Silver screen sensation

Scottish-Bahraini thespian Ghazi Al Ruffai’s latest thriller film 28 Years Later is entertaining audiences worldwide, shining a bright spotlight on the kingdom’s cinematic talent.

The 25-year-old, who attended St Christopher’s School, is also set to star in the sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which will release in January next year.

28 Years Later is the third instalment in the series, following 28 Days Later (2002) and 28 Weeks Later (2007), and explores the second outbreak of the ‘Rage’ virus. 

There are plans for a fifth film 28 Years Later Part 3.

A group of survivors from the first outbreak live on a small island. When a member of the group leaves the island on a mission into the mainland, he discovers a mutation that has spread to not only the infected, but other survivors as well.

“Filming 28 Years Later was simply wild! Everything was very tight-lipped during the audition process, so I never knew I’d be playing a key role,” said the former Riffa resident who currently lives in London and brings ‘Jimmy Snake’ alive on the big screen.

During the initial outbreak of the virus, Jimmy (played by a different child actor) flees from his house after his family gets infected. While taking shelter at a local church, he finds his father, a local vicar, who gives him a necklace and urges him to escape, succumbing to the virus in the process.

“I make my first appearance at the end of the first film as part of the cliff-hanger, and the lead-up was intense. We had weeks of stunt training, which consisted of fight choreography, acrobatics and weaponry,” he added.

Elaborating on his experience filming, the creative talent who lived in Bahrain for 19 years before moving to the UK said: “The whole thing was so surreal; I still pinch myself about it. Above all, to be directed by Danny Boyle, a true legend that I have admired for so long, was a dream come true. Being able to work with legends such as Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell was like witnessing a masterclass in acting daily. On top of that, my fellow Jimmies and I truly became a family. We all just clicked instantly that it felt like we had known each other for years.”

Ghazi has always had the ‘acting bug’ in him and was an ‘expressive’ child growing up, forcing his siblings to join him and put on shows for their parents. However, he did not think it could happen. That changed during his years studying at St Christopher’s School.

“At St Christopher’s, I was able to explore drama in an academic setting. The drama department was incredibly supportive, and that encouragement helped me take acting a bit more seriously,” he said.

However, a real turning point came when Ghazi joined the Makan School of Speech and Drama and met its founder and acting instructor Ruqaya Aamer, who helped him hone his craft and find his voice as an actor. “I credit so much of my growth and success to her,” he noted.

The actor, who visits regularly, was in Bahrain in January this year when he visited St Christopher’s and gave a talk to Year 12 and 13 drama and acting students, sharing his journey and offering tips.

After graduating school, Ghazi moved to the UK in 2018 to pursue acting professionally and trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and the Guildford School of Acting. Towards the end of his studies at Guildford, he landed an agent and it has been ‘go go go’ ever since.

His past projects include Layla (2024), and the docudrama Lockerbie: A Search for Truth (2025), in which he portrayed Khaled Megrahi.

In addition to his screen work, Ghazi is a prominent content creator on social media, where his comedic and character-driven videos have built a dedicated following of more than 200,000. He is passionate about using his platform to challenge stereotypes and spotlight under-represented voices in the industry.