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I think, as a kid, whenever you say you want to be an actor, you get discouraged, so perhaps if I had have listened to those people telling me that, I might have gone down the route of a teacher. But I was never really going to do that.
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I always look for the character that gets into your guts and tells you, 'You have to play this.' You have to be brave enough to let everything else go and let the character guide you. When I read a script, I look for that kind of pull.
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The big, big block in the Arthur/Merlin friendship is the status issue, that Merlin is the servant and Arthur is royalty, and in that time, princes did not socialize with their servants; that wasn't the done thing. It just so happens that their relationship, their friendship, is strong: they have been through the thick and the thin of it all.
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You immediately hear the word 'Merlin,' you think magic, you think adventure, excitement - you also think 'an old man.'
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If I'm not completely daunted, I'm not interested.
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Hats off to Julian and Johnny, the producers, for sticking to their guns with the five-season story arc of 'Merlin'. It would have been too easy to give in to demand and stretch the show on beyond their original plan because of its incredible success.
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To do stories that I love, scripts that I love, and work with people who are passionate about them and passionate about projects - whether that's on stage or television or film, that's the kind of environment I want to work in.
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From what I've read, everyone has a claim on Merlin. Was he Scottish, Welsh, English or even French? All these countries have got a big claim on him and Camelot. That's why the Arthurian legends are so popular - because they are such good stories.
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You have to strike while the iron is hot. You have to take downtime to see friends and family, but my passion is acting: pursuing those scary, challenging characters and working with passionate people.
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You always want to be part of something you're so passionate about.
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Everyone in London, Wales, and France made the 'Merlin' experience a very, very special one.
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I'm delighted to be joining the cast of 'The Fall' for what is going to be an exciting and gripping second series.
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For me, one of my favorites, director-wise, is Tim Burton. I also really admire the work of actors like Sean Penn. He is probably my favorite actor because of his dedication and commitment to roles, and the ability to morph and change himself when he needs to. It's about dedication and commitment and a passion.
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I cannot wait to come back to Glasgow. I know the place like the back of my hand. In fact, one of the jobs I had as a student was in Cineworld. And I was always at gigs in King Tut's, Nice 'n' Sleazy's and the Barras. I played Ultimate Frisbee down on Glasgow Green and pulled pints in O'Neill's on Queen Street.
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When I think of Camelot, I think of the castle in France where we film, but I think it's wrong to lock it down to one place because it's all part of our imagination. They are legends for a reason. Their stories have endured for hundreds of years and, hopefully, they will for hundreds of years to come.
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Doors that presented themselves before, which I couldn't walk through, are at least there. And there are a few keyholes I can pick.
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I think TV is a fantastic medium right now because of what you can do visually. It's phenomenal, and it's just getting better and better, but in a way, there's no beating the personal image you can create in your head, with those personal aspects, which you can only get from reading or radio dramas.
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Merlin was very definitely supposed to be an old man guiding the young Arthur to the throne.
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So many different countries have got their version of what Merlin is: the Scottish say he Scottish, the Welsh say he's Welsh, the French say he's French.
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Merlin was five years of my life. I enjoyed every year, every day. I had a brilliant time on it. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I wanted to do more.
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Most of the characters I'm drawn to, as an actor, are ones that are quite intensely lonely and a bit lost and are looking for some kind of redemptive answer.
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I can't actually pinpoint anything that made me want to be an actor - I just did. And then anything after that just fueled it.
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I read 'The Crystal Cave' book by Mary Stewart, and I thought it was a really, really interesting part of the legend, in which Merlin could enter into the cave with these crystals and see reflections of the future in them and learn how to use that and harness those powers for himself.
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In any kid's relationship with their parents, there's always an influence there. You always want to do them proud.