Culture

Welsh star records huge movie success with blockbuster Clayface

27 Oct 2026 3 minute read

Actor Tom Rhys Harries from the film “Clayface” visits the Empire State Building on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Nation.Cymru staff

A Welsh actor is tasting huge success after starring in the lead role in new DC Studios’ blockbuster, Clayface.

Tom Rhys Harries who is relatively unknown Stateside, stars as the Batman villain known for his ability to shape-shift.

The casting ended a search that focused on young, British actors for the project. Among those in the mix had been Sinners bad guy Jack O’Connell, Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes‘ Tom Blyth, Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) and George MacKay, star of war movie 1917.

DC project leads James Gunn and Peter Safran went to great lengths in their search for their lead star.

Speak No Evil director James Watkins directed Clayface with a budget in the $40 million range.

The movie centres on a B-movie actor who becomes a walking piece of clay after injecting himself with a substance in an attempt to keep himself relevant.

Hollywood industry bible Variety toasted the success the movie writing: Clayface nearly just made up its entire $44 million budget with a $43 million haul this weekend at the global box office, surpassing expectations and holding off Nathan Fielder’s You Can See Everything, which increased its totals from last week after word of mouth spread. That film is widely considered one of the best of the year.

‘But Clayface? Audiences are now considering that one of the best films of the year, especially if you narrow it down to the horror category specifically. There is no wilder story than Obsession, the microbudget film that critics and audiences loved and made over half a billion dollars, setting loads of records. But Clayface has now matched it in one specific category. The comic book horror film has a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, matching the 94% of Obsession. Both are 1% above the Korean zombie movie Colony, and the only other mainline 90%+ movie in 2026 is Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil.’

Director James Watkins, from left, Naomi Ackie, and Tom Rhys Harries arrive at the premiere of “Clayface” on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, at the Hollywood Legion Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Prolific horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan wrote the script for Clayface, which is in cinemas in the UK now.

The Batman director Matt Reeves produced the movie, along with Lynn Harris and Gunn and Safran.

It’s a massive break for the 35-year-old Welshman who has notched up screen credits with work on TV, movie and stage in the UK for the last 15 years.

Among his early gigs was a role on BBC fantasy drama Jekyll & Hyde, and making his West End debut in Mojo with Ben Whishaw and Rupert Grint.

In recent years, he appeared in AppleTV+ series Suspicion and Netflix series White Lines. He also had a role in the 2023 Gerard Butler action drama Kandahar.

He most recently starred alongside Leisa Gwenllian in the critically-acclaimed Welsh language film Effi o Blaenau.

Now Tom looks set to become a household name on the global stage.

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