Full Article Text
British TV star Jonas Armstrong dons the bow and quiver for this adaptation.
Reinventing Robin
The hero of Sherwood Forest rides again
in a new BBe television series.
By Michael Giltz
WHEN LITTLE CHILDREN (especially
those lucky enough to be around hors
es) play make-believe, two games are
constant: cowboys and Indians, and
Robin Hood. That's one reason Robin
Hood is always being reinvented.
Errol Flynn's iconic 1938 film version
is the standard, of course, but recent
years have seen Sean Connery and Au
drey Hepburn face old age in Robin and
Marian (1976), Kevin Costner helplessly
tackle a British accent in Robin Hood:
Prince of Thieves, and author Nancy
Springer create a distaff teen version in
her series of young adult novels that
began with Outlaw Princess of Sherwood:
A Tale Of Rowan Hood in 2003.
Thus it probably seemed like the
most natural thing in the world for 25-
year-old actor Jonas Armstrong to play
one of the most famous heroes in histo
ry for a new 13-part television series for
the BBC. Slightly less natural was being
whisked from a film location in India to
Budapest, where a lavish set recreated 12th-century England so he could play
the nobleman turned outlaw. It begins
airing in the United States on BBC
America this March.
There was one problem, however:
Armstrong had never ridden a horse.
"When he arrived in Hungary, he
wasn't good enough yet;' admits Bela
Unger, a Hungarian stunt man and the
leader of "Hood Academy," the nick
name of the two-week course in riding,
swordplay, and other stunt work the ac
tors went through before filming began.
"Jonas is working with a very nice
brown Hungarian horse called Pedro,
who is very experienced and very
knowledgeable. He knows what we need
on a set;' notes Unger.
Clearly, Unger knows the faith he can
place in the animals he works with is
going to be well-founded. After six
months of filming on the highly antici
pated series (the casting of the new
Robin Hood made headlines in the
U.K.), Armstrong is grateful for the
SHOW CIRCUIT ® FALL 2006 brusque, businesslike manner of his
trainers.
"You can't go into it a bit hesitant;'
says Armstrong, best known for his per
formance on the u.K. drama Teacher.
"You've just got to fling yourself in. I
landed in Budapest on a Sunday, and on
a Monday I was up at the crack of dawn
and I was introduced to Bela. He doesn't
take any bullshit;' laughs the actor.
"He said, 'OK. This is Pedro. This is
your horse. He knows everything. OK.
On you get: There's no messing around
here; there are no airs and graces with
the Hungarians; just get on with it and
do it."
So Armstrong just got on with it. His
Robin Hood isn't the merry fellow who
dashes about in green tights either.
"He can be a very selfish character
and arrogant," Armstrong observes of
their modern take on Mr. Hood. "He
loves himself. He's not with his hand on
hips, saying, 'Ha ha, I'm a hero!' None of
this, 'Maid Marian, I shall sweep you off
your feet!' He can't be too selfish, of
course. You do see him put his life on
the line for others:'
Armstrong had little time to prepare
for the biggest break of his young career.
Although who wouldn't have fun play
ing Robin Hood? That's as basic a thrill
as it gets for any actor.
"It is great fun;' admits Armstrong.
"You do enjoy it when you're having the
fights, because Robin is supposed to
enjoy fighting. But you can't look like
you're enjoying it too much because
you're supposed to be thinking about a
hundred things at the same time, so you
can't be, 'A-ha! I'm fighting away!' I want
a bit of menace."
Happily, the equetsrian and other re
quired skills weren't menacing to the
star. Riding came fairly easily and, like
most theatrically trained actors, Arm
strong was already well-grounded in
swordplay. But how handy is he with a
bow and arrow?
''I'm OK," Armstrong responds with a
smile. ''I'm good. I'm better than your av
erage guy, but I wouldn't say I'm amaz
ing. Thank God the modern technology
of TV can make me look fantastic." •
Reinventing Robin
The hero of Sherwood Forest rides again
in a new BBe television series.
By Michael Giltz
WHEN LITTLE CHILDREN (especially
those lucky enough to be around hors
es) play make-believe, two games are
constant: cowboys and Indians, and
Robin Hood. That's one reason Robin
Hood is always being reinvented.
Errol Flynn's iconic 1938 film version
is the standard, of course, but recent
years have seen Sean Connery and Au
drey Hepburn face old age in Robin and
Marian (1976), Kevin Costner helplessly
tackle a British accent in Robin Hood:
Prince of Thieves, and author Nancy
Springer create a distaff teen version in
her series of young adult novels that
began with Outlaw Princess of Sherwood:
A Tale Of Rowan Hood in 2003.
Thus it probably seemed like the
most natural thing in the world for 25-
year-old actor Jonas Armstrong to play
one of the most famous heroes in histo
ry for a new 13-part television series for
the BBC. Slightly less natural was being
whisked from a film location in India to
Budapest, where a lavish set recreated 12th-century England so he could play
the nobleman turned outlaw. It begins
airing in the United States on BBC
America this March.
There was one problem, however:
Armstrong had never ridden a horse.
"When he arrived in Hungary, he
wasn't good enough yet;' admits Bela
Unger, a Hungarian stunt man and the
leader of "Hood Academy," the nick
name of the two-week course in riding,
swordplay, and other stunt work the ac
tors went through before filming began.
"Jonas is working with a very nice
brown Hungarian horse called Pedro,
who is very experienced and very
knowledgeable. He knows what we need
on a set;' notes Unger.
Clearly, Unger knows the faith he can
place in the animals he works with is
going to be well-founded. After six
months of filming on the highly antici
pated series (the casting of the new
Robin Hood made headlines in the
U.K.), Armstrong is grateful for the
SHOW CIRCUIT ® FALL 2006 brusque, businesslike manner of his
trainers.
"You can't go into it a bit hesitant;'
says Armstrong, best known for his per
formance on the u.K. drama Teacher.
"You've just got to fling yourself in. I
landed in Budapest on a Sunday, and on
a Monday I was up at the crack of dawn
and I was introduced to Bela. He doesn't
take any bullshit;' laughs the actor.
"He said, 'OK. This is Pedro. This is
your horse. He knows everything. OK.
On you get: There's no messing around
here; there are no airs and graces with
the Hungarians; just get on with it and
do it."
So Armstrong just got on with it. His
Robin Hood isn't the merry fellow who
dashes about in green tights either.
"He can be a very selfish character
and arrogant," Armstrong observes of
their modern take on Mr. Hood. "He
loves himself. He's not with his hand on
hips, saying, 'Ha ha, I'm a hero!' None of
this, 'Maid Marian, I shall sweep you off
your feet!' He can't be too selfish, of
course. You do see him put his life on
the line for others:'
Armstrong had little time to prepare
for the biggest break of his young career.
Although who wouldn't have fun play
ing Robin Hood? That's as basic a thrill
as it gets for any actor.
"It is great fun;' admits Armstrong.
"You do enjoy it when you're having the
fights, because Robin is supposed to
enjoy fighting. But you can't look like
you're enjoying it too much because
you're supposed to be thinking about a
hundred things at the same time, so you
can't be, 'A-ha! I'm fighting away!' I want
a bit of menace."
Happily, the equetsrian and other re
quired skills weren't menacing to the
star. Riding came fairly easily and, like
most theatrically trained actors, Arm
strong was already well-grounded in
swordplay. But how handy is he with a
bow and arrow?
''I'm OK," Armstrong responds with a
smile. ''I'm good. I'm better than your av
erage guy, but I wouldn't say I'm amaz
ing. Thank God the modern technology
of TV can make me look fantastic." •