you faced in taking Nick on and training him?

JP: There’s always going to be challenges with a new student. Nick already had a lot of prior training before starting to work with me. The big challenge working with someone who already has habits ingrained in them is the unlearning of the bad habits.

BD: What are his strengths and weaknesses as a fighter?

JP: Strengths: height, length, light on the feet, good movement, good variety. Weaknesses…bad music is like Kryptonite for Nick. Play some bad music and he’ll just fall apart.

BD: How far do you want to go, Nick? How long do you see yourself fighting?

NP: Well, believe it or not, I’m not delusional here. I know my limitations. I know MMA is off the table. In no way, shape or form am I thinking, “If I do good, the UFC will call.” Absolutely not. Not even close. That is impossible. I’m too old and I don’t have anywhere near the grappling skill even if I was younger.

But Muay Thai, Glory kickboxing, karate combat – these are hard, but they’re not impossible.

Shit, me and coach already have BKFC [Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship] lined up. I want two more proper Muay Thai fights, then I’m 100% doing BKFC by late summer.

Sooo, I really need to get my license as soon as possible. I figure I have four to six years, tops. And that’s if there are no big injuries. One big injury, and it’s all over. There would be no “Take a year off,” it’d be totally over. But I know all that going into it. I’m cool with it.

‘Chrome Balboa’

BD: Jeff, how much potential does Nick have as a fighter, and how far do you think he can go?

JP: Nick has the potential to take fighting as far as his skills and work ethic will take him. We haven’t fought together yet, so I haven’t really seen what he can do in the ring under the bright lights yet. Our plan is to take it as far as we can. We’re gonna get a couple amateur wins and then see if we can make a pro run afterwards.

BD: Nick, will you continue to work in the other areas we know you for?

NP: That’s hard to say, it really is. Most of my life, I try to have five to six projects, sometimes in different mediums. Whichever one is getting the most attention or I’m having fun with, I’m gonna put my focus on it, and the other stuff goes to the side.

When this was popping off, I was prepping a fundraiser for a film I’d written and was passionate about. I’ve got the Chromeskull comic, which is taking years, if I’m being honest. It’s such a chore, and I really don’t want to do a crowd-funder. I really don’t. So it’s gonna be a minute.

Then auditions and writing gigs.

But as of right now, the way I see it, I have a burning fuse over my head. This isn’t something I can stop and pick up and try again in a few years. It’s now or never, so I’m doing everything I can to be the best that I can be.

BD: Now the big question for horror fans – why bring Chromeskull into the mix with your burgeoning fighting career?

NP: Ahhh, the fight game and nicknames.

You cannot give yourself a nickname. If you could, there would be a shit ton of people called “Laser” or effin’ “Knife” or some faux badass shit. It’s gotta happen organically, or not at all.

Now, I don’t exactly walk around telling anyone who will listen what I do for a living, or past roles. I’d mentioned early on to my present gym that I work in entertainment, but that’s pretty broad? I don’t like saying I’m an actor. People treat you differently, usually for the wrong reasons. So I avoid it.

I’m known for playing a masked role, so you kinda gotta be a big horror fan to know who I am. And that’s awesome to me. Because being recognized by strangers is weird, and I’ll never get used to it. But it seldom happens anyway.

It wasn’t until months later it came out that I’d played some slashers and monsters, and the entire gym was just kinda like, “Yep. You’re Chromeskull, like it or not!” So I embraced it.

Then, after an especially heated and violent sparring session. Mark said I was “Pretty fucking dangerous.”

So that’s it. “Chromeskull – Nick ‘Pretty Fucking Dangerous’ Principe.” It’s got charm, ha. It rolls well.

And always keeping it true to horror, I walk out to the Halloween theme…but with a twist. You’ll have to see it to understand.

But I really want to thank all my coaches for believing in me, and truly making me feel supported. And a huge colossal shoutout to my wife! From leaving work early, to helping with tech, to taking the kids to work with her and never complaining. I’m so blessed to have this woman, and absolutely without her support none of this could happen. I can’t believe how much she supports me. Considering how ridiculous the whole thing is?! Grown-ass man taking up pro fighting…at middle age? Most wives would just laugh at that, and with good reason. She’s just the best. She’s my heart. Always.

BD: Tell us about the merch! Chromeskull fans are sadly underserved when it comes to cool stuff to buy, what can they look forward to now due to your new career?

NP: To mark this special occasion of entering the fight game, and to help pay the staggering medical fees of the license, I got my incredibly talented friends Tom “The Dude Designs” Hodge and Alan Robert (Beauty of Horror artist, bass player for Life of Agony) to each design a shirt for me. I can’t thank them enough for helping me.

Tom did the Chrome Balboa shirt in black or hot pink, and it’s available in a crewneck sweatshirt.

Alan did the *sick* Chromeskull Fight Club shirt, available in black or gray. He even got the tattoos and everything!

Check them out here.

BD: What’s next for you?

NP: So I have that Tubi film that’s dropping soon-ish, some writing gigs, but my focus is the fight. I need my license by March at the latest, with a fight to follow in April in San Diego.

Huge thanks to Bloody for always having my back and support through the years. Even if I didn’t do what I do, they have always been my favorite source for horror news and it’s always a true honor.

Say “Hi!” at Bluesky (@Nickdachrome). I’ll post updates there.

From Left to Right: Valiant manager/Head Coach Jeff Peterson, Striking Coach Mark Anthony Keene, Boxing Coach Kim Peterson, Nick Principe (Photo by Maritza Garcia)

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