Naomi Ackie On The Horrors Of Transformation And Entering The DC Universe With ‘Clayface’

From portraying cultural icons to navigating the strange possibilities of science fiction, Naomi Ackie has built a filmography that spans intimate indie dramas and ambitious studio productions. The British actor has a knack for finding the humanity in extraordinary circumstances, whether across galaxies in Star Wars or in the shape-shifting world of Mickey 17. Now, she enters the DC Universe with Clayface, trading cosmic adventures for something considerably more grotesque.

In DC Studios' Clayface, Ackie plays Dr Caitlyn Bates, a brilliant but unconventional scientist whose ambitions lead her to an experimental treatment that could change the life of Matt Hagen, an actor played by Tom Rhys Harries. After his face is brutally disfigured, Hagen turns to Caitlyn in a desperate attempt to reclaim his former appearance. What follows is a disturbing transformation into a shape-shifting being, blurring the boundaries between human identity, physicality and monstrosity. Directed by James Watkins, the R-rated body-horror film brings a darker, more visceral sensibility to the DC Universe, with Ackie's character at the centre of its unsettling scientific and emotional dilemmas.

For Ackie, the project is a particularly exciting intersection of childhood fandom and the kind of complicated character work she gravitates towards. A longtime DC fan, she was thrilled to be invited into the universe, but what ultimately drew her to Clayface was the opportunity to play a woman whose intelligence and ambition are complicated by the risks she is willing to take. Caitlyn is a scientist who knows what she wants but finds herself confronting questions that don't have straightforward answers. Her connection with Matt extends beyond the experiment, creating a tension between professional opportunity, personal attachment and the possibility that she has gone too far.

“Caitlyn starts off as a woman who is somewhat down on her luck. She's incredibly smart and knows what she wants to accomplish, but there are glass ceilings standing in her way,” Ackie explains. “Then she encounters this man who could unlock a lot of those possibilities for her, but doing so comes with a huge risk.”

It is precisely this uncertainty that makes Caitlyn so interesting to inhabit. As the experiment progresses, the question isn't simply whether the science will work, but whether Caitlyn should continue pursuing it at all. “There's a constant tension in playing her: what is she doing right or wrong? At what point should she stop, and should she stop at all? Who knows what could happen?” Ackie says. “Then there's the connection she develops with Matt Hagen beyond the experiment itself. It's a very complicated relationship, and it's so much fun to play complicated characters who are going through a lot.”

The idea of witnessing someone undergo a drastic transformation is not entirely unfamiliar territory for Ackie, who also appeared in Mickey 17. Yet she is quick to point out that the two experiences felt distinct, despite their shared fascination with bodies that defy conventional boundaries. “It's interesting when you're playing someone who has to witness an extravagant change in another person. Naturally, that changes your character, too. There are so many questions that come up when you see someone transform,” she says. “The scenarios and relationships in Mickey 17 and Clayface are very different, so they didn't feel particularly connected, apart from the idea that something drastic happens to someone your character is connected to.”

Where Mickey 17 explores transformation through science fiction, Clayface leans firmly into horror, making the physicality of its central premise impossible to ignore. For Ackie, some of the most memorable moments on set came not from the performance itself, but from the practical effects surrounding her. Caitlyn's laboratory, in particular, proved to be a world of its own. One substance, which appears in the trailer as a moving, flesh-like liquid, looked convincingly computer-generated but was, in fact, a practical creation.

“It's this material that becomes solid when you hit it hard, but turns almost liquid when you let it move slowly through your fingers. It's wild,” she recalls. “The fact that something like that exists in the real world, rather than being a visual effect, was fascinating.” The set was also populated with fake flesh and bloody tissue, complete with teeth and hair, made by the props team. “Those were the moments when I thought, 'Oh, I'm fully in a body-horror film.'”

For someone who has moved between intimate independent productions and some of Hollywood's biggest franchises, Clayface also offered a reminder that the scale of a film doesn't necessarily determine the experience of making it. Ackie has previously spoken about her affection for smaller films, but, as she clarifies, what she values most is the sense of community that can develop on a set. Even her experience working on Star Wars retained that quality.

“When I talk about loving smaller films, what I really mean is that, regardless of the budget, I love it when a production feels like a small, tight-knit community on a day-to-day basis. Clayface felt like that,” she says. “Strangely enough, even when I did Star Wars, there was a sense of it being a small film because everyone was so close-knit and worked as a team. That's the part I love the most.”

That emphasis on collaboration is perhaps what makes Ackie's transition into the DC Universe feel less like a departure from her earlier work and more like a natural extension of it. For all the scale of the sets and the grotesque ingenuity of the practical effects, the appeal remains rooted in the people bringing the story to life. “I've been incredibly lucky that, whether I'm making an independent film or a big-budget production, the people around me are fantastic at what they do. They're also kind, they want to have fun, and they want to create something special together,” she says.

Her own relationship with the DC Universe, meanwhile, began long before she stepped onto the set of Clayface. Growing up, she was drawn to Batman and his imperfections, particularly in contrast to the near-mythic qualities of characters such as Superman and Wonder Woman. “Batman had a darkness to him that I really loved. DC's heroes can be quite godlike, but Bruce Wayne isn't perfect. I loved that about him. There's something gritty about Batman,” she says. Her childhood favourites also included characters from Teen Titans, particularly Starfire and Raven, a reminder that her enthusiasm for the universe extends beyond its most obvious icons.

Ultimately, Ackie's excitement about Clayface comes down to the opportunity to inhabit a world where attraction and repulsion, ambition and consequence, and humanity and monstrosity exist in uneasy proximity. The film may be filled with grotesque transformations, but its most compelling questions are recognisably human: what are we willing to risk to become who we want to be, and what happens when the person we are trying to save becomes someone we no longer recognise? For Ackie, the pleasure lies in sitting with those complications, rather than finding easy answers. And if her time in the DC Universe has taught her anything, it is that sometimes the most unsettling transformations begin with the best intentions.

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