Tom Rhys Harries is about to perform a feat of clay.Deadline has confirmed reports that Tom Rhys Harries has been cast as the lead in James Watkins' upcoming DC Universe film Clayface, based on the DC Comics supervillain. Filming is scheduled to begin in October 2025 in the United Kingdom. According to TheWrap, Harries will be playing Matt Hagen, the second person to become Clayface in DC Comics.
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn confirmed the casting on Instagram, stating, "After a long and incredibly exhaustive search, we finally have our DCU Clayface in @tomrhysharries. Both Matt Reeves and I were just blown away by this guy, and can’t wait for you to see this film, directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan."
Harries, 34, is a Welsh actor probably best known as Ricky September in last year's Doctor Who episode "Dot and Bubble", and has appeared in episodes of Jekyll and Hyde, Britannia, Midsomer Murders, White Lines, Suspicion, and The Split. He's also appeared in the films Kandahar, The Gentlemen, and Slaughterhouse Rulez.
Created in 1961 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, Matt Hagen first appeared in Detective Comics (vol.1) #298 as a treasure hunter who found a mysterious radioactive pool of protoplasm in a cave. Immersing himself in it, he was transformed into a malleable clay-like form which could be shaped into almost anything he desired. Hagen soon gleefully began using his newfound powers for crime. His powers, however, proved only to have a temporary effect, requiring him to return to the pool periodically in order to maintain use of his powers. This power lasted 48 hours, after which time Batman succeeded in capturing him and sending him off to prison.
One year later, Batman trailed Hagen to the cave where Hagen received his powers and acquired the powers himself. He soon defeated the villain, who had planned to steal some art treasures. Batman sealed off the cave, but Hagen had managed to stash some of the protoplasm away. Hagen eventually copied the pool's protoplasmic jelly after studying chemistry, although the artificial proptoplasm only allowed him five hours of Clayface powers compared to the full two days from the cave pool.
In 1986's Crisis On Infinite Earths #12, Hagen was killed, along with the original Bug Eyed Bandit, by Shadow Demons. Later, the other three villains who use the name Clayface gathered Hagen's remains and launched an attempt to revive Hagen. The group of Clayfaces (including Basil Karlo, Preston Payne, and Lady Clay), dubbed the Mud Pack, ultimately ended in failure.
Harries will be the third actor to portray Clayface in live-action, after Kirk Baltz in the Birds of Prey episode "Feat of Clay" and Brian McManamon on the TV series Gotham.
Clayface is scheduled to arrive in theaters on September 11, 2026.
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