From Bond to A24: Is Rory Kinnear’s next role in a horror film?
Although film production was mostly put on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things are going full steam ahead in Hollywood this year. There are a lot of new titles to look forward to, not least of which is Alex Garland’s new A24 horror film starring Bond’s Rory Kinnear.
Excited about this new, upcoming horror flick? Here’s everything we know about the exciting new movie so far.
The chilling new film
For his new film, Garland is pairing up with A24, whom he worked with in the past for his 2014 directorial debut, Ex-Machina. The film will reportedly be titled Men, and Garland is hoping to have Jessie Buckley & Rory Kinnear star.
The film will follow a young woman who goes on a vacation to the English countryside after the death of her ex-husband. And, given A24’s repertoire of distributing terrifying films – Hereditary (2018) and The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) to name a few – we have no doubts that we’ll need to watch it with the lights on!
The film according to Alex Garland
Alex Garland told Empire that this film is particularly important to him, specifying to the magazine that he thought up during last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests. “I wrote a low-budget horror movie, set in the UK,” he explained. “I don’t know if it’s unrealistic or not. Always at this particular moment, a film always feels unrealistic, but then somehow it works out.”
He touched on the potential social and political aspects of his writing, explaining an idea for a TV series he was grappling with at the genesis of Men: “at some point with civil disobedience, you have to start smashing stuff up. So I was writing about the need to smash stuff up.”
Who are the film’s stars?
Fans of Rory Kinnear’s performance as Bill Tanner in the James Bond franchise will be excited to hear the actor is reportedly attached to the new horror film. But for those who aren’t familiar with Kinnear’s impressive film & TV repertoire – he had quite the career before Bond.
Kinnear was born in Hammersmith, London to two actors: Roy Kinnear & Carmel Cryan. He was enamored with acting from a very young age, and studied acting at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
His career was jump-started when he appeared in Phyllida Lloyd’s production of Mary Stuart and Trevor Nunn’s production of Hamlet, and his performances were met with acclaim.
For about a decade, Kinnear bounced between Shakespearean stage-plays and small parts in British TV shows. In 2008, however, he made his first appearance as Bill Tanner in Quantum of Solace – which audiences were very pleased with. After that, he reprised the character in Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and the upcoming No Time to Die (2021).
Kinnear’s potential co-star, Jessie Buckley, also boasts an impressive acting resumé. Buckley was born in Killarney, Ireland. She started singing at a young age, and was coached by her mother, Marina Cassidy. At her school, Ursuline Secondary School, Buckley appeared in a number of musicals, including West Side Story & Chess.
Buckley’s first big role was in I’d Do Anything. After that, she spent many years on the stage – both singing & acting. Her big screen recognition came from Beast (2017), a horror-thriller directed by Michael Pierce. After that, she appeared in the HBO limited series Chernobyl (2019), Judy Garland’s biopic Judy (2019), and Charlie Kaufman’s mind-bending thriller I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020).
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After a slight lag in film content, it looks like 2021 is gearing up to be an exciting year for the industry. And, Rory Kinnear in a horror movie? Well that’s just an awesome bonus. Let us know if you’re excited in the comments!
