- April 30, 2009
PLAYING a tyrant is magic for Anthony Head, writes Helen Tsitouris.
British actor Anthony Head has conquered many roles, starring as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the prime minister and the object of Sebastian's crush in Little Britain and the villain Mr Finch in Doctor Who. Now, he will play King Uther Pendragon in Channel 10's magical 13-part series Merlin, which begins tonight.
But, unlike King Uther, Head has never had to battle his own dragons.
“I've been fortunate with the parts I have been offered. I have very few horror stories to tell about the stories or actors I worked with,'' Head says from his home in Bath, England.
So it is only fitting that he praise actor Colin Morgan, who plays the title role.
”Colin plays comedy brilliantly and there is one moment where he has to drink from a cup, knowing that it contains poison, and he did it beautifully. I knew then this boy is good.''
Head, 54, clearly enjoys wearing Uther's crown and swanning around in armour.
“Oh, yeah. What part of it would one not enjoy, playing the king?,'' he said.
“This role is my first real taste of being a king. There is a challenge to make him not necessarily likeable but to make him understandable.''
The ruthless tyrant Uther has restored peace to Camelot after years of chaos. He has banned magic and will stop at nothing to banish it, but does not realise that it remains a force within his kingdom.
“Uther makes decisions which are fairly outrageous and unpleasant, but he does it for the right reasons _ for the love of his kingdom and for preventing the kingdom from falling into the wrong hands,'' Head said.
The father of two speaks with precision and from his English accent he could be mistaken for a royal, but he has other thoughts about the British monarchy.
“You can certainly call them dysfunctional,'' he said. “You think, `How on Earth do they manage to function at all as human beings, given that they can't show emotion about anything'. They are cut off from their parents at an early age and sent off to boarding school.''
The castle of Camelot is set in the spectacular Chateau de Pierrefonds, northwest of Paris.
”The first time I walked into the courtyard dressed in medieval regalia and looked around, I thought `This is fantastic','' he said. “I walked up one of the towers to the throne room and it had incredible wooden chambers literally the length of a football field.
“It was built in 1865 on the ruins of a medieval castle by the appointment of Napoleon III who commissioned architect Viollet-le-Duc to recreate a medieval world for him to live in.''
He says spending three months in France with its picturesque backdrop is a far cry from the industrial estate in Cardiff, Wales, where many of the interior shots were filmed. “It's not quite as romantic.''
Merlin, despite being described as Camelot 90210, Smallville with spells or Buffy with boys, will appeal to any age group.
“It has got the extraordinary universal appeal and it is something that film-makers constantly drive for,'' Head said.
“It's one of the most beautiful things I've done for a long time.
“It's stunning to look at and the storylines get deeper and darker as the series goes on, and they play the humour card very well and delicately.
“I'm very proud to be part of it. I would find it very hard to do this if I didn't believe in it.
“This one hit the ground running. Long live the king.''
MERLIN, SUN, 6.30PM, TEN
No comments:
Post a Comment