Interview: Nicholas Farrell on ‘Past Life’

Psychological horror thrives on uncertainty, and Past Life has that in spades. What starts as a story about trauma and memory quickly twists into something far more unsettling, as a war journalist’s attempt to decompress spirals into a waking nightmare involving hypnosis, past lives and a series of violent crimes that may or may not be his own.

Directed by Grimmfest’s Simeon Halligan and starring Aneurin Barnard, Jeremy Piven, Pixie Lott and Nicholas Farrell, Past Life leans into that creeping sense of paranoia where nothing feels quite solid and no one can be fully trusted.

We caught up with Farrell, who plays retired journalist and true crime expert Elliot Reed, to talk about diving into the thriller genre for the first time, the film’s fascination with morally grey characters, and why Past Life stood out to him as a script worth taking a chance on.

Read the full interview below.

Nicholas Farrell on Past Life, true crime fascination and stepping into the thriller genre

Love Horror: For people who haven’t seen the film yet, how would you describe Past Life?

Nicholas Farrell: Well, it’s a psychological thriller that’s based around a foreign correspondent who has been working in Syria and has seen some pretty disturbing sights. The film takes place when he comes back home to take a break before going back out there.

It’s kicked off by his wife, who convinces him that he should go along to a television recording of an American hypnotist. Jason, the journalist, is a sceptic but goes along anyway and ends up being hypnotised, which actually opens up more bad memories and bad experiences.

He then goes back to the hypnotist and says, ‘my head is in worse shape now as a result of being hypnotised. Can you please reverse whatever you’ve done?’ So he undergoes a series of hypnotic sessions and it seems to him that he becomes involved in some past life in which he seems culpable for crimes that are being committed.

That’s the essence of the film. He then spends the film either under hypnotism and in regression, or as a journalist tracking down what happened back in the 80s where the hypnotism is taking him.

It’s an interesting concept because it feels like it might be about PTSD at first, but actually the trauma he encounters isn’t his own.

Yeah, no, it’s clever. Because he suddenly finds himself acting out and being a part of some pretty horrific crimes. And he thinks, ‘well, I hope this isn’t me. It can’t be me.’ But when I’m under hypnosis, it is. So what is going on?

He and the hypnotist become detectives trying to track down what actually happened. And in the process of doing that, they come across some articles written by a journalist, which is the character that I play.

I play this retired journalist who now has a true crime podcast. That’s how he spends his time, and he’s able to help him a bit with getting closer to what actually happened. But it’s a series of mysteries, really.

What drew you to the role?

I’ve never done a film that was a thriller, so that appealed to me. And I really liked the script. I thought the characters were all various shades of grey. You’re never quite sure how culpable one character might be. Everybody seems to potentially have something hidden, or hiding something.

And I thought the plot was just very clever. The plotting of it was intriguing. So that’s what I went for.

You’ve got a really strong and varied cast around you as well. What was that like to work with?

It was a very good atmosphere. Aneurin Barnard, who’s playing Jason, the journalist, is the beating heart of the film. Everything is experienced through him, and he’s terrific.

And of course Jeremy Piven has a great presence. So it was great to work with those two. And unfortunately I only had a little to do with Pixie Lott, but she was great and good fun.

Your role also has a physical element to it. How was that side of things?

It was good. We had a very good fight director who was very sympathetic and made it all credible and doable and easy.

But you’ve reminded me, when I was at drama school, there was something called the fight certificate. Everybody would pass it, but in my year I was one of three people who didn’t, which was great. I couldn’t quite understand why I’d been failed.

Shortly afterwards I was taken on by the Bristol Old Vic, and one of the first plays we did was As You Like It. There’s a character called Charles the Wrestler, so I thought, well, the laugh’s on the guys who judged me. So here I am playing Charles the Wrestler, which was great fun.

You’ve worked across stage, television and film. Was stepping into a thriller something new for you?

No, I hadn’t really done anything like that in film. I’ve done plenty of crime dramas on TV, of course, but as a film, no.

As soon as it came along, I thought yes, I’ve got an opportunity to work on something like this, so I grabbed it.

Your character deals heavily with true crime. What do you make of the public’s fascination with it?

It’s bizarre, isn’t it? It’s a strange comment on the human psyche. When we’ve got two horrific wars going on at the moment and every news bulletin you see buildings being exploded and mothers weeping about their lost sons, you think, ‘let’s get away from all this terrible news. Let’s tune into a story about a multiple murderer.’

It’s so bizarre. And yet people obviously love it. I can understand why, going into the baser elements that thankfully isn’t a part of our normal lived life. I suppose that therein lies the attraction. But it is bizarre.

The film also explores hypnosis and past lives. Is that something you’ve ever been curious about yourself?

No, I haven’t. It doesn’t appeal at all. I think it’s to do with loss of control. I wouldn’t be keen on somebody else being able to pull the strings or put me somewhere that I didn’t want to be or didn’t know about.

But that’s what’s clever about the script. What if you don’t end up as Henry the Eighth, but you end up as someone responsible for appalling crimes? It’s clever.

Do you watch much horror yourself?

I don’t go out and out horror. I find it a bit tricky. But one of my favourite films of all time is Fargo. I know that’s not an out-and-out horror film, but there’s plenty of blood.

If you can tell a story like that with rich characters, then it’s going to appeal to a lot of people. I confess I haven’t seen a lot of horror, but it’s something I’m happy to get further into.

Finally, what’s next for you?

There’s a couple of things, but I can’t really talk about them. Hopefully further down the line it will all come good.

But I’m happy to chill for a moment. I had quite a busy year last year in the theatre, so I’m just enjoying a bit of downtime now.

Past Life is in UK cinemas now, with a digital release set for 6 April 2026 via Miracle Media, and it’s exactly the kind of slow-burn psychological thriller that rewards going in blind.