Category Archives: news

“Merlin: From nerve-wracking audition to series finale” by BBC TV Blog (2011)

Rupert wrote an article for the BBC’s TV Blog website during the lead-up to the fourth season finale of Merlin. He talks about how he was cast for Sir Leon, and how the character has grown since then. Among other things, Rupert said:

Sir Leon started off as a very small role. I was only meant to be in one scene jousting Arthur, but at the read-through I was given a couple more lines. I arrived on the first day of filming series two, having learned my line for that day – “The King commands your presence immediately” – and when it came to my first take I fluffed it.

You can read the full article here.

ETA 21 May 2022: I’ve copied the full text below for the sake of preservation.


As the fourth series of Merlin draws to a close I find it hard to believe it’s almost three years since I auditioned for the part of Sir Leon.

I had 24 hours’ notice and I’d missed the first series as I was working when it came out. So I bought the DVD and watched as many episodes as I could in the hours leading up to the casting.

I instantly loved the show and really wanted to be a part of it which made the audition even more nerve wracking – partly because I might get to fulfil my childhood dream of being a knight!

Sir Leon started off as a very small role. I was only meant to be in one scene jousting Arthur, but at the read-through I was given a couple more lines. I arrived on the first day of filming series two, having learned my line for that day – “The King commands your presence immediately” – and when it came to my first take I fluffed it.

I managed to get it right the next take, despite my heart pounding and all colour draining from my face. There was no way I thought that two years later I would still be in the show.

I feel immensely lucky and grateful to the producers for making Sir Leon such an integral part of Camelot. I used to say Sir Leon was the Gunther of Camelot. Gunther worked at the coffee shop in Friends and would pop up sporadically in episodes like I did in series two and three. After series four I think I may have finally surpassed Gunther!

I’d describe Leon now as the rock of Arthur’s Round Table of Knights, a real A* pupil of the Camelot School, a prefect – he does everything well and to the book.

He’s diced with death on a number of occasions but he always manages to bounce back unscathed! I should probably thank the druids for letting him drink from the cup of life.

Leon’s been wounded in many a battle, incinerated by the Great Dragon and has still managed to return to Camelot without so much as a scar. Thank goodness he’s such an incredible fighter and that he has sleeves on his chain mail – if he was dressed like Percival he might not have been so lucky!

People always ask whether the chain mail we wear is heavy. It’s lighter than it would have been hundreds of years ago, but it gets weighty by the end of the day.

The most annoying thing is that it gets filthy so when you take it off, your neck is grey, as are your hands. I have so many books I’ve read on set which have grey hand marks all over them!

Chain mail also conducts heat and cold, so if it’s a boiling day you roast and if it’s freezing you freeze too – but we are Knights, after all, so I think we can live with it.

My favourite scenes to film are the big fight sequences.

Every move is carefully rehearsed and I trained in stage combat at drama school so I’m quick at picking up the routines. The stunt coordinators are fantastic, it’s their expertise that makes us look so great on screen.

I remember filming the battle with the skeletons last year and having to learn a fight with the stunt coordinator. We were tussling together and then he stepped out and they filmed me fighting nobody, but pretending there was someone there.

I felt very stupid doing the moves and making all these battle cries against the thin air. I was convinced it was all a wind up to make me look silly but of course when the Bafta-winning special effects team put their magic to it I was fighting a skeleton and it looked incredible.

This Christmas I’ll be celebrating with my family and, of course, will be tuning in to see the Merlin grand finale on Christmas Eve.

It is so exciting to be concluding the series the night before Christmas. My favourite episode to watch so far this series has been Lancelot du Lac as it was so exciting and dramatic but I have a feeling episode 13 is going to go out with a bang… I can’t wait!

FALSE POSITIVES: Doctor Who (2010)

I have since heard from Rupert Himself that he never actually appeared in Doctor Who, and he has no idea where this IMDB listing came from. Which is a damned shame for all kinds of reasons!


Well! This popped up on Rupert’s IMDB page, so I assume it’s all legit … and it gives me something more to ask him about at the next con I attend!

Rupert apparently had an uncredited role as a Roman in this episode of Doctor Who.

  • The Pandorica Opens (19 June 2010)
  • Directed by Toby Haynes

I just squinted my way through the episode, and think I’ve spotted him in the background of the scene where the Doctor faces down a whole universe of spaceships …

Rupert as a Roman in Doctor Who ... the tall guy in the middle there?
Rupert as a Roman in Doctor Who … the tall guy in the middle there?

Continue reading FALSE POSITIVES: Doctor Who (2010)

still researching…

This is a list of Rupert’s work that we’re still researching – things we’ve heard about or seen glimpses of, but don’t have enough confirmed details about to post. If you can help us with more information and links or images, we’d very much appreciate it!

film

  • The Ministry, a film by Ben Kent, featuring Rupert and Jasmine Hemsley – the team who brought us Helen and Ben!
  • Rupert filmed something in England in November 2013 for a project to be released in 2014 … though we still don’t know what! And he didn’t seem all that certain that he wouldn’t end up on the cutting room floor. {sad face}
  • Rupert filmed a movie in the US in 2015. No further details yet, but this was mentioned in an interview, and he mentions ‘a new comedy-drama’ in another interview.
  • Rupert was off on a new work project as of early December 2016, though we don’t know what! Perhaps the Bet Victor ad…?

theatre

  • Feeding Time at the BAC (Battersea Arts Centre), as listed in the Company programme. This is perhaps the production which ran from 22 November to 11 December 2005. Listing for the production on UK Theatre Web. I can’t find a full cast list, but other actors have referenced the production on their CVs.
  • Three’s a Crowd at Shepherd Churchill Hall, as listed in the Company programme. This might be one of Rupert’s joke listings, but there’s a “Broadway revue” with this title that dates back to 1930. The Hall is real enough, and can be found at Harrow school. So perhaps this is one of his early / amateur efforts…?
  • Rupert possibly? probably? hopefully! appeared in performances of The Show Must Go On! concert at the Palace Theatre on 13-15 November 2020 and 20-24 January 2021. This is a collection of cast performances from various West End shows, including Dear Evan Hansen, with profits going to Acting For Others and The Fleabag Support Fund. With no specific cast lists, I’m left with more questions than answers! More info and ticket sales here.

As I said above, any help would be awesome!