British actor Joe Anderson chatted about his new film “The Devil Conspiracy,” which will be in theaters on Friday, January 13, nationwide.
Anderson broke out as the co-lead in the Oscar nominated film “Across the Universe” opposite Evan Rachel Wood where he played her brother.
Aside from Joe Anderson, this thriller “The Devil Conspiracy” stars Alice Orr-Ewing, Joe Doyle, Eveline Hall, Peter Mensah, Brian Caspe, and James Faulkner. “It was a short shoot for me. I was in Prague for a week, and we only shot for four days,” he said. “The rest of the movie takes place above ground in the real world, so it was intense, tricky (with the makeup), but it was short and sweet. It was super fun.”
On playing Lucifer in “The Devil Conspiracy,” Anderson said, “There have been many devils and they have been done in many ways. He is not the suited and booted devil that is walking in New York, he was the archetypal William Blake, it’s that stained glass window imagery. I didn’t know what he was going to look like until I got out there. It seemed to work out.”
“The Devil Conspiracy” was directed by Nathan Frankowski. The movie was produced by Ed Alan and executive produced by Kevan Van Thompson, Vaclav Mottl, Michael Emerson, and Mike Sears. In “The Devil Conspiracy,” a cult steals the Shroud of Turin for wicked purposes. “It’s a thriller, and people should go see it to be thrilled and shocked. It raises some big questions and it can open up some debates. It’s a psychological, technological and religious thriller,” he said.
The synopsis of “The Devil Conspiracy” is as follows: A powerful biotech company has breakthrough technology allowing them to clone history’s most influential people with just a few fragments of DNA. Behind this company is a cabal of Satanists that steals the shroud of Christ putting them in possession of Jesus’ DNA.
The clone will serve as the ultimate offering to the devil. Archangel Michael comes to earth and will stop at nothing to end the devil’s conspiracy.
His most recent credits include the series regular role of Asa Farrell in “The Outsiders,” the role of Travis in “Soulmates,” and he appeared in an adaptation of “Brave New World.”
He also recently was in the feature film “The Reckoning,” and will soon be appearing in the upcoming movie “The Last Front.”
Previously, he starred opposite Ed Harris in Agnieszka Holland’s “Copying Beethoven.” He subsequently landed the coveted co-lead role in “Across the Universe,” the Beatles musical which was directed by Julie Taymor for Columbia Pictures.” “‘Across the Universe’ was my first film in the United States,” he said. “I was young, it was my third film I had ever done, and I would love to do it again now. It was extraordinary to use that material.”
On being a part of “Copying Beethoven,” he said, “That was a long time ago. That was good fun, Agnieszka Holland is a good director. Ed Harris was so intense in that role, I’ve never worked with an actor so intense. Ed was extraordinary as Beethoven. He stayed in character the entire time, it was so cool to witness.”
Anderson went on to star as Henry Austen “Becoming Jane” for Miramax, and “Control,” the Joy Division biopic.
He was also in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” which he was filming at the same time as “The Grey.” “That was great, and it was the end of the saga. It was good fun, and a strange combo for me, going from vampires to plane crashes,” he said.
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, he responded, “In terms of filming, the actual process of making a movie is great. The platforms allow you to distribute so much so quickly and you can get a hold of it at a cheap price, and there is a lot of bad content out there. It is so oversaturated. At the same time, it makes things accessible for everyone and it levels the playing field for aspiring filmmakers. It is ying and yang, you just need to adapt to it. I hope they keep the theater experience though.”
“The movie ‘The Devil Conspiracy’ is one that people can go and watch in the theater,” he said.
Anderson revealed that his next film will be “The Last Front,” which will be out in the following year. “Iain Glen from Game of Thrones is in it and it’s my first World War film and it’s set in Belgium. It’s a balanced story where you get to see both sides of the equation. I literally just finished shooting it,” he shared.
Success
On his definition of success, Anderson said, “Getting over any personal odds, anything that is against you whatever that may be. Going to bed knowing that you beat that thing within you.”
To learn more about English actor Joe Anderson, visit his IMDb page.
