2025 has been a banner year for young British actors.
First came Owen Cooper, the 15-year-old star of Netflix smash hit “Adolescence,” who made such an impact from his very first screen role he’s now tipped to become the youngest Emmy winner for supporting actor in a limited or anthology series. Then a trio of newcomers was announced to fill the roles made famous by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in HBO’s much-hyped “Harry Potter” series. Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout, all 11 years old or thereabouts and picked from a casting search of thousands of wannabe Harrys, Hermiones and Rons, look set to have the next decades of their lives — at least — mapped out for them.
Now it’s the turn of 14-year-old Alfie Williams.
Even before anyone has seen the youngster act, they may have spotted him on film posters. On billboards across the U.K., Williams — who hails from the north of England, near Newcastle — is there, at the top of a giant tower of skulls. It’s an unusual and somewhat bleak introduction for anyone, not least a teenager, but it’s all part of the ride when you’re the young lead of Danny Boyle‘s post-apocalyptic horror sequel “28 Years Later,” a film awash in death, blood and, yes, skeletal remains.
The film — releasing via Sony Pictures on June 20 — lands almost a quarter-century after the iconic and genre-defining original “28 Days Later.” Set almost three decades since the super-contagious rage virus escaped from a biological weapons factory and ravaged the world, the new movie sees the U.K. now a quarantine zone, a desolate wasteland isolated from the rest of virus-free Europe and where the infected can run — and in some cases crawl — free. Survivors are simply left to fend for themselves.
In his first major screen role, Williams plays Spike, a young lad living with his mother (Jodie Comer) and father (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in a community of survivors on an small island connected to the mainland by a single causeway. But when Spike is taken across the causeway armed with a bow to learn how to fight the infected for himself, it kickstarts an adventure with major — and deadly — consequences.
Williams is an actor Boyle says is “hugely talented,” telling Variety that his young star, who was only 13 when they were filming, “benefitted from what was almost a guardianship exercised by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, introducing him to and accompanying him through the rigours and demands of action shooting.” Boyle notes that, in the second half of “28 Years Later” with the help of Comer and co-star Ralph Fiennes, Williams was able to learn about “stillness, imagination and presence, not driving the action but letting the film come to him.”
Boyle isn’t someone Williams had heard of before “28 Years Later” came his way. But he quickly got up to speed when he was auditioning, watching the original film and also the director’s iconic 1997 classic “Trainspotting” (perhaps a few years earlier than he should, although he gets a pass). He immediately knew he wanted to be involved.
But “28 Years Later” isn’t the end of Spike’s journey, with the film shot back-to-back with “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” directed by Nia DaCosta and due out in January. “There are plenty of horrors ahead of him in the second film but he’s been set up by his fellow actors to meet that evil with courage and imagination,” says Boyle (who also recently revealed that a trilogy-capper is in development and awaiting to see how the first film in received).
Speaking to Variety in his first major interview, Williams discusses being inspired by his dad (an actor himself who has been directed by Ken Loach), what it was like to climb up the tower of skulls, the “crazy” experiencing of seeing himself on the poster and how Stephen Graham — much like for “Adolescence” star Cooper — played a crucial role in his career.
How excited are you for the film to be coming out?
I can’t wait. I’m excited for people to finally see it. Everyone’s really excited to finally watch it.
Have you seen it yourself?
I have! After watching it, I rang Danny and just praised him, because it was it was fantastic. It was really good.
Can you describe who Spike is and what happens to him in “28 Years Later”?
Spike’s a young boy who lives on Holy Island in in the Northeast [of England] with his mum and dad, and when it’s his 12th birthday his dad starts teaching him how to survive on the mainland. And throughout the film, Spike kind of gets more mature and changes and start becoming ready to deal with the infected. He’s a great character.
And you’ve got Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as your mum and dad. How was that?
Yeah, they’re my parents. It’s just a privilege to be able to work with such an all-star cast. They’re amazing. And they actually felt like my mum and dad. We had great chemistry and we got along. It was so much fun.
Alfie Williams and Aaron Taylor-Johnson hunt the infected in “28 Years Later”
Sony Pictures
So how did you get this role?
I sent an audition tape and got a recall. And it was in Newcastle, so that was great because it was really close. So I went down and I met Danny, and already that was comfortable. Obviously I was nervous, but it felt good. So we were doing a couple of scenes, and then I got another recall, and then I got another one, and then another one. I had to do four and then I got the part.
And were they looking for someone specifically from your part of England?
Yeah, I think they were. I got to keep my accent.
You’ve been in TV projects before — including “His Dark Materials.” Were they big speaking roles?
Honestly, for “His Dark Materials,” I just came in, said a line, and that was it. This is my first big lead part.
Amazing. And how did it feel making that leap?
It’s so exciting. It’s amazing to be part of something like this.
