It’s a month or so until Merlin‘s fifth series begins filming, but we caught up with Katie McGrath, who plays Morgana, for a chat recently to find out what she’s been upto since filming on Series 4 finished.
> Buy the Complete Series 4 boxset on Amazon.
What were you filming in Cape Town?
“We’re doing a mini-series based on the book Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. Hardcore, it was hardcore!
“Christopher Smith, the director who did Black Death and Severance; he’s intense. He’s this sort of crazy mad genius who goes for total realism. He doesn’t want to see you stab somebody; he wants to see you gore somebody! The fight scenes are massive and epic.
“It’s nice to do something that’s similar to Merlin, in that they’re both medieval, but this is grittier and real and raw, whereas Merlin has a fantasy veneer on it. It’s been brilliant, it has an amazing cast.”
What was it like having your Christmas movie out, A Christmas Princess?
“Really weird! I didn’t shoot it that long ago; we did it just before Merlin last February. It was so far from feeling Christmassy! My family are so Christmas crazy, I think my other would have never spoken to me again if I hadn’t done it. And it’s got Roger Moore in it! It was a great shoot.”
What was Roger Moore like to work with?
“A genius, the man’s a genius! He’s got a dirty sense of humour. He was so cheeky! He brought his wife and they still flirt like teenagers. At the same time he’s got this cheeky, slightly smutty sense of humour. Coming out of his mouth, you’re like ‘James Bond shouldn’t say that! Oh God! Tell me more!’”
Did you get to hear any stories?
“I didn’t actually, you kinda don’t want to be too geeky and go up and ask. Although me and Charlotte [Thorpe] randomly found these really tacky James Bond t-shirts in a shop, covered in rhinestones, and managed to get him to sign them!
“I’ve got this awful green pirated The Spy Who Loved Me t-shirt, covered in rhinestones, framed up on my kitchen wall with pictures of us wearing them standing next to him!”
Were you a Bond fan when you were growing up?
“Of course; anyone who says they aren’t just doesn’t know the magic! I love all the Bonds but there’s something very special about Roger Moore. You’ve got a flying car and an underwater car – they’re just slightly sillier and you forget how really very funny he was as Bond.”
@iheartTPR asks: If you had to be stranded on a desert island with one of the knights who would it be?
“It would depend on what I needed. If I needed a three bedroom house with running water, I’d probably ask for Tom [Hopper], because he’s a big guy – he could build! If I needed to be entertained, I’d go for Eoin [Macken], because man, that guy is hilarious. If I wanted intellectual conversation, Adetomiwa [Edun], really smart guy.
“If you wanted somebody to stroke your hair and tell you lovely things and drift you off to sleep, you want Rupert [Young]. If you are waging war and a team of cannibals are trying to eat you, then you want Bradley [James], because he’s a good leader. So it depends on what your needs are on the island!”
@fuckbees asks: If you could choose any country to film in, where would you choose?
“Russia! I’d love to work in Russia. There’s an amazing book called The Bronze Horseman by an author called Paullina Simons set in World War II and I’d love to make that. I studied Russian history in college so it’s close to my heart but I’ve never been able to visit.
“I’d like to make a film at home too actually, in Ireland, I could just go home every night!”
@Prattbard 9h asks: Are you on Twitter?
“No, I am not on Twitter! I’m not on Facebook, any of these. I’m technologically useless.
“Sadly, the real reason why I’m not on Twitter is that I’m the world’s worst drunken texter. Imagine my drunken tweets!”
> Read the first part of our exclusive interview with Katie about her hopes for Series 5 of Merlin.
> Buy the Complete Series 4 boxset on Amazon.
Watch a clip from Series 4…
Are you looking forward to Labyrinth? What did you think of A Christmas Princess? Let us know below…