British actor Dan Stevens said, “I love that this film has a tribute” to late star Angus Cloud, following his posthumous performance in horror film Abigail.
The film stars Matilda actress Alisha Weir as a 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure who is kidnapped by a group of would-be criminals who are hoping to collect a $50 million ransom to watch the girl overnight.
Cloud plays a kidnapper in the film, alongside Downton Abbey actor Stevens, Scream star Melissa Barrera, Big Little Lies actress Kathryn Newton, X-Men star Kevin Durand and William Catlett, from Charm City Kings.
Euphoria actor Cloud died in July 2023 from an accidental overdose at the age of 25.
His castmates appeared at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles for the film premiere.
“Angus was incredible, he was so unique and I’ve never met anyone like him,” Stevens told the PA news agency on the red carpet.
“He was like all of our little brothers on set, and we loved him very much, and we miss him very much.
“I love that this film has a tribute to him at the end, and he would have loved this; he would’ve laughed his arse off.”
Beauty And The Beast star Stevens described the cast as “such a lovely, unlikely gang” which he said was “sort of the point of the film”.
In the film, 14-year-old Weir turns into a bloodthirsty child vampire, a “little bit different” from her starring role in the big screen version of Matilda The Musical in 2022.
“Abigail and Matilda are so different in so many different ways, the genres are so different, the castings are so different, but what I love so much about acting is you get the opportunity to do that,” she told PA.
The Dublin-born actress also spoke about “learning so much” from her fellow castmates on set, including Cloud.
“Every single cast member was so incredible, and Angus brought so much joy to the set,” she told PA.
“Every single day he would make everybody smile and I’m so so honoured and so grateful, not just to have worked with him, but to have known such a beautiful person who is so amazing and beautiful inside and out.
“He shared that with every single person on the cast.”
Canadian actor Durand, who appeared in Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, said, “Everybody spoke of how good they felt when they talked to him,” referencing Cloud.
“It was just so nice to meet someone who was just so real,” Durand told PA.
“He wasn’t concerned with being famous; he wanted to be a good person. We all loved him very much and are all very proud of what he did in this film.
“I hope he’s really happy with it.”
Catlett said that when people ask about Cloud, they think the cast is “supposed to be sad,” but he is not because “Angus” deposited something into each and every one of us.
“He never cared about being famous because he came in (to the film) pretty famous, he only cared about being a good person, and that’s what makes him live forever,” Catlett added.
The film comes from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, known together as Radio Silence.
Their previous projects include Devil’s Due, Southbound, Ready Or Not, and several films in the Scream franchise.
Stevens said he has a “lot of mutual friends in the horror community” who spoke so highly of the director duo, which was what drew him to the project.
“They are just the loveliest, funniest guys. They really encourage you to be silly, playful, and throw improv in there,” he told PA.
“So many alt lines just trying to make each other laugh constantly while also being drenched in 30,000 litres of fake movie blood – which is apparently what we got through on this film.”
Abigail is released in Irish cinemas on April 19th.
