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| 28 Years Later |
23 years after Danny Boyle terrified audiences around the world with 28 Days Later, its second sequel, 28 Years Later, is coming to cinemas. Despite releasing one of the standout trailers of the year, Boyle has managed to keep the plot tightly under wraps. This interview does not contain spoilers, but it does provide a few insights into the experience of making it, from young star Sam Locke.
Still in the early stages of his career, Sam, who is bursting with excitement when we talk, comes from South Wales and from a working class background, making him a rarity in the film industry. He has needed more raw talent than most to make it this far, but he’s proud of his heritage.
“It's an important thing for me just to represent Wales on any level,” he says. “I couldn't predict where I was going to be when I first started out. I can't predict where I'm going to be in the future, but it's always important for me to represent Wales. I can't even put my finger on why. I just think I'm very passionate about Wales. Welsh people are normally very passionate anyway, and I think I'm definitely one of them. I just think it's important for me to represent not only Wales in general, but people from the Valleys who dream bigger than the Valleys.”
Getting support from key people in his life helped to make his career journey possible.
“I think the people I've needed to take it seriously have taken it seriously. Thankfully, my family, my parents, my grandparents, my friends – the ones I call close friends – have all taken it seriously and all supported me when I've needed them to. I'm not a person who's been thrown into acting clubs from young. I did drama in high school. I was good at it somehow, and I enjoyed it, which was probably a catalyst and why I did so well. So it was really from high school, and then I studied it for a year during A-levels. I didn't do so well in the other things and I excelled in drama, so I chose to pursue performing arts full time then. And I think that decision in 2018 was probably the turning point and the catalyst as to where I am now, to be honest.
“It's primarily acting that I enjoy, but I do enjoy directing. I enjoy making. I'm just a very creative person in general, to be honest. So all that comes of that, I enjoy. Whenever I’m in a position where I know I've booked in roles or I haven't quite booked a role yet, and I'm finding myself in a bit of a lull, I always turn to making my own work, not only to get me acting again, but also to test out directing or to test out being a director of photography. I really enjoyed that in one of my most recent projects I made myself. It was. It was directed by me and my friend, and it was a real chance for me to tap into those other roles in what making a film is and I enjoyed that. But definitely acting is where my dream, passion and love is.”
He’s already been in a few short films, and he’s very enthusiastic about them.
“I don't think short films should ever be knocked or be turned away from,” he says firmly. “Not only do they supply me with practice, but also there's so much passion behind short films. People who make short films usually make short films because they want to. They've not only got an idea but they want to make it. So I quite enjoy working on short films. I was in one recently helping my cousin out for her for her uni degree project, and there's a lot of passion involved and I'm very passionate and I write the passion wave whenever it hits me.
“Proper big productions for actors who are up and coming are few and far between. So they provide practice as well, which is crucial. We can't just rely on getting a role and then waiting two years to even act again. We're always getting these little short films or little passing projects. They’re really helpful.”
I note that, especially at an early career stage, there's always tension between taking a role that you know that you're going to be good at so people can get to know who you are and see your star quality, and taking something that's going to stretch you and help you develop as an actor.
“There's a balance,” he agrees, “but also you might strike gold and find both. I feel like that has happened for me in my big recent project. Not only being tested and tapped into a sort of place I've never been before, but also it was a project that I had so much fun on as well. I really got the best of both worlds there.”
He got the job through his agent, he explains. “It was funny. I was in my grandmother's living room and I was looking through a software we use to see what I'd been put up for. I was having a scroll through and then she stopped me and she was like, ‘That Danny Boyle project!’ And then I glanced at it again. I was like, ‘Oh, that's pretty good there.’ And then maybe a week after that I actually got the self tape come through. So me and her enjoyed doing that self tape. She was my reader for that as she has been for numerous other self tapes. And then after that self tape, luckily enough, after a little bit of a wait, they invited me back for another round of auditions which I did, and then another round of auditions, and then I booked the role.”
He’s quite a bit younger than the original film, so I ask if he’s seen it and he explains that he did when he was younger and it was on in the background. “I wasn't actually watching it and it petrified me,” he says. “What a film it is now that I've rewatched it and proper taken it in! I think it was the scene - do you know where they're in the tunnel and the horde is coming after them?” He visibly shudders.
“Once I did my research, when I booked the role and rewatched 28 Days Later, that resonated with me. I was like, ‘I remember that!’” He plans to rewatch it on a big screen with his mother, he says, and he’s looking forward to that.
I ask if that experience of being scared by it helped when he was on set.
“Oh, that's a good question. I don't think so. Maybe subconsciously. I think being a fan of horror as a genre, so that sort of tapping into being scared when I watch stuff, bringing that in maybe subconsciously helped me, but I can't recall me ever having to consciously tap into what it feels like to be scared. I think that comes down more to the actors around me and their professionalism, and allowing myself to be immersed in the story. I'll take this forward to whatever I work on, regardless of genre. If I allow myself to fully be immersed in the scene or the story specifically, I think that is what allows me to achieve certain emotions in certain scenes.”
He’s not allowed to reveal much about his character.
“I'm going to have to keep it pretty tight lipped, but just expect excitement. Passion runs through these characters in ways that might not be obvious, but they're very passionate and gritty and full of vigour.”
One thing he will acknowledge is that, as you might expect, there’s a lot of running about – so it helps that he’s a keen skateboarder with an active lifestyle.
“Just being adventurous and being outdoorsy helps with stamina really. Stamina is crucial, I think, not only for if you're running in a scene. It’s a big umbrella. I think being able to have good stamina when I play football or when I skate or when I go on hikes or whatever, I definitely think that comes into play. Not only for specific scenes or specific actions where they might be a bit strenuous, but also stamina in terms of mentally keeping going and staying focused and staying in character.”
He’s hoping that this will provide him with a stepping stone to other big projects.
“With a bit of luck, me and the rest of my cast smashed it out the park and people enjoy it and it's received well because I think that's important. I hope that people enjoy it first and foremost, because for argument's sake - which I hope isn't the case – but if this is the only or the last project I ever do, I want it to be a success. I want it to be great. But definitely I want it to be a stepping stone. I think it will be, through my passion and the drive I have to keep going. I won't allow it to be the last thing I do. I haven't got anything specific in mind. I do obviously want to keep going in TV and film. There are genres that I want to play with, but I also do love stage as well. So I'd love to get a professional project on stage at some point. That's a goal of mine.
“I'll go wherever the job takes me. A lot of the filming for 28 was around the Newcastle area, so I was away a lot. I'm not a stranger to being away from Wales. When I was at university, I was in Leicester. I don't think that from how passionate I am about Wales. I have found that when I've gone away and come back, it arguably makes me more passionate. I miss Wales. So Wales will always be my home. It will never shrink in my heart, and the Valleys will never shrink in my heart. It will always be home, regardless of how little or often I'm here.
“I definitely think that through the projects that I've just finished, Wales will get some attention, no doubt about it. I do feel like Wales is on the rise. There's a feeling of Wales being utilised more. So with a bit of luck, I can do my part. I can help put Wales on the map a little bit more.”
