 WE'VE all heard the old adage that you should never pick up hitchhikers, but now we are about to be given a salient reminder why as Sean Bean stars in a new re-working of the cult-classic 1986 horror/thriller, The Hitcher. Taking over the role made famous by Rutger Hauer, Bean stars as the mysterious drifter who turns a cross-country trip into a living nightmare for the unfortunate couple who make the mistake of offering him a ride. The trio play a deadly game of cat and mouse on the back roads of New Mexico, leaving a trail of blood, mayhem and twisted metal in their wake. The film marks the film directorial debut of acclaimed music-video director, Dave Meyers, and stars One Tree Hill's Sophia Bush and newcomer, Zach Knighton; but it is the malevolently deranged performance of Sean Bean that is set to petrify audiences as he terrorises the young twenty-something's in increasingly shocking fashion. Although already famous in the UK for his role as the dashing British Major, Richard Sharpe, fighting the French across many a Napoleonic battlefield, Bean really came to international prominence playing opposite Harrison Ford in Patriot Games, and in films such as Goldeneye, The Field and perhaps most notably playing the role of Boromir in Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings trilogy. Despite the terrifying nature of his character, the Sheffield native, and self-described football fanatic, admits that he relished playing the role, saying "I found it kind of fun, to tell you the truth. It was pretty focused and pretty tense, because of the nature of the film. But it was also a lot of fun. Because I was doing such wicked and horrible things to people." There have been some unfavourable reactions amongst fans of the original film about and kind of remake, but Sean shrugs of any concerns saying "I just saw it as something new that we were doing. I saw the film once before, and thought it was a good film. I just wanted to not be influenced by it. "I mean, I've played Macbeth as well and actors have been playing that one for 500-years, now, so I suppose it's a remake every time you do it, too." He adds "I can't put my finger on the things that I brought to The Hitcher when I watch my performance. But I found there are things in there that I wasn't aware of which I found quite interesting and satisfying. It means I wasn't monitoring myself or my performance or being influenced by anybody else. At the end of the day, this character is very deranged and very confused. I just played that confusion. You don't know what he wants. And I think that's what makes it scary." And scary is definitely right. The Hitcher promises to be a film that will stay with the audience long after it ends; it also promises to change the way that people regard HGV's for ever. But Sean admits that when it comes down to it the thing that frightens him the most, it is a lot closer to his heart, adding "Sheffield United losing on Saturday afternoons... That scares me most!"
The Hitcher is in UK cinemas from June 1 2007
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