All the Films Proving David Cronenberg Loves British Talent

The fact that one of genre cinema’s most invasive and empathetic filmmakers makes his films outside of Hollywood is telling. One of David Cronenberg’s greatest impacts was inspiring many Toronto New Wave directors in the 80s and 90s not to leave their native Canada to make films – nearly all his movies were made in Ontario, even if they were for major studios (Cronenberg himself has maintained he’s never made a studio film – mainstream films like The Dead Zone and The Fly were made with producers who liaised with studio chiefs).

This reluctance to embrace the compromised mechanisms of Hollywood has led Cronenberg towards more singular artists and niche topics, leading to collaborations with European talent and financiers – not to mention a proclivity for a tendency to cast British actors and adapt British texts.

From when Cronenberg started making commercial films in the 70s, there were legions of authentically British actors who could add a touch of theatrical gravitas to the low-budget, nasty (but always tactile and psychologically-slanted!) horror or sci-fi movies that Cronenberg made. As his reputation grew and he attracted reputable artists and set his films around the globe, the pool of British talent and literature that collaborated with Cronenberg only grew. If you want to get your British fix at the same time as your body-horror one, here are 10 films where Cronenberg proved he was and is still fascinated with British artists.