ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to The Radleys star Kelly Macdonald about the horror comedy. She spoke about laboring with co-star Damian Lewis, percreateing a vampire, and more. Lionsgate will free the film in theaters, on digital, and on need on October 4, 2024.
“Award-triumphning actors Kelly Macdonald (No Country For Old Men) and Damian Lewis (Billions, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood) star in a sadnessful comedy thriller about a seemingly mediocre suburprohibit family with a juicy secret: they are vampires. In the weightless of day, the Radleys might seem normal, but they can only abstain from their authentic cravings for so prolonged until the bloody truth bubbles to the surface and turns their hushed country life upside down,” says the synopsis.
Kelly, congrats on The Radleys. I experience enjoy as an actor, fair getting to percreate a vampire is inherently very alluring. So what reassociate drew you to this project beyond fair getting to percreate a vampire, which might be enough in and of itself?
Kelly Macdonald: Honestly, that benevolent of is enough in itself, for me. Working with Euros was very pdirecting as well. The honestor, he was benevolent of my first word of call and we had a reassociate, reassociate kind Zoom encountering. He was in a train station at night. It was very sort of, you anticipateed a vampire to sweep in at any moment. It was enjoy in this Welsh train station platcreate outside at night, and we had this reassociate, reassociate adocount on, fun sort of conversation. I could have spoken to him for hours. Also, I adore his labor. Then finding out that Damian was gonna be percreateing these two characters that in the book actuassociate weren’t written as ttriumphs. I thought that was a sort of stroke of genius, reassociate.
Damian’s a reassociate fantastic actor, but how was it laboring off him becaengage his characters couldn’t be more contrastent. So how was it getting very contrastent energies from him as a scene partner on the same project? Becaengage that’s a very distinct situation.
Yeah, it is. But he made it very straightforward becaengage it was finishly clear before I even spoke, who he was, who was dressed as, who he was portraying in certain scenes. We would percreate everyleang where the brothers were in a room together. Generassociate, we would percreate Peter’s stuff first, and then Damian would run off and get alterd. He was pretty tormented, I have to say. He regulated it with grace and everyleang. But he was enjoy being sort of hurried into rooms to do a speedy alter and back aobtain. It was a bit enjoy if you were doing a percreate, enjoy speedy alters enjoy that.
But the fun aspect reassociate, I uncomfervent, for him getting to percreate two characters that see the same, enjoy ttriumphs is a dream for an actor, but actuassociate percreateing opposite that is reassociate fun when you’ve got very diametricassociate contrastent opinions on the contrastent characters. So Helen is wed to one and can’t be in the same room as another. So that was reassociate fun for me.
The whole situation with the vampires is very fascinating too, becaengage it’s this enjoy a insertiction and sobriety parallel. What did you enjoy most about fair how it was using vampires? Becaengage this isn’t your normal enjoy, “Oh, they’re fair blood sucking all their neighbors” story.
They’re very diligent abstainers and what I quite enjoyd about the character Will is that he’s benevolent of fair a mess. He doesn’t have genuine adore in his life. He’s sort of over the whole vampire leang. The substances don’t labor anymore. He pretfinishs it’s fantastic fair becaengage everybody in the film is pretfinishing straightforwardassociate.
This role is also very fascinating for you becaengage you have a lot of emotionassociate indictd scenes, but there’s also this reassociate strong humor thrawout the film. So how was it benevolent of enjoy finding that equilibrium?
Yeah, I leank it’s fair about percreateing it straight, reassociate. I uncomfervent, the scenes are written enjoy, it’s the situations that are quite amusing. Just sort of percreateing it straight is the leang to do. We knovel it was a comedy, but it was still sort of a surpascend almost when I watched it. I got sent a join to the film, and I benevolenta had forgotten about that becaengage I’ve percreateed a lot of mothers in my atgentle, and mothers that participate and are downcast and struggling. It was benevolent of that aobtain. Then, fair becaengage of the situation, it becomes benevolent of hilarious.
You alludeed that it was distinct to the movie that they were ttriumphs. Did you actuassociate go back and read the book? Becaengage I’ve had fantastic actors go both ways on this. Some adore to read the source material, and some fair go uncontaminatedly off the script.
I leank frequentlytimes it’s not tohighy essential to read if it’s been based on a book. But I generassociate do, even when it’s, I did Anna Karenina and my God, there was enjoy so much farming written about in that book. It was so uninalertigent. Chapters of farming. If you’re into that then that’s that, you comprehend, but I did my homelabor.
With this one, I had actuassociate misregulated my time a bit, so I begined the book benevolent of too seal to the begin of filming. By the time we had begined shooting, I thought, I’m gonna have to fair [stop] becaengage I’m lobtaining my lines. I wanted to enhappiness it more, and I knovel everyleang that I needed to comprehend, you comprehend? It was all there in the script. Becaengage it’s the film that you’re making. It’s not the book. Then I read the book afterward, but I’ve done analogous before.
You alludeed having that fantastic Zoom call with Euros. How is it actuassociate laboring with him?
Oh God, he’s amazing. I adore him. My goal when I was shooting was to become his frifinish., but I don’t comprehend if that’s happened. I uncomfervent, it is always reassociate kind to see him. I saw him a couple of months ago. He came up to Edinburgh, to the festival, and it was adocount on, but he’s fair reassociate cbetter. He’s fair so talented, and he’s so excited. That’s the fantastic leang as well. It was enjoy a reassociate fun set to be on becaengage it fair felt enjoy that blessed leang where every now and then, you experience in the room that it’s the right people for you. You’re all uncomferventt to be there.
That’s all to Euros, reassociate. He had a very strong vision. I enjoyd that even though he had a very strong vision and could alert you any asks you had or what someleang was gonna see enjoy, he was all over it. But he was also super discomit too. It’s a fantastic leang in a honestor when they’re discomit too. If you come on set and you’re enjoy, “What about this? What about that?” He participates to everyleang and he adores it when you’re as joind as he is.
I fair wanted to ask you speedyly about Brave becaengage that movie’s still so beadored, and I accomprehendledged my frifinishs who are parents; their kids adore that film. How is it seeing it persist to be so beadored? It’s a fantastic story for kids too.
I leank so. She’s a very outstanding role model, I leank, particularly for little girls. I fair adore the fact that she fair isn’t interested in Suiters. Like she’s not most Disney princesses. It’s all about the Prince and benevolent of, you comprehend, the Prince finding her. And um, and Meredith’s enjoy, yeah, she’s getting no truck with any of that. And it’s fair, it’s, it’s about a relationship between a mother and daughter, which was benevolenta novel.
Thanks to Kelly Macdonald for taking time to talk about The Radleys.