Film star Ray Stevenson swaps his toga for terror to hunt Nazi zombies in Scotland

May 11 2008 Exclusive by John Millar

ROME star Ray Stevenson has swapped his toga for army fatigues to hunt zombies in Scotland.

The 43-year-old is starring in horror movie Outpost as a ruthless mercenary who has to battle a terrifying legion of the undead.

The chiller was shot in various locations across Scotland - and Ray couldn't wait to start filming as he has fond memories of visits north with River City star Gilly Gilchrist.

Ulster-born Ray said: "Gilly and I were at drama school together and have been mates ever since.

"We've gone all over Scotland, up the west coast and to Cape Wrath.

"One of our last trips was to the Outer Hebrides, where we had a boys' adventure - we loaded the car with fishing tackle and diving gear and went off for a week. It was great fun."

Despite being filmed in Scotland, Outpost is set in war-torn Eastern Europe.Avillage destroyed by fighting was built close to Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbrightshire, while a battle scene was shot in nearby Castle Douglas.

Gruesome scenes were also filmed in massive studios beside the Clyde in Glasgow.

In the movie, Ray playsDC, a former marine hired to protect a businessman as he travels through Europe.

But he leads DC and his team to an old military bunker where Hitler's scientists carried out gruesome experiments on Nazi soldiers.

As they soon discover, an evil is still lurking in the dark of the outpost - one intent on wiping them out.

The spine-tingler is set to be a huge success - good news for Glasgow-based couple Arabella Croft and Kieran Parker, who remortgaged their s200,000 home to ensure it was made.

Ray said: "I'd never done a horror film before and thought it would be fun. It wasn't difficult trying to appear on edge - in the bunker there was a dense blackness that made you slow down and creep forward. The spookiness felt real.

"A former SAS guy trained us and we got to fire off AK-47s.

"We used live rounds and that brought it home to you that it was not a toy that you were holding."

Ray's rise to acting success has come later in life than it does for most.

He was 27 and an interior designer before entering the Bristol Old Vic theatre school and his biggest role only came last year with Rome, playing the best pal of Scots actor Kevin McKidd.

He became a star overnight as morally bankrupt soldier Titus Pullo in the bloody swords-and-sandals saga following a string of minor TV roles.

Ray said: "Without a doubt, Rome was a turning point - it opened so many doors.

"Thanks to that, I got an agent in the States, filmed a BBC Scotland supernatural drama called Life Line and then got Outpost."

Ray's next projects include the title role in comic book romp Punisher: War Zone and as a vampire opposite Salma Hayek in Cirque du Freak He had feared he would never win film roles until he landed a small part in King Arthur alongside Clive Owen.

He said: "I had given up on ever being cast in a movie. I was 38 or 39 and could forget it.

"Then I got King Arthur and after that I got the script for Rome.

"They had been scouring the country for three months for an actor to play Pullo. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time."

Outpost is out in cinemas on Friday.