28 Days Later is an important piece of British cinema. Directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, the zombie horror film was revolutionary. The rapid, terrifying infected, created by an evolved strain of rabies, created a new style of the genre and reinvigorated the format. The concept of zombies, though they aren’t technically undead, that could catch up to you, was a horrifying thought.
It gave new, infected blood to zombies and influenced so many incredible films after it. The cast is surprisingly star-studded, filled with newcomers who soon exploded into stardom and character actors who have been in everything. Here is a selection of those featured in 28 Days Later, along with their accomplishments in the years since.
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Cillian Murphy
Coming into 28 Days Later, Cillian Murphy had been involved in independent films and had appeared in stage plays. He stars as Jim, who wakes up from a coma to find the whole world changed. Murphy is perfect in the role, still new to the industry and an unfamiliar face to the general public. He is skinny, timid, and unassuming within the dystopia. He is hesitant and bewildered, before getting dragged in and changed by the cutthroat land he now lives in.
After the success of 28 Days Later and his dazzling performance, Murphy continued gaining notoriety and acclaim for his roles. He was in some cult classics, such as the criminally underrated Sunshine (directed and written by Boyle and Garland). But most notably, Murphy formed a terrific partnership with Christopher Nolan, appearing in many of his most famous works. This includes all three installments of the Dark Knight trilogy, as well as Inception and Dunkirk.
The partnership with Nolan culminated in Oppenheimer, where Murphy received the most acclaim and awards for his portrayal. He has a varied and extensive list of roles and projects, including on the stage, and also excels as the Birmingham-born Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders. Murphy has become one of Hollywood’s most iconic leading men.
Naomie Harris
A child actress from a very young age, 28 Days Later helped springboard and celebrate Naomie Harris’s talent as an actress. Harris plays Selena, a survivor in London who finds Jim. Unlike the main character, Selena has seen the downfall of society and has become hardened by it. She is severe and feisty, making big decisions to stay alive. Harris’s ferocity is startling and shows how loud and energetic she can be.
Harris’s career has since been unbelievably storied. She played Tia Dalma in multiple Pirates of the Caribbean films, a voodoo practitioner turned goddess of the sea. She has appeared in Miami Vice, a biopic about Nelson Mandela starring Idris Elba, and Southpaw. She has a significant role in the Oscar-winning film Moonlight. And most notably, she became a key part in the Bond films Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time to Die as Eve Moneypenny. To take such an iconic name is an enormous representation of how famous she has become.
Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson played taxi driver Frank in 28 Days Later. Gleeson is an actor whose career has spanned multiple decades; his face pops up everywhere. A terrific character actor who can transform himself into a role, Gleeson is perhaps best known for playing Mad Eye Moody in the Harry Potter franchise.
He also collaborated with Martin McDonagh and Colin Farrell on the Irish films In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin, both of which were highly acclaimed and successful in the award circuit. Gleeson received an Emmy for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Into the Storm. He had also created a new generation of fine actors, with both Domhnall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson developing extensive careers.
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston has had a peculiar yet respected career. He was another character actor on British Television, receiving multiple BAFTA awards, and was seen across the stage and screen. He collaborated with famed writer Jimmy McGovern in both Cracker and Hillsborough. He then played the main antagonist in 28 Days Later, the leader of a squadron of sadistic soldiers. It’s an incredible, complicated performance that really helps define the movie.
After this, Eccleston took the role of the Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who, spearheading the revival of one of the BBC’s flagship series. However, he left after one season due to the complexity and trouble of the production. The relationship with the producers was shattered and by Eccleston’s own words, he was blacklisted by the BBC.
Eccleston still worked elsewhere but had negative experiences playing villains in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Thor: The Dark World. His career was definitely negatively affected by the falling out with the BBC. However, he has since returned as the Ninth Doctor in several audio dramas, which may suggest a better relationship nowadays.
Megan Burns
In 28 Days Later, Megan Burns plays the daughter of Frank. She’s young, innocent, and terrified, thrown into a terrifying world. Unlike the others in the main cast. Burns’s career has not experienced the same level of uplift and stardom as the other members of the cast. Before 28 Days Later, she had an award-winning performance in Liam, a movie about Liverpool in the Great Depression. But after 28 Days Later, she retired from acting. She had a brief career as a singer before retiring and is now a music talent manager.
28 Days Later featured a casting team that clearly had an eye for talent. So many of the cast members who were included have since become award-winning British and Irish household names and mainstays in the industry. As for the creators, there is a similar level of respect and a terrific career. Boyle is an outstanding director, with 127 Hours, Yesterday, and the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire under his belt.
Garland turned to directing and has made imaginative, era-defining films such as Dredd, Ex Machina, Annihilation, Civil War, and Warfare. Cinematographer Antony Dot Mantle has worked with Boyle on all of his projects, and composer John Murphy has joined James Gunn on The Suicide Squad and Superman. Many of the team have regrouped for the third instalment of the franchise, 28 Years Later.
28 Days Later is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and is available on VOD.
28 Years Later is playing now in theaters everywhere.
