Goode mysterious man in Stoker

MANILA, Philippines - On her 18th birthday, India Stoker’s (Mia Wasikowska) father dies in a tragic car accident. Her only source of strength and comfort now gone, India now finds herself lost and unable to connect to the people around including her unstable mother Evie, played by Nicole Kidman. On the day of her father’s funeral, her father’s long-lost brother Uncle Charlie surfaces and decides to stay with them. At first doubtful of her Uncle Charlie, Mia surprisingly finds herself drawn to him in a fascinating way she never thought possible.

As Uncle Charlie reveals himself to her, India becomes increasingly infatuated with her charismatic relative and comes to realize that his arrival is no coincidence. With her uncle to guide her, she is about to find out that in her blood runs a stream of evil that her father had long protected her from.

The enigmatic man at the center of the family conflict is played by Matthew Goode, a British import previously seen in Tom Ford’s critically acclaimed A Single Man, opposite Oscar winner Colin Firth, and as the Greek god-like super hero Ozymandias in Watchmen.

“Matthew is just so much fun,” says Wasikowska. “Our relationship off-screen was the polar opposite of what it was on screen. He can be really goofy, so it was a challenge to keep a straight face working with him.”

Says Goode, “Nothing is what it appears. He wants to be around his family, so he uses Evie. He can’t really stay there unless she is attracted to him. But Charlie is extremely unbalanced and he has feelings for India that are not at all uncle-like. The challenge for me was that rather than being simply evil, he has to have a center to him that we like, which is disorienting and quite scary.”

“Matthew is compellingly attractive as Charlie,” Kidman adds. “That’s really such a good thing for Uncle Charlie to be. You believe that Evie would desire him and want his attention. He’s the first person for a long time to give her attention. And then Matthew, of course, has such talent. I expect to see him become a huge star.”

Stoker opens March 1 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.