Brenton Thwaites previously tussled with a cursed mirror [Oculus], vengeful spirits [Ghosts of War] and gory, goofy zombies [Office Uprising]. We Bury the Dead once again pits the Australian actor against the walking dead, unfolding after an experimental military device accidentally wipes out half a million people in Tasmania.
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In the aftermath, a young American, Ava [Daisy Ridley], volunteers to help catalogue the bodies since her husband might be one of the casualties. But for an unknown reason, some of the deceased have jolted back to life. Partnered with Ava is Clay [Thwaites], a laid-back dude who appears to join the cause out of boredom. Despite his history with horror, Thwaites admits this encounter with lurching corpses has a bit more bite.
“The makeup and special effects team that were on this film were just phenomenal,” Thwaites tells ComicBook. “Everything was practical. I actually brought my kids to set one day, and it was the worst day to bring my kids. We had this contortionist made up in this zombie makeup, and she was contorting after us as we ran down the street. I was excited to bring the kids to set. I haven’t brought them to set since Titans, and they don’t ever want to go to set ever again.
“It was great,” he continues. “Obviously, genre is quite competitive and this seemed to be more of a slow, melancholic reveal with really exciting elements, but outside during the day. There’s real set piece in a town, so it was fun.”
When Clay steals a motorcycle, the pair embark on a road trip across the restricted quarantine zone in order to give Ava the closure she desires. And if misery loves company, the two feel like suitable companions for one another
“Obviously, it’s circumstantial when they get together in the first act,” says Thwaites. “Maybe from there it becomes something of an unsaid agreement or a non-verbal understanding. I kind of like that they meet each other through circumstance, through chance, with neither of them choosing to be with one another. It’s this relationship that is forced together. You are watching these two people who have no business being together.
“They are meeting by chance,” he adds. “They are put together by chance. I think by the end of the film, you realize each character has brought something out of the other character. They are learning about themselves. My resolution is a really subtle inner resolution that answers a question about himself, perhaps, about forgiveness or something quite small and non-dramatic, which I thought was really cool.”
Besides dealing with things that go bump in the night, Thwaites is probably best known for two other franchises. He formerly portrayed Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, in HBO Max’s Titans. The superhero saga chronicled Dick’s evolution from Batman sidekick Robin to Nightwing, as he reformed and lead the superpowered team of Titans. Under DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, a live-action version of the group is in development. Could there be a place for Thwaites or Nightwing in this new iteration?
“I haven’t been keeping up with the DCU, but I do love that character,” Thwaites says. “I think he’s really special and the fans are just obsessed with Dick Grayson. I would love to play him again. I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s a good question.”
In addition, Thwaites played Henry Turner, the son of Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner, in 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Nine years later, another installment is reportedly in the works. Before Thwaites could even be asked whether he would be interested in reprising the role, he enthusiastically concluded, “I’ll do it.”
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