The British actor steps into the role of Matt Hagen in the upcoming DC Studios horror film, which explores identity, trauma, and transformation.
Tom Rhys Harries is donning the grotesque form of Clayface in an upcoming DC Studios horror thriller that promises to dig deep into identity, trauma, and the cost of reinvention. The film, titled Clayface, will release on October 23, 2026, and marks Harries’ entry into the darker corners of the DC Universe.
Harries revealed in a Pinkvilla exclusive that his connection to the character began in childhood, watching the Batman cartoon series. "I was aware of Clayface as a character from watching the Batman cartoon series when I was younger," he said. The character, originally introduced in DC Comics in the 1940s, has seen multiple reinterpretations, with Matt Hagen becoming a prominent version in the 1960s. But this iteration is far from camp — it’s a psychological descent wrapped in body horror.
In the film, Matt Hagen is a promising actor whose career collapses after a brutal act of cruelty. After undergoing a cutting-edge treatment to restore his appearance, he begins experiencing disturbing side effects, both physical and mental. That push him toward revenge. Harries emphasized that when audiences first meet Matt, he has no awareness of the monstrous identity he’ll eventually become. "When we meet Matt in this movie, he has no concept of Clayface. He’s just trying to maintain his life," he said.
The actor also reflected on the thematic core of the film: the blurred line between running toward something and running away from it. "Sometimes, we’re not sure whether we’re running away or toward and those two things aren’t mutually exclusive," Harries noted. That ambiguity drives Matt’s transformation, not just into Clayface, but into someone unrecognizable even to himself.
Directed by James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Unfriended), the film features Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James in supporting roles. The screenplay is written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with production credits going to Matt Reeves, Lynn Harris, James Gunn, and Peter Safran.
While the film is being released in English, it will also have a Hindi version. A move signaling DC Studios’ growing investment in Indian markets. No word yet on how much of the original dialogue will be adapted for the Hindi dub, but the casting of Harries suggests a strong emphasis on performance over spectacle.
October 23, 2026, isn’t just a release date. It’s the moment the world gets its first real look at what happens when a man becomes a monster, not through magic, but through pain, ambition, and a broken mirror.
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