5 Awesome Performances...
5. Major Henry West - 28 Days Later (2002)
You could certainly argue that Christopher Eccleston's appearance in Danny Boyle's seminal horror flick 28 Days Later amounts to nothing more than one of those extended cameos I mentioned in the introduction, but to do so would be to overstate an audiences's familiarity with the actor: this is Eccleston taking on a role as any working actor in need of a gig might, but in doing so he provides the entire second act of the film with a sense of horror and uneasiness that a lesser performer would not have been capable of conjuring up. The plot of 28 Days Later concerns the infection of the UK population by way of an virus which renders its victims as rage-inflicted monsters. Having survived long enough to escape London, Cillain Murphy's hero Jim and his ragtag group make it to Major Henry West's compound, where Eccleston does his best job of making us feel like something is seriously wrong. The success of this character is in Eccleston's delivery: his horrifying decisions are made for - in West's eyes, anyway - entirely pragmatic reasons, though the actor never overplays his hand. It's a surprisingly accomplished performance, one that feels real - and researched - despite its size.