'Clayface's' Tom Rhys Harries opens up about embracing USA culture with his parents
Tom Rhys Harries teases Clayface’s horror roots—and why Batman might not be ready.
On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Tom Rhys Harries had some playful trash talk ready when the conversation turned to Gotham’s most famous vigilante. Asked about a potential showdown between his character and Batman, the Welsh actor didn’t hedge.
“I'm not sure Batman would stand a chance against Clay,” Harries quipped.
Harries said he dove into more than 80 years of comics to prepare for playing Matt Hagen, one of several iterations of the shape-shifting villain. He described Clayface as a straight-up horror movie that happens to live inside a comic-book world — one that starts like a rom-com for Hagen before everything curdles into something much darker.
A very American detour
The late-night appearance doubled as a travel diary. Harries brought his parents over and mapped out a road trip that felt proudly, almost comically, American — complete with coastal views and Sunday football.
- San Francisco — his parents flew in
- Big Sur — they road-tripped the California coast
- Santa Barbara — they met up with Harries
- Los Angeles — first night capped with Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium
“I'm a maximalist and America speaks to the maximalist,” Harries said.
Kimmel joked that the family had jumped in headfirst, and Harries didn’t disagree — swapping jet lag for kickoff at SoFi is one way to do L.A.
The movie
Directed by James Watkins, the film follows Hagen, an aspiring Hollywood actor whose disfigurement leads him to an experimental treatment with monstrous side effects. The cast also includes Naomi Ackie and Max Minghella.
Clayface is set to open in North American theaters on October 23, 2026 .