Danny Boyle Reveals Secret Behind '28 Days Later' Terror: Professional Athletes Hired to Scare Actors

In a revealing interview with AlloCiné, acclaimed director Danny Boyle shared fascinating details about the production of his iconic horror film '28 Days Later' and its highly anticipated sequel, '28 Years Later' (2025). Boyle disclosed a unique method used to achieve authentic fear from his actors: hiring professional athletes to portray the 'infected' and relentlessly pursue the cast. "We told them to keep running," Boyle recounted, emphasizing the intense realism this approach brought to the scenes. Actress Jodie Comer, he noted, never knew when the athletes would stop, leading her to genuinely run for her life. This technique, which Boyle confirmed would continue for the upcoming film, ensured that the actors' terror was palpable. Boyle further explained the background of these 'elite' athletes, many of whom retire from professional sports around age 30. "Some of them joined an agency that gave them work, found them work," he stated. Their diverse post-retirement careers sometimes included performing acrobatics in the Middle East or opening supermarkets, before they transitioned to terrifying film sets. Boyle even described a workshop where he instructed the athletes: "You have to run at me as fast as you can and as violently as you can and try to kill me... but don't actually do it." This unconventional casting choice underscores Boyle's commitment to pushing boundaries in cinematic realism.