'Clayface' director James Watkins reveals why Tom Rhys Harries’ character is 'no conventional action hero'

As DC Studios prepares to unleash its horror thriller 'Clayface' in cinemas this Friday, director James Watkins is taking a different approach to the superhero genre. Rather than staging another battle between good and evil, the film charts the disturbing transformation of one man whose pursuit of fame takes a nightmarish turn.

With Tom Rhys Harries playing the titular role of Matt Hagen, a Hollywood actor whose disfigurement leads him to an experimental treatment with terrifying consequences, Watkins tells a story that puts character before spectacle. Speaking about the film’s action sequences and Matt’s evolving abilities, Watkins said, “Action sequences for me become boring when they’re generic, and they’re not tethered to something that’s at the core of the film.

It’s like love scenes. They’re boring when they’re two people naked in bed.

They’re interesting when they inform character and who these people are. It’s the same with action sequences.

They have to be imbued with character. Otherwise, anyone can do anything with enough resources and enough stunts.

It becomes about people punching each other and I get ‘stunt fatigue.’ I can’t bear it when heroes in movies suddenly become Navy SEALs when they’re really ordinary people. So, in talking about Matt with the stunt crew and everybody, it was always, ‘He’s an actor.’ It’s not that he suddenly has this incredible ability to fight—but what he does have is this ability to shift, so he can ambush people.

And as a brilliant actor, his superpower has a superpower. So, it becomes about the evolution or discovery of his powers throughout the sequence.

Stealth, deception, surprise. If someone punches him, and that punch happens to go through his face and the guy hits a wall, then he’s like, ‘Oh, wow!’ He’s learning as we’re learning, and there’s this dark glee when he’s learning it.

That ‘dark glee’ was important to me. The ‘permission to enjoy.’ When you are enjoying the ride with Matt, laughing with him, it makes it much more complicated when he crosses a line!”The film follows Matt Hagen, a Gotham street kid whose meteoric rise to becoming a Hollywood leading man is cut short when a local crime boss leaves him horribly disfigured.

Abandoned by his team, Matt turns to an experimental treatment that restores his appearance but comes with disturbing physical and psychological side effects, setting him on a destructive path of revenge. The film also stars Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll and Joshua James.

Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, based on a story by Flanagan and characters from DC.'Clayface' will be released in cinemas across India on October 23, 2026, in English and Hindi. Get the latest Bollywood & Entertainment News, and more.

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