– The Radleys and Dreamcatcher –
by Grant Hermanns | Screen Rant Plus | October 8, 2024
Damian Lewis is not just a family man struggling to maintain a different kind of sobriety in his suburban life, but also his free-spirited twin brother whose influence on the family leads to deadly consequences in The Radleys. Lewis is an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning British actor, having first found success with the Stephen King adaptation Dreamcatcher and the Steven Spielberg-co-created Band of Brothers before landing his award-winning breakout role in Homeland. More recently, Lewis returned to the world of television with the Showtime drama Billions and portraying iconic actor Steve McQueen in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.
Based on Matt Haig’s novel of the same name, Lewis stars in The Radleys as Peter Radley, the patriarch of the titular family who is also a vampire, though previously agreed with his wife Helen, also a vampire, to abstain from feeding on blood and living a normal life. When one of their teenage children inadvertently takes a life and learns of the family’s vampire nature, Peter and Helen must call on the former’s twin brother, Will, in order to help cover it up and guide their children through their early embrace of being vampires.
Alongside Lewis, the ensemble Radleys cast includes Brave‘s Kelly Macdonald as Helen, Harry Baxendale and Bo Bragason as the pair’s teenage children, Rowan and Clara, Loki‘s Sophia Di Martino, Jay Lycurgo, Siân Phillips and Shaun Parkes. With Lewis also onboard as an executive producer for the horror-comedy adaptation, the movie proves to be a nice twist on the vampire subgenre with its central theme paralleling that of addition and strong performances from its cast.
Ahead of the movie’s release, Screen Rant interviewed Damian Lewis to discuss The Radleys, what it was about Haig’s novel that drew him to want to produce the adaptation, the unique joy of getting to play two different roles, as well as the unique challenge of doing so, and reflecting on working on Dreamcatcher.
Lewis Loved the “Genre Mashup” Of Haig’s The Radleys Novel
“…it’s very funny, but it’s also got this grown-up mixed messaging about being true to yourself.“
Screen Rant: I’m so thrilled to talk about The Radleys. I watched it yesterday and I just loved how funny it was, how dark it was, how dramatic it was, it’s such a great twist on the vampire genre. I also love that you’re not only starring in this, but you’re also executive producing it. So I’d love to hear what it was about Matt’s novel and the script that really spoke to you to wear multiple hats for the film.
Damian Lewis: Well, I’m really glad you liked it, and I think you’ve hit it on the head. I think this film is a bit of a genre mashup in a really good way, and I think that’s what attracted me to it, initially. I loved the comedic premise of a guy having moved his family out to a dead-end suburb in order to essentially put his whole family in the program, Vampires Anonymous, in a bid to live a more moral life.
As you know, about 10–15 minutes into the film, the whole thing has turned on its head. I liked a lot of different things about it. I liked playing two roles, I’m not going to lie. That was nice, good fun to do that. And I sort of liked the grown-up, mixed messaging. I think it’s very funny, but it’s also got this grown-up mixed messaging about being true to yourself.
But weirdly, the person who seems happiest is the confirmed addict/vampire, who is Will, who comes in having retained all his superpowers, but of course, he’s the one that has to die eventually, because he’s the disruptor and the chaos bringer. So, all those things you mentioned, I think there are some grown-up dark themes in there.
I think it’s very moving at the end, actually, the dilemma given to the young boys. And I think it’s funny, and I think it’s sexy in places, too. Vampire movies have got to be a little bit sexy and dark. Yeah, I think it’s got it all going on, it’s a good package.
Lewis Has a Very Unique Way of Finding His Characters
“…I use animals a lot when I’m working on characters.“
Screen Rant: So, in looking at the fact you played dual roles, what was the character trait of Peter’s, and what was the character trait of Will’s, that you found yourself really latching onto that helped you unlock those characters in your performance?
Damian Lewis: Well, I use animals a lot when I’m working on characters. Peter was very quickly, to me, like a stork: sort of stiff and watchful. And Will was a predator, was a big cat, like a leopard or something, just having a ball. So really, those things, just finding a physical uptightness in Peter and a sadness, he’s always displacing, always really strongly in denial whilst trying to pursue this life. And they’re all unhappy as a result of the fact that they’re not allowing themselves to drink blood.
