… or maybe he was a founding member!
Tag Archives: p: Merlin
Quiz Night with Bradley James (2020)
Our awesome King Arthur, Bradley James, hosted an online Merlin quiz – partly to help entertain us during the COVID-19 quarantine and partly to help raise money for a noble cause. He invited the Knights of the Round Table to participate, so we ended up blessed with a mini online convention, with special guests Rupert (Sir Leon), Tom Hopper (Sir Percival), Tomiwa Edun (Sir Elyan) and Eoin Macken (Sir Gwaine).
The chosen charity was Redemption Paws @RedemptionPaws, a Toronto-based non-profit organisation focused on helping dogs in disaster situations. We raised over $15,000 (Canadian) for them, which is utterly awesome!
Bradley kindly uploaded a recording of the quiz to his YouTube channel, which was such a relief to people like me who regretted missing out on the fun! (I live in Australia, and I unwisely let the 4 a.m. start time dissuade me from participating.) Here’s the link:
Rupert was, of course, his usual funny and charming self, and proved himself delightfully human to boot! I mean to say… drinking what appeared to be a beer, saying “fuck”, and announcing he was off to have a wee. You’d be forgiven for thinking he isn’t a minor deity after all! I love the quarantine beard, but his lovely hair is still short, as contractually required by Dear Evan Hansen.
It was a joy to see all the knights gathered together once more, and to see them enjoying not only their own company but also ours. Tomiwa used a few Merlin and location photos as his background. Rupert changed his shirt a few times, as did Bradley – and Eoin gradually stripped away layers to reveal something pink and sultry… Oh my. The Merlin Family Rules!
The quiz had some easy questions, but also some harder ones. I think I would have got all but 2 or 3 – but who knows what silly choices I might have made at that time of the morning! Most people did very well, with only a handful of questions attracting a number of “alternate” choices.
I’ve included some screen captures below, but of course please do yourself the proverbial favour and watch the video itself.
Thank you, everyone, for taking part!
Dale McCready’s Merlin Archive (2020)
The lovely Dale McCready, Director of Photography for a massive 42 of the 65 episodes of Merlin, has been sharing her awesome behind-the-scenes photographs from across all five seasons of the show. You can find Dale’s Merlin Archive here on her website. She has kindly made all the images available for our use, with a request for credit where possible.
While this is a real gift for us fans, unfortunately it’s due to a difficult situation. The COVID-19 quarantine means that Dale and most other people working in the entertainment industry are (at least temporarily) out of work. Hence Dale had the time to devote to this task! If you can afford to help Dale get through this period by sending support via Paypal.Me, that would be wonderful – and every little bit helps!
I’ve taken the liberty of copying across most of the photos of our Rupert for this site. However, it is of course worth visiting and browsing Dale’s Merlin Archive yourself. There are 13 pages of photos, and some videos on the last page. You’ll find many other beauties and items of interest, including some fascinating notes on filming generally and cinematography specifically.
Please note: The photos below and in the banner are all © Dale McCready 2012, and available under a public use licence.
Thank you again, Dale! ♥
The Cashmere Cardi
Alexander Vlahos (the older Mordred in Merlin) posted this to Twitter. They are attending MCM Comic Con in Birmingham this weekend, along with Tom Hopper (Percival) and Asa Butterfiled (the younger Mordred).
Could he be any more adorable…?
Some things never change…
Tom Hopper posted this image of the BBC Merlin peeps to Instagram on 18 January 2019. From left to right: our Rupert (Leon); Bradley James (Arthur); Eoin Macken (Gwaine); Tomiwa Edun (Elyan); and Tom (Percival).
Eoin Macken also posted it to Instagram, in black and white:
Bradley also posted the image to Instagram, with the message “You can tell this was taken having just eaten as @tom.hopperhops is smiling. Always a joy getting the squad back together”.
It also appeared on Tomiwa’s Instagram account, with the message, “Gettin’ the band back together. Feel the #magic!”
“Merlin Anniversary: An Interview with Rupert Young” by Kapow! (2018)
Rupert was interviewed by Chris Daniel for Kapow! to mark the tenth anniversary of BBC Merlin.
“I was always interested in the stories of King Arthur and Merlin growing up, but I definitely became more immersed in it after becoming involved with the show,” Young said. …
“Merlin definitely opened doors for me,” Young said. “Being in a worldwide hit show definitely has got me into audition rooms I wouldn’t have got in before and so pretty much all of the jobs I’ve had since the show finished, I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to audition for had it not been for the show”. …
“What surprised me most was how well the series was received,” Young concluded. “I always knew I was joining a great show with brilliant people and a fantastic story that people would enjoy, but the sheer volume of people who watched it and connected with it from all over the world was staggering.”
You can read the full interview here.
Chris also interviewed Rupert’s Merlin colleague Alex Vlahos the previous week; you can read that interview here.
Merlin’s 10 Year Anniversary
It was the tenth anniversary since Merlin first aired on BBC One, on 20 September 2018. We were all feeling sentimental – including Bradley James, who Tweeted the above shot of cast and crew at the Chateau de Pierrefonds. Rupert is there in his Sir Leon costume. Bradley said:
10 Years since #Merlin aired for the first time. One of the first things my memory jumps to is great times with our crew. Not all pictured but much missed. Many a laugh shared with a team who became family (and they put up with me for 5 years ?)
Bradley also shared the following photo of Arthur and some of the Knights, including Leon, on Instagram.
Bradley said:
Just sat round the fire ?reminiscing ⚔️????. Night all #10YearsofMerlin
Happy Merlin-versary, all!
update: Rupert was interviewed by Chris Daniel for Kapow! to mark the tenth anniversary.
Merlin’s 9 year anniversary
Tom Hopper (Sir Percival) was feeling as sentimental as the rest of us on this, the ninth anniversary of the first episode of Merlin being screened on 20 September 2008.
He posted the above photo on Instagram and waxed lyrical about the “instant brotherhood” formed between Arthur and the knights. Rupert is mentioned as giving Tom “tips on how to drink coffee and chat” – very civilised, is our Sir Rupert! And of course that’s him in Sir Leon’s casual gear in the centre of the photo at Arthur’s right hand.
Tom goes on to say to the Merlin fans, “I can’t thank you enough for the love.”
It’s our pleasure, Tom!
Sir Leon art by RedScharlach
At last! A line of Sir Leon merchandise!!!
The whimsically talented artist RedScharlach has now included Sir Leon among her lovely Merlin crew. All the related goodies can be found on RedBubble.
Follow the link, and you’ll see the greeting card option. Scroll down, click Available Products if it’s not already selected, and you’ll see all the goodies available featuring Sir Leon.
This includes:
- t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies in a range of styles and colours
- cases for iPhone, iPad and Samsung Galaxy
- cushion covers and acrylic blocks
- mugs and travel mugs
- tote bags and drawstring bags
- greeting cards, postcards and stickers
- spiral notebooks and hardcover journals
The sticker doesn’t appear on the page linked above, but you can find it here.
It’s worth noting that Sir Leon is also included in the Team Merlin group, along with darling Gaius and the other regular characters. And what serendipity that Sir Leon (on his own) is featured against a purple background – my favourite colour! … My credit card just took a right hammering!
The Iris Interview continues (2014)
Hanging at Supanova Adelaide with … Rupert Young!
A follow-up interview by Sosefina Fuamoli for The Iris during Rupert’s attendance at the Supanova cons in Australia.
I was having breakfast with Louise Brealey today and we were laughing and saying, ‘We’re in Australia, having breakfast. How amazing is this?’ It’s brilliant.
Read the full article here.