Did you know anything about Danny or his films beforehand?
I didn’t! My parents knew him, obviously. But after I got the audition, I just started watching a lot of his films, obviously starting with “28 Days Later” and then “Trainspotting” and I was like, I’ve got to be part of this.
What did you think of “28 Days Later”?
I loved it. Yeah, it’s very gritty and intense. A lot of these films are just brilliant — they’ve just got a unique feel to them.
You’re in almost every scene of this. Did you know when you first auditioned that it was going to be for such a big role? Was there a point when you realized that you were basically the lead of the film?
Yes, I kind of knew from the start when I was auditioning that it was for the lead role. And then when I read the full script, it was pretty clear how important the role of Spike was.
Did you need any special training?
I had a couple of months of archery training. It was great — I just went to down to a local range that does archery and was just shooting arrows for a couple of months. And I got really good at it, so after this ends I’m gonna keep doing it.
Can you describe your first day on set? What can you remember?
Yeah, I remember Spike had to climb down the side of this hill on the first day. And he had to be really tired and out of breath and to do that Danny told me to do some squats before the scene. I was so tired after the squats and the acting. It was a pretty gruelling day, but so much fun working on “28 Years Later” for the first time.
You’re in lots of scene with rotting corpses and disease-ridden infected. It looks incredibly realistic and horrifying on screen, but how realistic was it on the set? Did you ever feel scared or even nauseous at all?
All of it was really realistic on set – there was no green screens or anything. It was all done by the amazing prosthetics and special effects people in the crew, so looked incredibly realistic. Obviously you know it’s not real as you see the people before they’re made up – but it’s still pretty scary when you see them for the first time.
There are also plenty of amazing action scenes with chases and explosions. Are there any that really stand because they were particularly exciting or interesting to shoot? And did you do your own stunts?
Climbing the bone temple was pretty scary as it was quite high, as you can see on the poster. But I was harnessed and the team behind all that make sure every safety precaution is in place. There was also a time when Spike and Isla (Comer) are hiding on the ground from an explosion that’s going over their heads — that was really exciting! We could feel the heat, but it felt completely safe.
So that tower of skulls — the bone temple — was actually a real thing that was built?
Yeah, it was fully built as part of the set. I climbed it and was harnessed the whole time, but I had to climb all the way to the top of it and it was still pretty scary. It was really fun, but it was a big structure and really high.
What’s it been like seeing yourself on the poster?
It was amazing! I wasn’t actually expecting to be on the poster, but I was so happy when I saw it and I was right there at the top of the bone temple. Seeing those posters all over the country now and on the sides of busses and stuff is crazy!
The U.K. poster for “28 Yearsa Later”
How did you first get into acting? Does anyone else in your family act?
Yeah, my dad is an actor [Alfie Dobson, who has appeared in Ken Loach’s “Sorry We Missed You” and BBC drama “The A Word”]. That’s kind of why I wanted to start doing it. I wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Was there anything you remember seeing your dad in and thinking, this is for me?
I remember when I was young, there was a Viking thing he was in, and he was showing us pictures of him on set in costume and everything. I was like: Dad, I want to do that.
Your dad must be very proud of you!
Alfie Dobson interjects from the background: Very proud!
So did you join a drama club or anything like that? And can you remember your first performance?
I was in a drama school for a while, but then I quit as it was a bit more musical theater and I wanted to do TV and film. So it didn’t feel right. I started auditioning for roles around the age of 7, a couple of adverts and things. I then did a short film called “Phallacy” with Stephen Graham and Sean Parkes – and Stephen Graham helped me a lot during that period. He recommended me to his agent, who I’m with now, and couldn’t have been nicer. I feel like that was a real stepping stone to getting this part.
“28 Days Later” was a breakthrough film for Cillian Murphy. He was obviously a little older than you are now, but are you aware of what appearing in this sort of film can do for your career?
Yeah, that set him off and I’m hoping, you know, this film does the same for me.
Your co-stars Aaron and Jodie have been through this too. Did they have any words of advice or guidance on how to handle it all?
Aaron taught us a lot of about how to deal with some of this stuff and to kind of get ready for it and gave us some advice on that. He said it can get a bit intense and overwhelming sometimes. And because he’s been acting since he was young, he knows all about it.
Away from intense post-apocalyptic horrors, what films do you like the most?
I actually like a lot of comedy movies. I’ve just been re-watching “Stranger Things” on TV, because I like that, and “The Boys.” But for movies, I just like crappy comedy movies. Like “Stepbrothers” and “Click.”
You’ve obviously already starred alongside some of the best actors already, but are there are any others that your particularly enjoy watching?
I like Andrew Garfield. He was amazing in “Hacksaw Ridge.” And J.K. Simmons, who was great in “Whiplash.” Also Bryan Cranston. There are a lot of great actors!