Mark Rylance says he initially took a ‘distilled garlic solution’ instead of Covid vaccine

Rylance, 63, eventually got a vaccine in order to travel to the US

Mark Rylance has revealed “alarm bells” rang for him when the British population was encouraged to get the Covid vaccine in 2021.

In a new interview, Rylance, 63, said he wasn’t convinced he needed the vaccine, adding that “science started to sound like religion” during the pandemic.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, the Dunkirk star explained he relied on taking a “very distilled garlic solution”, along with vitamin C. “And I sailed through Jerusalem,” he said.

Rylance reprised one of his most well-known roles, as Johnny “Rooster” Byron, in last year’s revival of the 2009 Jez Butterworth play Jerusalem.

He told the publication he finally took the Covid vaccine when he travelled to visit his father in the US.

Rylance’s comments were made in the context of his forthcoming play Dr Semmelweis, based on the life of maverick Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis.

The British actor reportedly wrote Dr Semmelweis with playwright Stephen Brown before the pandemic began. Rylance said he was researching alternative cancer treatments at the time, adding that he’s sceptical about the effects of chemotherapy.

He recalled how a friend allegedly “broke up the cells of a tumour” by using the vibrations from a Tibetan sound bowl.

Rylance added: “The body knows how to heal itself. “We don’t need to go in and bombard it with poison. It’s like bombing a city to try and get rid of a little sect of terrorists. You may wipe them all out, but you’re going to breed 25 or 30 [more].”

Mark Rylance (Getty Images)

Earlier this month, Rylance revealed that his brother, Jonathan Waters, had died in a cycling accident, aged 60.

“I am so sorry to tell you that on the 28 May, my dear brother Jonathan Waters was knocked from his bicycle and tragically died of his injuries,” the statement read.

Rylance, who was very close to Waters, said the loss made him question the point of life.

“It just makes everything that follows a little bleak. But also that hollowness can be a positive thing, a kind of grail or cup or vessel,” he continued.

Rylance also said he believes in life after death, adding: “I think you really can have a very healthy conversation with a soul who has passed over.”

The actor said he has spoken to his late grandmother and step-daughter Nataasha van Kampen, using a medium.

He admitted that while his views may not be conventional or mainstream, but “don’t cause any harm”.

Dr Semmelweis opens at the West End this Thursday 27 June.