Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Color Out of Space’s Elliot Knight

Since drawing attention for roles in Life Sentence, American Gothic, DC’s Titans, and most recently Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Elliot Knight has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors. He’ll next be seen in Richard Stanley’s adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s novella Color Out of Space. The film marks the highly anticipated return of Richard Stanley and will see Elliot star as Ward, a hydrologist who helps a family battle a cosmic nightmare that lands on earth. Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Elliot about the project, his transition from television to film, and what it was like working alongside Richard Stanley.

PC: What attracted you to this project?
Elliot: Color Out of Space was not a story that I was familiar with until the script came in from Richard [Stanley]. When I read the script, I didn’t actually know which character I was supposed to focus on. They wanted to see how I felt about the story itself. It blew my mind! [laughs] I’ve never read anything like this before. It was a unique and exciting opportunity. I was instantly attracted to the character of Ward, which is actually the character they were interested in me for. From there, I read the short, which we feature a few lines of in the film, and was introduced to the world of Richard Stanley.

PC: There have been a couple of adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft’s novella. How does this film differentiate itself?
Elliot: Well, I’m actually not familiar with the other adaptations. When this came to me, I was solely focused on what we were trying to do. But I do know that there is no one like Richard. He is the perfect director and writer to dive into Lovecraft. There’s just something so special in the touch he has on cinema. Shortly after I knew that I would be working with him, I watched Hardware, which, as you know, is from a different time and a different way to make cinema, yet there’s something so engaging and infectious about it. It’s no surprise that people have been anticipating his return. It’s crazy to me that someone so talented as Richard has managed to keep himself separate from that for so long. That said, it’s only made this experience that much more special. He is always uniquely himself as both a person and a creative. Like I said already, it’s like nothing that I’ve ever worked on, read, or experienced. How it differentiates itself from the other films, I can’t say. But I do feel it stands in its own league of horror. Honestly, I feel like it might be leading a new age of how we look at horror movies today. This is really more a mind-bending reality than jump scares. Although that does happen in this film.

PC: You’ve done a lot of television in your career, and this is your second big feature film. What has the transition been like going from the small screen to the silver? What’s been the biggest takeaway?
Elliot: I appreciate this question. It’s been great to be involved in filmmaking lately. From an actor’s perspective, it’s always great to have a story arc that you can run with. You know it beginning to end. With TV, you don’t know how long you’ll get to tell a story for, and you don’t know how to pace your character’s journey or arc. It’s been nice to have closure to a story. You have one character, and you know the full extent of their story. You can bring an appropriate light to them. It’s great for everyone from the cast to the characters in the story because we all know we’re building one special thing and moment rather than a lot of open-ended ones where we don’t know what’s coming up. I really do love TV, and we’re in such a great age for TV. There are amazing challenges to that as well though. It’s been great working in film, especially with a director like Richard. It feels very special. I know a lot of people who would love the opportunity, and somehow it landed in my lap this time, and I’m so grateful for that.

PC: The film has made its way around the festival circuit, and it’s been really well received. What do you think it is about the story that’s resonating with audiences?
Elliot: It just does things so differently. Honestly, the first time we screened this, we didn’t know what people were going to think. I don’t think any of us expected the reaction we saw from the audience. It’s so entertaining. When we read the script, it seemed horrifying. [laughs] But with Richard, Nic [Cage], and the rest of the cast, it has such a unique personality. I think it’s rare. There aren’t a lot of horror-genre films that are able to both scare and charm you at the same time. Often, they’ll be one or the other. But with Richard’s Color Out of Space, it’s as warm as it is chilly. I don’t think a lot of people can do that. I have to chalk it up to that. I’ve never seen audiences react so audibly before and always in different places. It’s really a joy to get to see people enjoy the film however the way that they do.

PC: Richard has already announced that Color Out of Space is the first in a trilogy, and Ward will be the sole continuing character. Have there been any early discussions about your involvement in the second and third films?
Elliot: I recently learned about that too, which was really exciting. I love Richard. To be able to do this again with Richard would be a dream. I have sat down with Richard to chat about his plans, but I won’t share that right now, out of respect to him. He’s very excited about continuing his journey in the Lovecraft universe like many other people. I know he has an idea, and he’s already working on the script, and he has something exciting planned. So stay tuned.

To keep up with Elliot, follow him on Twitter and Instagram Color Out of Space hits theaters today!