2025 marked the year of breakout actors stealing the show, from Owen Cooper in Netflix drama Adolescence to Chase Infiniti in One Battle After Another. But none shone as brightly as 14-year-old Alfie Williams, whose performance in Danny Boyle's long-awaited horror sequel 28 Years Later blew us away. Which is why we have awarded Williams the title of GamesRadar+'s best newcomer of the year.
We spoke to Williams about his breakout role and the journey leading up to playing the movie's lead. Set almost three decades after Cillian Murphy's 28 Days Later protagonist Jim woke up in a world overrun by a zombie plague, the 2025 sequel catches up with the humans existing among the infected, focusing on one community living on a small island protected by the tide. There lives William's teenage character, Spike, who knows only the rage-infested world he was brought up in.
