SCIFI AND TV TALK: Magic & Mayhem: Merlin's Colin Morgan, Bradley James and Katie McGrath Talk Season Five
There is quite a bit of magic in the air today, or at least burning up the transatlantic phone lines. Three of the stars from the long-running BBC TV series Merlin - Colin Morgan, Bradley James and Katie McGrath – have graciously set aside most of their day to speak one-on-one with journalists about what will be the program’s fifth and final season.
When audiences on this side of the pond last saw our heroes (and villainess) in the fourth season finale The Sword in the Stone (Part 2), Merlin (Colin Morgan) and King Arthur (Bradley James) had rallied the troops to defeat Helios’ (Terence Maynard) army and unseat Morgana (Katie McGrath) from the throne of Camelot, restoring Arthur to his rightful place as leader of his people.
In Merlin‘s season five opener Arthur’s Bane (Part 1), three years have passed since the above events, and Camelot is enjoying its Golden Age. There is, however, a dark cloud behind that silver lining. Evil is once again lurking in the shadows and preparing to descend upon the mythical city. Weather played a rather important role in the actual production of this two-part story and proved to be a bit of a double-edged sword...
... “I think Colin and I would probably agree on a moment that sticks out for us about these two episodes where we were filming in the snow,” recalls James. “It was supposed to be freezing cold, but, in fact, it was the hottest day that Wales had ever experienced. We were being told to shiver and whatnot and we were like, ‘Well, we can provide you with plenty of sweat if you want, but shivering is going to be a difficult thing to achieve in this heat.’”
Continues Morgan, “That’s one of the things about the season opener, the fact that it looks vastly different from previous episodes. The overall production value of the show has always been very high and you can see it’s definitely been upped when we go into this season. The snow element was an asset because it opened up a brand new landscape for the series. It makes it feel that much vaster and that there are other areas to explore because the show has always been a platform for so many things.
“As actors entering into that world, it’s terrific that after five years you can feel like there’s still more to delve into from a character as well as story perspective. This season it’s the most serious that it has ever been and it doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the storytelling...”
... Merlin fans know that Morgana (Katie McGrath) was the ward of Arthur’s father and Camelot’s previous king, the late Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head). In fact, she was his daughter and the half-sister of Arthur and Morgause (Emilia Fox). Uther kept this secret from Morgana, but she eventually discovered the truth, which turned her against him. Morgana has since used her magic in various attempts to gain control of Camelot. Despite her wicked ways, you cannot help but feel some sympathy for the character.
“The biggest challenge with playing someone like Morgana is making sure that people understand her motives,” explains McGrath. “If they’re able to do that, then it’s easier to sympathize with her. There is no interesting villain that is out-and-out bad; as an actor, where can you go with that? If you can sort of see a person’s point, I feel it makes the character more conflicted and more interesting to watch if you’re slightly rooting for him or her. When it comes to Morgana, you don’t want her to win, but you want to see her give it a good go...”
Merlin season five premieres on Syfy on Friday, January 4, 2013 at 10/9C.
A Merlin season four minithon airs Wednesday, December 26, 2012 from 8am through 12PM. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCHEDULE.
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