Welsh actor foils bag thief at international film festival

Stephen Price

In scenes fit for the movie screen, Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard has made headlines after tackling a mugger during a French film festival.

The incident occurred while the acclaimed actor attended the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France for the Rogue Trooper movie premiere this week.

The new sci-fi movie adaptation of the 2000 AD comic Rogue Trooper stars Aneurin Barnard in the lead role.

The Bridgend-born actor, best known for his performances in Dunkirk, Men Up and The Goldfinch, is set to cement his position as an A-list Hollywood actor with this much-hyped movie which features a stellar ensemble cast.

Hayley Atwell and Jack Lowden join Aneurin Barnard among the recently announced voice cast, which also includes British comedy greats Diane Morgan and Reece Shearsmith.

Barnard will star as 19, the soldier who comes to be known as the Rogue Trooper.

According to reports, minutes before the actor was due to appear on stage for a Q&A, he spotted a thief steal a woman’s handbag.

Without any time to spare, Barnard rugby tackled the thief to the ground and kept him there until the police arrived.

Filmstories.co.uk shared: “Rogue Trooper director Duncan Jones related the story on his Bluesky feed, and described the moment where, minutes after the incident, Barnard “jogs over to our film panel, sits down, calm as can be, bloody knuckles on display, and regales the audience with tales from the film shoot!”

While at the film festival, and still in shock, Barnard shared: “It feels really weird for me to be telling this story. I just helped an old lady who’s been robbed and had to tackle a robber on the way here like an hour ago, so yeah.”

As reported by Deadline, Director Duncan Jones chimed in: “If the front row can confirm the blood on the knuckles. Sorry, it’s just been a really weird day. It’s been a very strange 24 hours, but we love Annecy.”

Barnard told an audience member mildly: “I just had to hold them down until the police arrived.”

And to the relief of the owner of the bag, with Barnard’s help it was returned without anything missing.

Rogue Trooper

Rogue Trooper, created by artist Dave Gibbons who worked on the Watchmen movie, and writer Gerry Finley-Day, follows ‘Genetic Infantryman’ 19, “who finds himself the sole-survivor of an invasion force.

Desperate to track down the traitor who sold him and his comrades out, the super soldier is accompanied by three killed-in-action squad mates, whose personalities have been stored in his gun, helmet and rucksack.”

Directed by Duncan Jones, the film has completed production in the UK and will be animated from Treehouse Digital using Epic’s Unreal Engine 5 with Rebellion Film Studios and Liberty Films producing.

Starring alongside Barnard, Atwell and Lowden are Daryl McCormack, Reece Shearsmith, Jemaine Clement, Matt Berry, Diane Morgan, Alice Lowe, Asa Butterfield and Sean Bean.

Jones said: “2000 AD offers a very different flavor of comic action: Political and brutal at times, but always with a Pythonesque twinkle in the eye.”

“Dredd was a taste of what 2000 AD has to offer and now we get to show the world another side of the beast. It is a genuine privilege to be given the opportunity to make Rogue Trooper.”

Rogue Trooper was first published in 1981 and has been featured in multiple adaptations and computer games ever since.

Rogue Trooper’s UK release date has yet to be confirmed.