Inside Clayface: The Cast and Director on DC’s First Horror Movie
Ahead of the release of Clayface, The Hollywood Reporter Australia spoke with stars Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie, and director James Watkins for an exclusive interview. As DC Studios’ first R-rated body-horror film to open in theatres, here’s what they had to say.
Clayface follows Matt Hagen, a famous actor in Gotham City who becomes horribly disfigured and undergoes experimental surgery to fix his face. When the surgery goes wrong, his skin begins to turn into clay, giving him the power to change into any person’s appearance. Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini (story by Flanagan). It is produced by DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, and Batman director Matt Reeves.
For actor Tom Rhys Harries, Clayface is the first time he’s stepping into a leading role. It continues the trend of DC Studios preferring younger and lesser-known actors for their leads, as they did with David Corenswet for Superman and Milly Alcock for Supergirl. It’s a decision that’s paid off too. Harries is beaming with personality in our interview, taking the chance throughout to make jokes that signal his deep admiration for the character. He’s clearly read up on DC Comics lore, and he’s in touch with the online fandom as well.
Asked which part of the DC Universe he’d like to interact with next, he joked that he wanted Clayface to “self-actualise and rip through every single character in the DC canon”. “I just want to destroy everybody. The Penguin, Hal Jordan, Batman, Superman, I’m coming for all of you.” His deadpan reaction is perfectly in-character for Matt Hagen, who is notorious for being a particularly brutal and unrelenting villain in the DC universe.
The choice to cast Harries was one that director James Watkins was proud to speak to as a decision he advocated for, and that was backed by the studio. Watkins told us Harries was “brilliant” in auditions, and that studio heads Gunn and Safran agreed he had a “special quality for playing Matt Hagen.”
On his experience working with DC Studios, Watkins stressed how much the studio backed his vision all the way. “I had amazing creative freedom and support,” he said. He recalled showing imagery that helped the team commit: “They signed up to what I wanted to do and they committed to it… that was the promise. We want to make the most singular version of this and push the DC Universe into a different place.” He made changes to the script, but said the film remained “fundamentally Mike [Flanagan’s] story”.
The film itself has a brilliant mixture of serious horror and shockingly grotesque visuals that eventually become fun. Asked about the film’s extreme gore, Watkins said they could always go further but that keeping a balance of extremity and fun is important. He stressed the priority was keeping audiences on “a great roller coaster ride” so they laugh and enjoy it rather than walk out: “You want them being just deliciously giddy.” In reflecting on the more brutal movies he’s made in the past, he explained how he approached Clayface, “We go pretty hard, but hard enough that it’s still got to be an entertainment.” The final result meets that brief, as the film is riotously violent but in a self-aware manner where audiences will gasp and laugh at the extremity.
The film was shot on location in the UK, recreating Gotham City as a practical set. Naomi Ackie, who plays scientist Dr Caitlyn Corr, described shooting Gotham on location as incredibly immersive. She recalled how production had altered storefronts and cars so the city felt transformed. Both actors felt proud to claim they’d made a film set in Gotham, noting how iconic the city is and how beloved previous iterations have been, “we’re in good company,” said Harries.
Ackie in particular took a moment to praise HBO and DC Studios’ recent series The Penguin, also set in Gotham but part of a different franchise. “The Penguin was absolutely incredible,” Ackie shared. “Immaculate script and performances.” Harries for one shared his love for the recent Green Lantern TV series Lanterns, which is set in the same universe as Clayface. “We were just talking about Lanterns. It’s so good! We have two episodes left to watch.”
As Clayface arrives in cinemas, it marks an important step for the new DCU. As the first R-rated film in the franchise, and with a much lower budget than tentpoles like Superman, it’s a test of whether the studio can deliver a variety of different genre pieces while maintaining continuity for fans.
On the future of the franchise, director James Watkins is looking forward to the future. “They’re smart people, and they’re good people,” he said of James Gunn and his DC team. “I’m very excited about everything [DC Studios] is doing.”
You can watch our full video interview for Clayface on The Hollywood Reporter Australia’s YouTube channel now:
Clayface is in Australia cinemas October 22.