Max Minghella says the DCU body horror film Clayface would not have held together without its lead, Tom Rhys Harries. “He gave it his all, and it was a lot that they asked of him,” Minghella said. “So, I think without Tom, the whole thing would have fallen apart.”
Harries called Minghella the day Minghella landed his Clayface role, then kept in touch throughout production to make sure he felt included. For Minghella, that care for his co-stars was part of carrying a film that also demanded constant physical transformations.
Minghella, 41, plays Gotham City police detective John Borrelli in the thriller. Harries, 34, leads the film as Matt Hagen, who seeks a scientist’s help after a mobster disfigures him. The attempt to recover his appearance involves turning his body into clay.
“Tom Rhys Harries on Clayface, I learned so much from him. Just incredibly disciplined, amazing leadership on set,” Minghella said.
“I think one of the things that doesn’t get spoken about so much is the responsibility of being a number one on a call sheet.”
That responsibility came with a punishing workload. Minghella said the production moved quickly, with Harries switching between prosthetics, wardrobe and different scenes within the same day.
By the 3rd week, seeing him in grotesque makeup had become routine. Harries would even FaceTime his family while wearing it.
Minghella said Harries never complained, despite a role that put him in almost every frame and asked a great deal of him physically and emotionally.
“He did an amazing job, I think, on this film in all sorts of ways, on and off camera.”
Minghella’s confidence in the project began before he joined the cast. Hearing that James Watkins would direct gave him an early feeling it could connect with audiences. Working alongside Harries gave him a specific person to credit for getting it made.
