Astronomicon 8 in Ypsilanti Boasts Star-Studded Lineup

March 19, 2025

Even though he is best known for his roles in “The Lost Boys,” “Rush,” “Geronimo: An American Legend,” and “Sleepers,” actor Jason Patric would rather be on the stage.

“I prefer the stage. It’s live and visceral and it’s not boring,” said Patric, who appeared on Broadway in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “That Championship Season.”

Patric will make his debut at Astronomicon 8 from April 4-6 at its new venue, the Ann Arbor Mariott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest. Its previous home was in Burton Manor in Livonia.

“I’ve had the honor of being a guest every year at Astronomicon since its inception, and if I have my druthers this will be the case forever, as it always offers one of the best convention experiences in the whole country with its combined celebration of pop culture, music, comics and horror,” said prolific comic book author Dirk Manning.

Patric and Manning are two of many guests at this year’s con. Also appearing are Lou Diamond Phillips (“La Bamba”), Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong fame, Detroit native Bruce Campbell (the “Evil Dead” franchise), Doug Bradley (the “Hellraiser” franchise), Theo Rossi (“The Penguin”), Jason Lee (“My Name is Earl”), Ethan Suplee (“Remember the Titans”), Ian Cardoni (“Rick and Morty”), among many others.

Born John Anthony Miller III in New York City, Patric is the eldest son and middle child of Oscar nominee Jason Miller (“The Exorcist”), who was also a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, and actress Linda Gleason (“One Summer Love”). Patric is the grandson of Hollywood legend Jackie Gleason, alias “The Great One,” best known as Ralph Kramden on “The Honeymooners.”

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Patric’s first role was in the 1985 telefilm “Toughlove,” where Oscar nominee Bruce Dern (“Nebraska”) and Oscar nominee Lee Remick (“Days of Wine and Roses”) played his parents. He made his feature film debut in 1986’s “Solarbabies,” co-starring Lukas Haas (“Witness”) and Jami Gertz (“Less Than Zero”).

His breakthrough role (and arguably his best known role) came with 1987’s “The Lost Boys,” a vampire movie directed by Joel Schumacher (“St. Elmo’s Fire”) with an ensemble cast that included Gertz, Kiefer Sutherland (“Young Guns”), Edward Hermann (“Gilmore Girls”), Billy Wirth (“Judicial Consent”), Oscar winner Dianne Wiest (“Hannah and her Sisters”), Corey Feldman (“The Goonies”), and Corey Haim (“Murphy’s Romance”). This marked the first movie Feldman and Haim worked together and became known as the Two Coreys. “The Lost Boys” was a critical and commercial success, grossing $32 million against an $8.5 million budget. It spawned a franchise consisting of two low-budget sequels and a comic book series.

Patric played Michael Emerson, who moved into Santa Carla, CA with his mom (Wiest) and brother Sam (Haim). He falls for Star (Gertz) and crosses paths with local gang leader David (Sutherland), both of whom are vampires. After drinking wine (which was really vampire blood), Michael develops vampiric tendencies and must kill the head vampire (Hermann) in order to become human again.

“(Vampires represent) sex and death – two things that keep us going,” said Patric.

“The Lost Boys” still holds up to this day, according to Patric.

“What makes it hold up is all the talented people involved,” he said. “It wasn’t just a cheap little horror film – it had unbelievable production design, the cinematographer (Michael Chapman) who’d done (1980’s) ‘Raging Bull’ and (1976’s) ‘Taxi Driver,’ you had very good young actors who were all individual with their personalities. Joel Schumacher pulled it all together; he let everyone express what they wanted to express. He made a very fun, stylish scary movie, and those movies don’t exist today.”

Patric noted that “The Lost Boys” influenced “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its spinoff “Angel.”

“The (vampire) makeup hadn’t been done before,” he said. “It’s an accentuated, physical version of your cheeks and chin in an evil way. The ‘Buffy’ makeup is identical to it.”

Patric portrayed Det. Jim Raynor in 1991’s “Rush,” alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh (“Single White Female”). Based on Kim Wozencraft’s novel of the same name, Patric and Leigh play two undercover police officers in the 1970s attempting to take down drug dealers. As a result, they become drug addicts themselves.

“I played a drug addict who’s spiraling downward in addiction with all this violence surrounding him,” said Patric.

Filming “Rush” took a toll on Patric.

“(I) had to deal with all that emotional turmoil my character’s going through. Yeah, that was a rough five months,” he recalled.

In 1996, Patric starred in “Sleepers,” alongside Oscar winner Robert DeNiro (“Raging Bull”), Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (“Kramer vs. Kramer”), Oscar winner Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), Oscar nominee Minnie Driver (“Good Will Hunting”), Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon (“Taking Chance”), Ron Eldard (“Black Hawk Down”), et al. Directed by Oscar winner Barry Levinson (“Rain Man”), “Sleepers” received critical acclaim and commercial success, grossing $165.6 million against a $44 million budget.

“Sleepers” is based on Lorenzo Carcaterra’s bestselling 1995 book of the same name. Patric plays Carcaterra, who narrates the film, which is based on true events. In Hell’s Kitchen circa 1967, several boys steal a hot dog cart and roll it down the subway stairs, severely injuring a man. They are subsequently sentenced to serve time as a juvenile detention center called the Wilkinson Home for Boys in upstate New York. There, they are repeatedly subjected to sexual abuse by the guards.

“It’s Barry Levinson who collected that cast of people,” said Patric. “It was this large, epic soiree. Being born in New York and coming from New York, I liked being part of it. Working with those guys, whenever you’re working with people who are committed to their parts, that just makes it easier for you.”

Asked if he minded being remembered for “The Lost Boys,” Patric stated that’s not up to him. Each role is different because they represent different parts of his life.

“People remember what they want to remember,” he explained. “My life is much richer than the things I’ve done to be limited that way, but they’ve also enriched my life. People want to see me as that, they can. But it also depends where. If I’m in New York or somewhere, people come up to me and talk to me about theater. Whatever their experiences are with what you do, that’s theirs. They should be able to have it.”