28 Years Later star Ralph Fiennes on why his character may surprise fans

Yahoo

2 days ago

28 Years Later star Ralph Fiennes has revealed why his savage-looking character isn't what you'd expect.
Sitting on The One Show sofa on Monday, June 2 alongside singer Russell Watson, Fiennes happily divulged some details about his on-screen alter ego Dr. Kelson, who's smeared in blood and muck across the majority of the upcoming horror sequel's promotional material.
"I may look a bit scary but I'm actually a humanist," he told presenters Roman Kemp and Alex Jones.
Contextualising all we've seen from 28 Years Later so far via trailers and photos, the Conclave and Harry Potter actor began: "People who've seen the earlier films, 28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later, will know that this country has been hit by a disease and people are infected by Rage, and there are one or two survivors.
"I'm a survivor. I may look a bit scary but I'm actually a humanist - I'm a doctor in fact."
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The chatshow guest went on to share another quite surprising component of the movie.
"It's very scary and there are very scary elements as you would expect, but actually at its heart is a family story. The central dynamic is between a mother and son, and I end up attempting to help them."
Fiennes was also keen to wax lyrical about returning filmmaker Danny Boyle, who teamed up with 28 Days Later screenwriter Alex Garland for the project.
"He's incredibly positive and he brings out, not just of the actors but of the crew, a real willingness and a joy about being there, and his own excitement is very infectious," said the 62-year-old.
As the title suggests, the latest instalment in this post-apocalyptic franchise finds Britain almost three decades down the road since the simian-originated Rage virus turned huge swathes of the population into murderous 'infected'.
One group of survivors now lives on Holy Island, which is connected to the mainland by a heavily guarded causeway.
"When a father and his son leave the island on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, they discover the secrets, wonders and horrors of the outside world," teases a synopsis.
Co-starring is Jodie Comer as an amnesiac mum and wife named Isla, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as her scavenger husband Jamie, Alfie Williams as their son Spike, Jack O'Connell as cult leader Sir Jimmy Crystal, Erin Kellyman as Jimmy Ink, and Edvin Ryding as Swedish soldier Erik Sundqvist.
28 Years Later hits cinemas on Friday, June 20, while you can watch The One Show via BBC One and BBC iPlayer on weekdays from 7pm.