What I like about the Carpenter take on The Thing is the fact that it just has so much suspense. It seemed like a different story, with the horror elements. Those films that really speak to the primal fear that we, as human beings, have about the unknown have always intrigued me. That's the really scary thing, not the slasher, macabre movies.
Adewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeYou don't want it to be a replica or an imitation. You want to create something fresh, original, very unique.
Adewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeI remember in the Carpenter version, you got acquainted with the characters and really knew them. It was a real character piece. Each actor was serviced in the movie, and we tried to do that in this movie as well. I like the fact that there was a European, first-time director. I'd known of him because I'm from Europe. I knew him as a commercial director and thought one of his commercials was great. I thought it was an interesting take on such a big-budget cult classic.
Adewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeIt's a significant question: should black people only adopt black children, and white people white children?
Adewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeAnd then, with a European director and Norwegian actors speaking in Norwegian, it was going to be very interesting. So, whatever initial trepidation or fear I may have had was alleviated by those factors. I just said, "This is something to get on board with."
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje