Introducing Alfie Williams, the teenage breakout star of ‘28 Years Later’

There’s every chance you’ll have seen the recent poster for 28 Years Later, plastered across buses and billboards, which shows the mysterious image of a young lad climbing to the top of a tower comprised solely of human skulls.

That youngster is 14-year-old actor Alfie Williams and a single watch of 28 Years Later – the third instalment of Danny Boyle’s game-changing apocalyptic franchise – confirms that it truly is his film. It’s no mean feat when you’re going up against bonafide big timers in the form of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes.

Williams is terrific in his screen debut as Spike, the 12-year-old son of Jamie (Taylor-Johnson) and Isla (Comer). The trio live a primitive existence on Holy Island, a remote community of survivors off the north-east coast who occasionally embark on daring trips to the mainland to replenish their supplies and, in the process, take down hordes of the infected. It’s Spike’s first trip that forms the film’s early core, before he boldly returns there once more with his mum in a bid to find the mysterious doctor who might just be the answer to to the headaches and memory loss that have left her bed-bound. Williams, you sense, is a name we’ll be hearing a lot more of in the near future.

In our interview, Williams discusses his screen debut, getting a guitar from Taylor-Johnson and even the pitfalls of balancing school work with filming. Read our whole chat with Williams below.

Congratulations on the film, Alfie, it’s incredible.

Ah cheers. It’s been an amazing experience, but I had to actually ring Danny up and tell him how much of a genius he was after I watched it, I was just in awe. I’m not being biased, but it’s so good. It really, really is.

How did you get involved in auditioning for the role of Spike in the first place?

I got the audition in Newcastle which was great because I’m just across the water in Gateshead. I met Danny and he was just so nice. When I went into my audition, I said, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Boyle’, and he just said, ‘Call me Danny’. We ran through a couple of scenes and it felt comfortable. I had a few recalls but when I got the part, I was just buzzing. My family were so proud of us and I was so excited to get started.

What was your experiences of acting like before landing the role?

I was in drama school and then I just quit because it was maybe too theatrical. It was very jazz hands and I learned a lot from it but I’ve always wanted to be in a movie like this. It did teach me some valuable things about going over the top and that helps with comedy, which I really hope I do one day.

We see your close bond with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer who appear in the film as your parents. Did you get to hang around with them on set and soak up their experience?

Well, it kind of sucked because every time I would finish a scene, I would be rushed off into doing tutoring. They’d be laughing together and I was being taken away to do maths work for two hours! One good thing now is that I’m home educated so I can do my work on set and then finish it afterwards. But I cherished the time we had together and it was brilliant.

You’re from a similar background to Jodie too. Both working class actors from the north who have made it without going to a prestigious drama school. Did you relate to that and what was she like to work with?

Yeah, we both come from a background where we weren’t born into big acting families. I’m not famous yet but she’s done brilliantly and we got along on set. She’s really funny and she’s really kind. On my first day she wrote a nice card and she put it in my trailer saying that she was excited to get started and work with us.

And what about Aaron?

He was great too. My main hobby outside of acting is playing guitar and it’s all because Aaron bought me my first guitar as a wrap gift. Apparently he heard me talking to some people about it and I was going to buy one anyway, but he did it. It was so nice of him and I had no idea he was going to do that. It’s an acoustic vintage one and I love it. I think every player should start with an acoustic and then I bought an electric guitar a few weeks ago. My biggest ever idol is Kurt Cobain. I know every unreleased song, every album and I’m just a massive fan of Nirvana and grunge music in general.

Going back to the film, there’s some hugely emotional moments for Spike. I wondered how you went about getting yourself in the right headspace for some of those scenes?

I just thought of my granddad. He passed away nearly four years ago and that’s a decent amount of time, but it literally feels like a couple of months to me. I used him and imagined that the other actors were him. I had a little picture of him and before I went on set I would just stare at that picture and cry my eyes out. But when you’ve got another actor there and you pretend it’s him, it really works.

Given that the film has a 15 rating, have you given any thought as to how your mates might be able to see it?

Ah they’ll just sneak in! My friends look like they’re 17 anyway. I’m just excited for them to see it. It’s weird that they’ll be at school right now and I’ve just done a film. I never thought that would happen to us, but I’m so happy it has.

What other actors would you love to work with?

Andrew Garfield is amazing. He was Spider-Man, obviously, but he’s so talented and I loved him in Hacksaw Ridge. Karl Urban from The Boys is amazing too and I love JK Simmons as well. He’s amazing in Whiplash and you can really feel the intensity in that performance. It’s one of my favourites. Oh, and Bryan Cranston too for his versatility. One minute he’s a loving father, in Malcolm in the Middle, the next minute he’s a mastermind drug dealer. He’s fantastic.

And how would you sum up the experience of being in 28 Years Later overall?

A huge privilege. It’s been a privilege to work with an all-star cast, but everyone did their part and I’d like to thank the the crew as well, because those are the people that make the film. It’s not just the actors, it’s not the directors. Without the crew, you couldn’t make a film. It’s just a great film. Go and watch it.