The Radleys is a vampire movie like no other. Set in a rural English seaside town, it picks up with a family of vampires attempting to give up drinking blood. However, things soon escalate when the kids discover their true nature (a situation made worse when their twisted uncle shows up to cause chaos).
Homeland and Billions star Damian Lewis takes on dual roles as that uncle, Will, and the family's mild-mannered patriarch, Peter. The twin brothers are polar opposites and we soon learn that they have vastly different approaches to being a vampire.
We sat down with Lewis earlier this week and asked what drew him to The Radleys, a project which reunites him with filmmaker Euros Lyn (Doctor Who, Sherlock) after they previously collaborated on Dream Horse.
"This is a family that's moved itself out to the suburbs and essentially put themselves in the program, desperately trying to kick their alcoholism or drug addiction. That's the metaphor. In this case, they're trying to kick the habit of sucking blood with this sweet, added twist that the kids have no idea that's who they are. Everyone walks around feeling pale and a bit sick all the time because they're being denied what's essentially their oxygen. That premise for the film is a very darkly comedic one. I think it's very funny."
"The film is funny. It's a dark comedy as well as a vampire film and other things. It's a love story too. It's a story about being true to yourself and the difference between love and lust and finding out what those differences are. It plays around with the light and shade in all of us. We all have those parts of us that want to cut loose, go crazy, rip it up, tear it up, but then there's the more sensible, responsible self that gets us up in the morning and makes sure we arrive for our interviews on time!"
"Vampire movies offer you that. Whatever the take is on the vampire genre, and this one I think you would agree is addiction, that's probably utmost in this and how you deal with that. It always offers something so that's why I liked it initially. That premise. It's innately funny."
If that pitch hasn't sold you on checking The Radleys out, then we're sure the full interview will. Throughout our conversation, Lewis explains his approach to playing two characters, how he fared with the on-set gore, and how he tackled playing a very different type of vampire.
The actor also weighs in on his co-stars and whether he's been approached by Marvel or DC (which leads to a conversation about the Green Goblin).
Check out the full interview with Lewis below.
0:12 - What excited him about playing the patriarch of a family of vampires
2:30 - The challenges of having dual roles as twin brothers Peter and Will
4:31 - Whether characters with darkness inside them appeal to him more
6:00 - How he fared with the fake blood and gore on set
7:25 - His approach to playing a vampire and putting a new spin on the "code"
9:07 - Has a Marvel or DC role ever come his way and would he play Green Goblin?
10:42 - Working with a great British cast and his younger co-stars
Award-winning actors Kelly Macdonald (No Country For Old Men) and Damian Lewis (Billions, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood) star in a dark comedy thriller about a seemingly average suburban family with a juicy secret: they are vampires. In the light of day, the Radleys might seem normal, but they can only abstain from their natural cravings for so long until the bloody truth bubbles to the surface and turns their quiet country life upside down.
The Radleys will be in Theaters, On Digital and On Demand October 4, 2024.