Donald Harris is the main protagonist turned true main antagonist of 28 Weeks Later. He is played by Scottish actor Robert Carlyle, who is famous for playing villains, including the Castlevania Lords of Shadow version of Dracula, Renard in The World is Not Enough, the Wendigo in Ravenous and Rumpelstiltskin in Once Upon A Time.
Biography
In the Original Outbreak
He is a survivor of the Rage Virus and has escaped the Infected which are destroying Britain. He and his wife Alice got together with other survivors in a cottage outside London, near Sandford, but when the village of Sandford is Infected and the Infected run downriver towards them, the cottage is attacked and Donald, after looking for Alice, finds her in the bedroom and locks himself in the bathroom. The Infected run in, looking for him, but when he shuts himself in the bathroom, Donald cowardly leaves his wife and runs off by jumping out the window. He escapes hordes of Infected and escapes to an American military base in London.
Caretaker of the New London
In the 28 weeks that follow, all the Infected die, and Donald is rebuilding the country with the Army. He is full of guilt about Alice, but convinces himself that she died, and there was nothing he could do, because he saw the Infected bites her. But when his kids, Andy and Tammy, come back to Britain along with other survivors, they go back to his old house in London, after Donald told them a false story of Alice dying. Andy actually finds Alice, and the Army bring her back to the safe zone.
The Army find that Alice is Infected with Rage and is actually a Carrier because she is not psychotic like other Infected. So seeing that she can Infect other humans the Army quarantine her, but Donald, as caretaker, breaks in, using his ID card, and then visits Alice, apologizing, and kissing her. She unintentionally infects him with the Rage Virus, and, after a long, drawn-out Infection, Donald now becomes a very hostile, supremely intelligent Infected, and gouges out Alice's eyes in a gruesome scene. He eviscerates her and exits the room, displaying he is more intelligent than other Infected because he uses his ID card to leave. Donald then begins a murder-spree through the zone, killing and Infecting soldiers. The Army realizes the virus is back, and begin their preparation, putting citizens into a safe room and blacking out the building.
As an Infected
But Donald breaks in, and he Infects one man, who goes onto Infect others. Donald looks on in glee as he watches the Rage spread. But Andy, his son, realizes that his father is now evil, and he manages to escape, along with his sister. Donald follows the Infected out onto the streets of London and run through the city. He spies on Andy as the survivors escape, but doesn't attack. Later, when his kids are in the Underground, Donald bursts in and viciously beats a night-vision camera onto Dr. Scarlett, killing her, and then he meets his son Andy. Donald beats Andy onto the floor and drools blood on him, trying to Infect him, but this doesn't work, because of Andy's eyes which aren't the same color.
Donald is alerted by Tammy's shout, and she shoots him after a moment of hesitation. Donald doesn't let the bullet dissuade him and runs at her, but she finally shoots him in the chest and he falls down dead.
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Trivia
- Don was the key character and the protagonist at first, but later became the main antagonist for the rest of the film after he got infected, which later caused the main threat throughout the film.
- Despite his brutality and sadism, Donald is the most human of the Infected, because he never kills his children despite many opportunities, and he has memories of his family.
- Some theorized that Donald killed Alice because he knew she was a Carrier of Rage and thus he couldn't Infect her and had a hate on her already.
- Donald is very similar to Anakin Skywalker:
- Both started out as the main protagonist and became the main antagonist.
- Both were proposed to be the saviors but eventually turned to the dark side.
- Both battled the Dark Side fanatically before becoming engrossed in it themselves.
- Both had a wife, and both lost their wife - this became the catalyst for their conversion to evil: Not only that, but both were responsible for killing their wife after turning to the dark side.
- Both were the dark fathers of the protagonists.
- Coincidentally, both had sons that were destined to save humanity - Andy Harris had a cure for the Rage virus and Luke Skywalker would have destroyed the Sith.
- Both became even more powerful after their fall from grace.
- Both are the symbolic leaders of the dark side.
- He is also rather similar to Lord Voldemort:
- Both are English.
- Both are extremely selfish and abandon their allies when needed.
- Both fall from grace after acts of murder.
- Both embrace the Dark Side after their fall.
- Both of them become less human after their downfall.
- Both of them are related to the protagonist - Voldemort is Harry's distant cousin through the Peverell line, and Donald Harris is Andy's father.
- Both of them become the leaders of the Dark Side.
- He is similar to Jack Torrance from The Shining; they started out as the main protagonist, but they turned evil and insane and turned on their loved ones as a result.