The 28 Years Later trailer generated a lot of buzz earlier this year – and not just because of that creepy recitation of Rudyard Kipling’s poem Boots or the first-look at Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer’s characters that it offered us.
Eagle-eyed fans became fixated on one background character that they thought bore a striking resemblance to Cillian Murphy, prompting speculation he could be returning to the dystopian franchise.
The sight of the emaciated-looking member of “the infected” led many to wonder whether the 28 Days Later star could be back in action in Danny Boyle’s new film which… yeah, when you say it like that, isn’t exactly complimentary, is it?
Well, it turns out the character may not be played by the Oscar winner – who is also an executive producer on 28 Years Later – at all.
Instead, The Guardian has reported that the character of “Emaciated Infected” is actually played by Angus Neill, an art dealer, aspiring actor and model signed to the Ugly Models Agency.
Angus told the outlet he was actually scouted for the film by its director, claiming: “Danny told me he’d always had me in mind for the role. So we met up, hit it off, and I agreed to take part.
“On set he has an extraordinary ability to hypnotise you, and working with him on the film was a very, very intense experience.”
HuffPost UK has contacted 28 Years Later’s distribution company Sony Pictures for comment.
Fans think Cillian Murphy is an infected in #28YearsLater ????????♂️ pic.twitter.com/sK7Wu8ScxJ
— Culture Crave ???? (@CultureCrave) December 10, 2024
The upcoming disaster movie “threequel” is set around the North East of England, with celebrated vocal chameleon Jodie turning to a certain prolific Geordie to help perfect her accent.
In an interview with Elle published over the summer, the Killing Eve star revealed that she and her dialect coach had been revisiting classic clips of Cheryl Tweedy’s stint on The X Factor to help prepare for the role.
28 Years Later is due to hit cinemas on 20 June 2025.
