Fans can find Ashmore in the new Netflix horror-thriller Aftermath alongside Ashley Greene, a role he takes on with vim and vigour. The new film directed by Peter Winther, and cowritten with Dakota Gorman, will have viewers keeping the lights on at night just in time for Halloween. If that's not enough, Ashmore's fans will be excited to hear that he will reprise his role as defence attorney, Wesley Evers, in the upcoming season of The Rookie, which airs on CTV and ABC. 

SWAGGER sat down with Shawn Ashmore to discuss Aftermath, The Rookie, his X-men past, and upcoming projects.

Congratulations on Aftermath, a new horror-thriller that you star in now streaming on Netflix. Can you tell us a little bit about Aftermath and the character that you play?

Shawn: Thank you. Aftermath is a horror-thriller in which I play a character named Kevin Dadich, who - without giving too much away - is having marital issues with his wife, Natalie, played by Ashley Greene. In an attempt to save their marriage and have a “fresh start”, they purchase a beautiful dream house where a crime happened; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to afford it. That's when the real chaos begins, taking viewers on twists and turns and keeping them guessing throughout the film. The reaction on Netflix has been really exciting so far. I think right now [pandemic-wise], theatrical releases are kind of up in the air, so it’s exciting to be on a platform like Netflix where we can get as many eyes as possible on this really fun movie.

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When you’re cast in a film, you never really know who you will be working with. Ashley was a part of the film before I was so I was excited, and I liked her work. When I had the initial meeting with Ashley and Peter Winther [director and writer], I knew right away that the three of us would vibe well, which helps build an illusion for the audience that our characters are married and have issues and connections.

Can we expect to see any more horror-thriller movies from you in the future? What is your favourite scary movie?

Shawn: I love horror films and will definitely make more horror films. I'm waiting to see when an upcoming film called "Free Fall" that I filmed is finished. It's really creepy, so I'm looking forward to seeing it. I can give you a whole list, but Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and The Shining are just a few of my favourite scary movies. I guess I like older classic horror films with great performances and great characters.

I guess I like older classic horror films with great performances and great characters.

Now, of course, we must talk about X-Men. Did you have any idea when you booked the role of Iceman, that the comic book movie universe was going to be what it became today?

Shawn: I grew up reading Marvel Comics, so I already knew the X-Men and was a huge fan, but I could not have foreseen that these types of films and characters would possibly become some of the biggest characters and movies in the world. I don't know if The Avengers and Marvel movies are the biggest grossing movies of all time, but if they're not, they're very close to it. So, I wouldn't have foreseen that, but I'm not surprised that these stories took off because they had a huge wealth of decades and decades of people enjoying and loving these characters.

strong>What was it like playing a superhero in X-Men and then playing an antihero in Amazon Prime’s The Boys?

Shawn: Playing Lamplighter was so much fun and kind of a dream. What I loved about The Boys is that they sort of take the superhero genre and spin it. After playing Bobby Drake [Iceman], the quintessential good guy in the X-Men films, it wasn't a coincidence that I was now going to play Lamplighter. One of the things I liked about The Boys is that they subvert the genre, and I really got to lean into that. I didn’t really look at Lamplighter as being a bad guy - he was a tragic hero and felt remorse for the things that made him a “villain”.

As an actor, I'm always looking for opportunities to play against what people perceive me as, so Lamplighter was a big opportunity to do that, and I was proud of how it turned out.

The newest season of The Rookie is out - what can fans expect this season?

Shawn: Season three ended on a huge cliffhanger, but fans can expect big reveals and captivating storylines. I think this season has everything that Rookie fans are hoping to see, it's really fun and one of my favourite seasons so far.

Watch Shawn Ashmore in Aftermath now streaming on Netflix or on ABC’s newest season of The Rookie.

This interview has been shortened for brevity.