Oct 22 2011 Rick Fulton
In smash-hit TV show Merlin, Colin Morgan has to hide his magic. But the actor has something he wants to get out into the open – his accent.The 25-year-old from Armagh in Northern Ireland’s normal accent is a deep, rumbling Irish burr. Nothing like the perky English voice we’ve come to know from the popular BBC1 series.
In Scots film Island, which is set in Mull and was released earlier this year, he had a Scottish accent. Even in new movie Parked he has a Dublin lilt.
Colin said: “It would be great to work with my own accent. I can’t believe I’m in an Irish movie and can’t even use it.
“But my day will come. And I just see it as a another string to my bow.”
The fourth series of the magical re-telling of Merlin and Arthur as young men is bigger and better as the fight for Camelot continues.
Starring Richard Wilson, Bradley James and John Hurt as the voice of the Dragon, the show has already been given the green light for a fifth series.
But in this day and age of computer games and the internet, is magic still important to children? Perhaps not.
When I ask Colin, on a break from filming Merlin in France, whether he is stopped in the supermarket by eager young fans he says yes, but not in the way I was thinking.
He said: “Kids don’t believe you are the character anymore. I rarely get them saying ‘where is the dragon kept’.
“They ask me what it’s like to work with green screen.
“Nowadays kids know how a programme like Merlin is made and how it works. But the show just seems to grow in popularity the more it goes on.”
Popularity, of course, means more attention for Colin who has an army of young female fans that go gooey-eyed whenever they see him, or hear him talk (in his Irish accent).
He laughed: “It’s weird to be recognised anywhere. The cost of living your dream, acting, is being recognised.”
With his mop of brown hair, lanky frame and pale face, Colin is the spitting image of Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol.
But it seems no-one else has seen that.
He said: “I haven’t been mistaken for Gary but it wouldn’t be a bad thing as they are great and on a roll at the moment.”
Colin studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) in Glasgow in 2007 and has quickly become a household name since leaving.
He appeared in Doctor Who and The Catherine Tate Show before landing the title role in Merlin.
Island and Parked are the only non-Merlin projects he’s been in since 2008, but he still thinks he’s young enough not to be typecast as the wizard for the rest of his career.
He said: “With the nature of the show you get a great variety of emotions.
“You’re not playing a bumbling wizard Merlin all the time.
“I hope that shows that I’m not a one dimensional figure,” he added.
“I would look forward to any challenges to do something different.”
For Colin, though, the magic certainly begins and ends on set.
He laughed: “If I had auditioned for Merlin on magic alone I don’t think I’d have got it.
“Like any kid I probably had a magic kit but it’s not something I ever pursued.
“I’ve never watched a magic show like David Copperfield, or used him to base my character on, but I really like David Blaine and Darren Brown. They are doing wonders.”
Colin is the longest-serving actor to play Merlin, whose myth began way back in 1136 when Geoffrey of Monmouth brought together previous historical and legendary figures for his Historia Regum Britanniae.
The wizard is an enduring character made famous in the 1963 animated Disney film The Sword in the Stone.
He was also the inspiration behind Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Dumbledore in the Harry Potter books.
The BBC series continues to flourish around the world and has now been sold to more than 180 countries, including America, France, Australia, Germany and South America.
Colin is proud to have played him for the longest time, and even feels like he’s in Camelot when the actors up sticks from their usual home “in a shack on the side of the motorway in Cardiff” to France and the Pierrefonds castle in the North of the country.
He said: “I love going there. The castle really doesn’t lose its appeal.
“It just feels like Camelot and when we are filming there so many people come to watch.”
As well as different landscapes, the show is always welcoming new characters.
In tonight’s episode mysterious stranger Julius Borden (James Callis) arrives claiming he has cracked a code to find the last remaining dragon’s egg.
And Katie McGrath, who plays Morgana, isn’t the show’s only feisty female anymore.
Next Saturday Lindsay Duncan appears as the formidable Queen Annis.
And this time round, there are changes for Colin’s character too.
He said: “In the first three series Merlin had to keep the magic secret, but we’ve moved on hugely from that. This series is about whether people will want to learn more about him.
“The timing of whether Merlin admits to magic has to be right. The question is, is it the right time? “And it is definitely answered in this series.”
As always for a long-running show there is a family atmosphere on set.
And like the fans, Colin is glad the BBC has allowed the show to develop and grow.
Much of the money is spent on the CGI, in particular the dragon voiced by John Hurt.
Usually Colin has to pretend to talk to the beast by looking at a point above the camera – but he’s thrilled when occasionally he gets to work alongside the veteran actor.
Colin said: “He’s a legend. For a young actor he’s just an inspiration. And it’s very difficult what he has to do .
“He has to wear a helmet with a camera on the end and then balls are put on his face, which map his facial movements.
“He’s got all that but he’s trying to act as well. It’s really difficult.”
Another veteran, Richard Wilson, plays Merlin’s father-figure Gaius. The pair bonded over their love of Glasgow and its theatres.
Colin said: “Richard has such a fondness for Scotland, as do I.
“I’d love to go back again. Glasgow is one of the world’s greatest cities.
“There’s so much going on and I’m a big fan of live music.”
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-interviews/2011/10/22/colin-morgan-reveals-what-to-expect-from-merlin-in-show-s-fourth-series-86908-23506678/#.TqPEGgDH1_0.twitter
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