Ralph Fiennes (Conclave, The Menu, The Grand Budapest Hotel) describes Dr. Ian Kelson, his character in the virus-ravaged world of 28 Years Later, as “above all, a survivor.”

“He’s accepted the fact of death — that it’s so present,” Fiennes said. “Rather than run away from it, pretend death doesn’t exist, or live in fear of it, Kelson is honoring death and the dead. In a way, he’s a rather clergy-like figure and a humanist.”

In 28 Years Later, Dr. Kelson and the other survivors are still living in the world of the dead, where the rage virus from the first movie has lain waste to the United Kingdom. A safe haven has been made off an island, protected by a single defended causeway that floods during much of the day, leaving the land inaccessible to the infected.

Fiennes worked closely with production and costume designers to bring Dr. Kelson’s look to life.

“One of Kelson’s defining traits is that he covers himself in iodine, which is a prophylactic against the rage virus. So, Kelson is covered in reddish-orange iodine, and then we made the decision to have his head shaven, which we thought was a strong look,” he said.

28 Years Later premieres on 18 June.