The addiction metaphor is there. They’re trying to do the right thing, but life is like that. It’s not cut and dry, it’s not tied with a bow. And sometimes, the good things that you try to do make you kind of miserable. That’s just the way it goes. Life ain’t perfect. In the meantime, Will has all abandoned and he’s all sort of curves. Curves and rolling moves, and that’s just what I tried to find to distinguish the two that way.
Screen Rant: I’d love to hear what it’s like filming scenes where you have to act, essentially, against yourself as this other character?
Damian Lewis: Well, weirdly, quite quickly, they just became two very distinct people, and I just knew who I was when I was one, I knew who I was when I was the other. I had a really wonderful stand-in who I played opposite, and had learned all the script with me, and he played me on the other side of the camera when it wasn’t on my coverage. And then, he would swap out, and I would swap out, and then, obviously, in the editing, they get rid of him, and they use plates, and they put me up on both sides. That’s all done with magic later, smoke and mirrors, but enjoyable.
We tried to schedule it so that we just did a series of scenes where I was just one character. The change was about an hour and a half, getting wigs on, getting wigs off, changing makeup, et cetera. Sometimes, you might be covered in blood, so there were changes that we tried to do a lot of one, and then a lot of the other. I really enjoyed it, I enjoyed the challenge. I’m greedy. What can I tell you? [Chuckles] It was fun playing two characters instead of just one. It was great. I loved it.
Lewis Loved Watching Macdonald Tap Into Helen’s Layers
“…she’s almost the most put upon of any character in the film…“
Screen Rant: I’d love to hear what it was like to also develop a dynamic with Kelly since, again, two characters, two very different dynamics with Helen in this film.
Damian Lewis: She’s a treat. I love her, and she’s got a funny bone, Kelly. She feels the comedy, sees it very quickly, and she’s almost the most put upon of any character in the film, actually. She’s got this marriage that isn’t working, a husband who doesn’t believe in himself, a family doesn’t really believe in themselves, then all hell breaks loose and then the brother arrives, and then we learn that there’s a history there. Not through any fault of her own, but so she’s dealing with denial on all levels and trying to keep it together. And Kelly did it beautifully. I loved working with her.
Rowan and Peter’s Relationship Was the More Thrilling For Lewis to Explore
“I know how much cooler you are as an uncle than you are as a dad…“
Screen Rant: I’d love to hear what it was like building the dynamic with the kids, as well, especially since Rowan, you, again, have the two characters really influencing him in different ways.
Damian Lewis: Yeah, that’s right. It was fun playing with Rowan. It was fun being his father and being his uncle, because it wasn’t just Will playing opposite Peter, and Peter playing opposite Will. Will and Peter get to play opposite other characters too. And Rowan was a particularly fun one. I’m a dad and an uncle. I know how much cooler you are as an uncle than you are as a dad, so playing opposite Harry — who’s got a big future ahead of him — he was really wonderful in the film.
I think it was fun being the wicked uncle, and it was fun taking him to a nightclub for the first time. Again, I sort of identified with Peter, I suppose, having kids. [Chuckles] Somewhere deep inside, you make that deal with yourself about finding your grown-up more sensible, responsible self. And that’s what Peter was trying to do and failing.
There Was One Dreamcatcher Criticism Lewis Found to be Humorous
“…I loved making that movie.”
Screen Rant: I think I’m almost coming up on time, so before I let you go, I did also want to ask really quickly. One of my first exposures to your work was Dreamcatcher, another movie where you sort of get to play two different roles. We just passed the 21st anniversary, Stephen King is still as popular as ever. How does it feel for you to reflect on your experience with that movie all this time later?
Damian Lewis: Well, I loved making that movie. I loved working with Larry. It was a wild ride of a film, that script was a lot. But we had a great group of guys, and actually, funnily enough, I’m remembering some people who jumped online afterward and said, “Oh God, I really loved the film. But that Damian Lewis guy, what is that English accent? It’s totally unbelievable.” Because they’d all just seen me in Band of Brothers. A lot of people thought I was American. And then I played American in Dreamcatcher.
But you are right, the alter ego, the alien invasion, we decided we’d have this sort of Lawrence Olivier, quite clip, 1930s British accent, which was kind of wild and surreal. [Laughs] Anyway, slightly different [from The Radleys]. Yeah, it’s being invaded, having your body taken over by an alien. That was even harder, actually, than doing what I just did, where at least you had an opportunity to clean up, change makeup, do whatever, change costume, and become the other person in the scene. That was not possible in Dreamcatcher, which was just like a takeover.
Read the rest of the original article at Screen Rant