28 Years Later star says Alpha zombie has heroic history

28 Years Later star Chi Lewis-Parry has been discussing his work on the horror sequel, including the backstory crafted for his zombie Alpha, as well as why he had to wear a prosthetic penis.

28 Years Later is a brilliant belated sequel to horror classic 28 Days Later that again examines human behavior during a zombie outbreak in which people become infected by a virus called Rage.

We wrote in our four-star 28 Years Later review that the film is a “soulful sequel that’s filled with surprises and scares.”

One of those surprises is the arrival of supercharged zombies called Alphas, which are bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter than previous infected thanks to the virus acting like a steroid on them.

28 Years Later star says Alpha “sacrificed himself to protect others”

MMA-fighter-turned-actor Chi Lewis-Parry plays the biggest Alpha of them all in 28 Years Later, a berserker who one character christens ‘Samson.’

And while he spends the movie ripping off heads and pulling out spines, Lewis-Parry says he sees the character as a more heroic figure before he turned.

“I created a backstory,” Lewis-Parry tells Variety. “I’ve actually got a little notebook. In my head, what I did to help visualize his intentions and for him to be an Alpha, is have him saving others. He sacrificed himself to protect others and thus he became an infected. It made him less of a monster for me.”

But among the infected, Sansom is now dominant, with the actor explaining: “I suppose you could don him as the ‘King of the Infected,’ especially how I played him.

“There are things that didn’t make the cut, but he’s very much in charge of everything. You get to see that with the interactions that the other infected have when they’re around him. They’re like hyenas, and he’s the lion. He will have his feed and you will have what is left!”

Chi Lewis-Parry explains why he wore prosthetic penis in movie

Samsom is also naked throughout the film, and Lewis-Parry wore a prosthetic penis in the full-frontal scenes, for legal reasons to do with young star Alfie Williams.

“Yeah, they were prosthetics,” says the actor. “There’s a law that states, I think, because he’s a child, you’re allowed to have nudity but it has to be fake nudity. It was to protect him. And, as well, I’m really friendly and am always hugging people. I wouldn’t have been doing that if I was fully in the nip!”

When asked if the appendage was in proportion, Lewis-Parry adds: “Well, I’m 6′ 8″. I’ll say no more!”