Academy Award Nominee Ralph Fiennes is the Eccentric Dr. Ian Kelson in ’28 Years Later’

When asked to describe his character in the virus-ravaged world of 28 Years Later, Ralph Fiennes (Conclave, The Menu, The Grand Budapest Hotel) would say that Dr. Ian Kelson is, “above all, a survivor.” His constant reminder of memento mori – remember death, is a mantra that keeps him going. “He’s accepted the fact of death – that it’s so present,” Fiennes says. “Rather than run away from it, pretend death doesn’t exist, or live in fear of it, Kelson is honoring death and the dead. In a way, he’s a rather clergy-like figure and a humanist.”Dr. Kelson, and the other survivors are living in the world of 28 Years Later, where the rage virus from 28 Days Later has lain waste to the UK. A group of survivors has made a haven off an island, protected by a single defended causeway that floods during much of the day, leaving the land inaccessible by the infected. Fiennes worked closely with production and costume designers Carson McColl and Gareth Pugh to get that striking impression that the survivors had when they encountered Dr. Kelson for the first time. “We had wonderful conversations about Kelson and his world and clothes,” Fiennes recounts. “One [...]