As a huge Tim Burton fan, Walles Hamonde was thrilled to be cast in the new ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ movie alongside stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder. A former competitive figure skater, Walles is now a familiar face on screen, perhaps best known for his character Rich in Armando Iannucci’s hit HBO show ‘Avenue 5’. He also played Sheik Al Jamain in the ground-breaking Netflix animation ‘Captain Fall’; Doctor Saed in the controversial 2023 New Year’s episode of ‘EastEnders’; and the lead Auror in the seminal Harry Potter spin-off ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’. In addition, Walles has starred in dozens of high-profile audio dramas, video games and animations. 

Walles said it was “an absolute honour” to be part of ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’: “I grew up watching the original ‘Beetlejuice’ movie, and in my former life as a competitive figure skater, actually skated as the character Beetlejuice several times using the hit Danny Elfman score.

“The audition process for this movie was shrouded in secrecy, and the project was codenamed, so even after I was offered the part, I was unaware of which movie I was shooting.”

“It was only when I went to my first costume fitting that I saw a pictures of Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara in costume and the penny dropped – and my heart rate jumped!”

Walles’ character, Glen, is involved in a plot line which really sets the scene of ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ and reintroduces us to the world of Lydia Deetz, 36 years after we last saw her. We can’t say any more without spoiling the plot, so you’ll have to watch it to find out what happens… 

Walles thoroughly enjoyed the shoot, especially working with his hero Tim Burton. He said: “A large portion of my career has been spent working in the fantasy genre, so this is a very familiar playground for me. That said, I felt a lot of nerves when I got on set for my first day of filming, which was incidentally the first day of filming for the whole movie. It was the normal ‘first day of school’ jitters, but definitely accentuated by the fact that I am a huge fan of Tim Burton, absolutely love the original movie and wanted to make sure my work spoke to my passion for the project. 

“I’m in a big scene alongside several lead cast members, which is technically intricate and has a lot of moving parts.”

“Tim has an incredible ability to see the bigger picture in his head and he really helps you as an actor to find the performance that he needs to tell his story.”

“The sets allow you to completely immerse yourself in your character and just ‘live’ the part. It was surreal to finish filming and think: ‘Did that just happen? Am I really in the new ‘Beetlejuice’’?!”

Over his career, Walles has worked opposite many well-known names in the industry including Eddie Redmayne and Colin Farrell (‘Fantastic Beasts’); Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad (‘Avenue 5’); Lyndsey Marshal and Jonah Hauer-King (‘Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar’); and Jason Ritter and Adam Devine (‘Captain Fall’). He can currently be heard alongside David Oyelowo and Vanessa Kirby in ‘The Strange Case’, and Phoebe Fox and Kyle Soller in ‘Temporal’, both available on Audible.

Walles said that ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ would appeal to a wide cross-section of viewers, adding: “It’s a major crossover in terms of genre – horror, comedy and fantasy. And there’s a whole generation of people who remember the original and will want to see the sequel for some feel-good 80s nostalgia. But there’s also a passionate new legion of younger fans who will know cast members from their more recent smash hit shows: Winona Ryder from ‘Stranger Things’, Catherine O’Hara from ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and Jenny Ortega from ‘Wednesday’. The original movie is also now on Netflix, so hopefully people can do a double-whammy and refresh themselves on the original and then come to the movies to find out what happens next!”

Walles has a busy month ahead, as he will be appearing in the new MGM+/Lionsgate drama ‘Borderline’, alongside Eoin Macken and Amy de Bruhn, which premieres on 2 September. Then on 13 September, Walles is set to star alongside Kim Cattrall, Ed Harris and Johnny Flynn in the highly anticipated BBC Radio 4 audio drama ‘Central Intelligence’.

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ has been released in cinemas across the UK and US.

Featured photo credit: Ziebell Photography.

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