'I like imaginative ideas for a film...' EastEnders legend John Altman opens up about new horror movie The Last Grail Hunter
Former 'EastEnders' star John Altman - famous for playing 'Nasty' Nick Cotton on the BBC One soap - has opened up about his new horror film 'The Last Grail Hunter'.
'EastEnders' legend John Altman agreed to star in new horror movie 'The Last Grail Hunter' because it is such an "original idea".
The 73-year-old actor - famous for playing Walford villain 'Nasty' Nick Cotton in the BBC One soap on-and-off for 30 years - is the lead character in the movie, which was written and directed by ufologist and filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee.
Altman stars as Johnny Calvi, a failed grail hunter battling with alcoholism who makes one last attempt to find the Holy Grail - the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper.
The film is set in the future where society has been rebuilt and controlled by a secret organisation called the Priory of Sion and The Last Grail Hunter is a popular game and Johnny Calvi is its hero. Could it be that Calvi is in fact being controlled by someone else and his quest is nothing more than a mission in a video game?
John admits that once he was told about the unique plot for 'The Last Grail Hunter' he knew he wanted to make it because it was such an original premise. He also agreed to the project because he is a horror aficionado having had roles in fellow genre films 'Demons At Dawn' and 'Repentance' in recent years and 1981 classic 'An American Werewolf In London'.
Discussing the project, he said: "I’ve been friends with Mark for a long time and I liked the idea of it.
"I like imaginative and original ideas for a film, this is.
"I love horror films. I like to be made to jump out of my skin, which a good horror should be able to do. I like it when the film controls you so that you’re totally relaxed and not expecting anything and that’s when you jump. I like that, the power of film."
In 'The Last Grail Hunter', Altman's alter ego Johnny visits various grail related places in London such as Notre Dame Church in Leicester Square, Temple Church and Watkins Books in Cecil Court - where he buys tarot cards.
John says the locations provide an education to London's secret spots, which you'd never know about unless someone told you or showed you.
He added: "We take in all these different locations.
"Watkins is a spiritual and mystical book shop just off Leicester Square, down a pedestrianised side street. The shop is full of tarot and astrology, like something out of 'Harry Potter'.
"There’s all these places tucked away that you wouldn’t ever know about unless somebody showed you or you read about it."
John also revealed that there are plans for him and Mark - who has made several documentaries about UFOs - to make another movie in the future.
He said: "We may be shooting another one perhaps with a bigger budget.
Mark says the project is inspired by his love of late American filmmaker Roger Corman, who directed over 500 movies, many of which were low-budget features which gained a cult following, including 1960's 'The Little Shop of Horrors', 'The Intruder' released in 1962 and 1963's 'X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes'.
Mark said: "It's inspired by my love of B movies and sci-fi - the whole idea and plot came to me one night in a dream by Roger Corman - I woke up and wrote it all down. Two weeks later we had finished the film. I've known John for a long time and we've worked together doing music, I produced his debut album 'Never Too Late To Rock and Roll' and my band The Pocket Gods played a few live gigs with him.
"I spoke to John about the film and he loved the concept - it's basically like 'Mr Bean' meets 'The Exorcist' doing an episode of the 'Twilight Zone'.
"John and I both love the Peter Sellers film 'Being There' and it has that element to it - of nothing much happening but the time and space allow the mind to think."
'The Last Grail Hunter' will be available to stream on Amazon Prime in 2025.
