Fact proved as action packed as fiction for Rogue Trooper star Aneurin Barnard as he attended the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France for the film’s premiere this week.

Barnard, who plays the titular Rogue Trooper in the sci-fi movie blending motion capture with animation and unreal technology, revealed he had just been involved in apprehending a street thief as he arrived for an Annecy Making Of Session on Tuesday.

Coming on stage to discuss his casting and what it was like to work on the show, Barnard replied; “It feels really weird for me to be telling this story. I just helped an old lady who’s been robbed and had to tackle a robber on the way here like an hour ago, so yeah,” he replied.

Director Duncan Jones chimed in: “If the front row can confirm the blood on the knuckles. Sorry, it’s just been a really weird day. It’s been a very strange 24 hours, but we love Annecy.”

Quizzed about the revelation after the session, Barnard told an audience member mildly: “I just had to hold them down until the police arrived.”

They were speaking less than 24 hours after a high-energy premiere on Monday evening for the militaristic sci-fi film based on the UK’s cult 2000 AD comic strip, which also spawned Judge Joseph Dredd.

Gaining his composure, Barnard recounted his arrival on the project and brief time on set, where just his face was captured as he acted out his part, with his performance then melded with the animation.

“It kind of came out of the blue and it was a really lovely surprise,” he said of being cast in the role.  “I knew Rogue Trooper as a video game first. Then I learned about the comics, and I knew Duncan because I’ve always loved his work and I think he’s a fantastic director.”

“I started to meet the team, and everyone was really lovely.  It was a bit of a pinch yourself moment because there wasn’t a bad person. And normally if that happens, you’re the bad person,” he said

“But everyone was so humble and so invested in creating a fun project where people can enjoy and engage and not take themselves too seriously, but very seriously, you know what I mean? And for me, it was just a wonderful project. I’m a bit annoyed that I only did two weeks and these guys like did years and that I wasn’t a part of that journey.”

Also joining Jones and Barnard on the stage were producer Stuart Fenegan at Liberty Films Entertainment; coproducer Ben Smith, head of Film & TV at Rebellion, which owns the rights to 2000 AD comics; visual effects supervisor Marty Waters, and Head of Animation Thomas Saville at Treehouse Digital Limited, 

Jones, whose previous credits include Moon, Source Code and Warcraft: The Beginning recounted how he had been an avid fan of the 2000 AD comics since childhood and that he had contacted Rebellion owners Jason and Chris Kingsley in his early 20s expressing his desire to adapt them to the big screen.