Theo James is back on our screens in wild new horror movie The Monkey, which sees him take on a dual role.
Longlegs writer/director Osgood Perkins has adapted Stephen King's short story of the same name for the new movie, adding in the idea that it's actually twins Hal and Bill haunted by the titular monkey.
Talking to Digital Spy before this week's release of The Monkey, James noted that as much as he loved playing both roles as they're "entirely different personalities", it did come with its challenges.
"Hal is quite internal, this kind of broken guy, but he's the moral centre of the film, and then Bill is a little 10-year-old trapped in an adult's body and, as a result, is completely insane," he explained.
Related: The Monkey compared to Final Destination in first reactions
"We pushed both characters, Oz and I, as far as we could, but especially with Bill. We wanted him to feel as fun, but as kind of toxic and maniacal as possible.
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"But it's a strange thing acting against yourself because you're not doing it in real time. So you have to plan and have some idea of what you're gonna do. Not so much that you're affecting the naturalism of the scene, but you have to really think what the outcome is of the scene before you're going to do it.
"Normally if it's just yourself, it's better to be in the moment and just see what comes at you, but with playing both of them, you have to have a bit of a plan."
Related: The Monkey trailer banned from TV broadcast
As for Perkins, when it came to adapting King's short story, there was one particular thing that helped him to connect with the material and understand what it was.
"[I] really started to dig the idea that the monkey himself or itself or herself or themselves, they don't do anything. The monkey doesn't act, doesn't climb on you and stab you with its drumsticks," he noted.
"It isn't M3GAN and it isn't Chucky, and so it gave off this almost god-like vibe, like this totem, this idol. Once I connected to that energy around it, I understood what the thing was and it wasn't so hard to do."
Whatever he did, it certainly seemed to work as The Monkey has landed rave early reactions ahead of its release, with most comparing it to classic horror series Final Destination.
The Monkey is released in cinemas on February 21.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
