Directed by Joachim Rønning, the film picks up several years after the events of the first film which was released in theaters in 2014. It features a star-studded cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Shekoni, David Gyasi and Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays a mysterious winged creature called Conall who rescues Maleficent (Jolie) after she is attacked.
For the BAFTA Award–winning actor who has done his fair share of wire work in the past, getting into a harness wasn’t as hard as it may have looked on screen. With prosthetic cheeks, tattoos which run across his chest area and a wig, he’s commanding as ever in the role.
“It’s all about trying to find a way of doing it that looks organic and to keep it very natural, even if the rigs are slightly uncomfortable or cumbersome, and making sure there’s a sense of elegance to it,” shares the actor.
With plenty of big-budget thrills and lots of visual effects, this film about a villainess-turned-heroine is an action‐packed story set within a visually lush and picturesque universe.
Earlier this year, Ejiofor’s directorial debut, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” which he adapted from the book of the same name, written by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer premiered on Netflix. The actor is working on adapting and directing “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League,” based on the best‐selling book by Jeff Hobbs.
Ejiofor’s film credits include voicing the villainous Scar in Disney’s “The Lion King,” Netflix’s “Come Sunday, “Amistad,” “Dirty Pretty Things,” “American Gangster,” “Talk to Me,” “Kinky Boots” “Four Brothers,” Spike Lee’s heist film “Inside Man” and the Oscar‐nominated “Children of Men.”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is currently playing in US theaters
By Samantha Ofole-Prince/Photos courtesy of Disney
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