British thespian Idris Elba may be waist-deep in blood and up to his neck in religious phenomena in The Reaping (opening April 5th from Warner Bros./Dark Castle), however, things have gone full-tilt apocalyptic for him in Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s 28 Weeks Later. “In [‘Weeks’] I don’t see anything like what I see in ‘The Reaping’ at all, my character [Stone] is confined in a bunker – I play a General. He stays there and watches everything from bunkers, so I don’t get to see any zombie work, I was a bit mad about that. I stand by the red telephone like, ‘Kill ’em all!'” he laughs during a press tour for “Reaping.”
Elba adds that he skirted the whole audition process thanks to, “Danny Boyle and Juan Carlos – they made the decision about bringing me in. It was a good part and a very interesting film. I mean, this particular [sub-]genre has been done before but these guys did it really, really well. The difference between [‘Weeks’] and [‘Days’] is…there isn’t much difference, it’s just continuing on a really smooth transition from one film to another.”
With The Reaping, 28 Weeks Later and the UK vampire television series “Ultraviolet” on his resume now, one could say he’s taken an attraction to horror. Alas, that’s not the case at all. “My imagination is too vivid, I take it with me. It stays with me a few days in my apartment, freaking me out.”
There’s a lot more on The Reaping coming your way. Also, look for ComingSoon.net’s all-horror site, ShockTillYouDrop.com, in the next few weeks!
