Blumhouse’s Wolf Man follows Blake (Christopher Abbott), who inherits his estranged father’s farmhouse after he has disappeared and is presumed ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. It doesn’t take long before a terrifying ordeal occurs, which causes him to be bitten by a wild animal. He then starts acting strangely himself, putting his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) at risk.

Wolf Man is directed by Leigh Whannell, who has previously impressed audiences with Blumhouse’s take on Universal Monsters thanks to The Invisible Man. The new movie’s star, Abbott, is a Golden Globe nominee who made his feature film debut in Martha Marcy May Marlene. His other notable films include Hello I Must Be Going, The Sleepwalker, Poor Things, It Comes at Night, and Black Bear. Wolf Man comes to theaters on January 17.

ScreenRant interviewed Christopher Abbott about Wolf Man. He compared his approach to the way that Blake is not himself in this movie to his acting approach in Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, where he is taken over by another person. Abbott also spoke about working with the talented young actress who plays his daughter, Matilda Firth. Finally, he shared that he hurt his knee in a play before filming Wolf Man, which seems to be used a little bit in the film.

Christopher Abbott Says Wolf Man & Possessor Were “Similar Challenges”

“I would attribute Wolf Man [to] almost more a disease that’s happening.”

ScreenRant: In this film your character, Blake, is dealing with a disease that makes him not himself, which reminds me of your role in Possessor, where Colin is taken over by someone else. Can you talk about your approach to both of these characters?

Christopher Abbott: Possessor is a little bit more like I have to play somebody else that’s in me, which sort of sounds strange and pseudo-Sєxual. I would say that the difference is that I would attribute Wolf Man [to] almost more like a disease that’s happening. It’s a little bit more of a slow thing that is sort of taking over.

So I think the pace of that is quite different. But still, both are similar challenges when you’re not playing yourself, I guess.

The Stages Of Makeup Helped Inform Christopher Abbott Where His Wolf Man Character Is Mentally

“once I knew what I looked like, it can remind me mentally where I’m supposed to be in terms of the levels of animal-human.”

ScreenRant: Speaking of the slow transition, what was that makeup process like for you?

Christopher Abbott: Well, the makeup process was as cool as it looked. It was pretty tedious and arduous, but worth it. It helped inform or remind me where I was sort of meant to be mentally. You know what I mean? Because Aarjen Tuiten, who designed it, it’s all very specific.

There’s about seven or eight stages of makeup, and once I knew what I looked like, it can remind me mentally where I’m sort of supposed to be in terms of the levels of animal human.

Christopher Abbott Says Matilda Firth Is A Pro In Wolf Man

” felt like she was some old theater Dame having a cigarette in the corner or something like that.”

ScreenRant: Matilda Firth is incredible in this film. What was it like working with her?

Christopher Abbott: It was great. I mean, she’s so sweet, but she’s like a pro. She was, weirdly, too much like a pro, you know what I mean? It was really nice but also threw me, you know what I mean? She felt too seasoned.

I felt like she was some old theater Dame having a cigarette in the corner or something like that. I mean, she wasn’t, but it sort of felt like that. She was fantastic.

Wolf Man Was Able To Lean Into Christopher Abbott’s Injury

“I don’t want to say we used it, but the wolf walks a little funny, and I had a wonky knee, so it helped.”

ScreenRant: Leigh Whannell mentioned that you hurt your knee prior to filming, and it feels like they leaned into that a little in the movie.

Christopher Abbott: I mean, I healed up. I hurt my knee during a play, but luckily I mostly healed by the time I had to shoot this thing, because obviously, it’s a very physical thing. But, yeah, we used it a little bit. I don’t want to say we used it, but the wolf walks a little funny, and I had a wonky knee, so it helped.

I was mostly healed by then. We didn’t change the script completely around for it. It was all good.

Christopher Abbott Wants Audiences To Have Fun With Wolf Man

“There’s the fun part, which is the thrill and immediate, and then hopefully the heart in the movie makes it linger.”

ScreenRant: What do you hope that the audience experience is with Wolf Man?

Christopher Abbott: Well, I think it’s important to have fun. It’s a horror movie, right? So you want to go to a theater and experience the jump scares and have that roller-coaster ride, but by the end, hopefully, you still recognize the tragedy of it and that there is some heart to it. I think that part of it is what makes it last. You know what I mean?

There’s the fun part, which is the thrill and immediate, and then hopefully the heart in the movie makes it sort of linger.

More About Wolf Man (2025)

What if someone you loved became something else? From Blumhouse and visionary writer-director Leigh Whannell, the creators of the chilling modern monster tale The Invisible Man, comes a terrifying new lupine nightmare: Wolf Man.

Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.

Check out our other Wolf Man interviews here:

• Leigh Whannell
• Julia Garner
• Bea Sequeira

Source: Screen Rant Plus