BBC1's new
take on the legend of Robin Hood begins on Saturday - and will be
closely watched by those who insist the hero of old originated in West
Yorkshire. Legend has it that his grave is in Kirklees estate. GEMMA
QUADE meets the man who plays Robin
ROBIN HOOD
is back. And Lancashire lad Jonas Armstrong portrays him very
differently to the traditional man in tights.
For a
start the BBBC's lavish £8m series which begins on Saturday
at 7pm, sees the iconic hero and his outlaw band wearing clothes with a
modern twist.
"Some of
the characters have Diesel boots and combats, and I've got a hoodie,"
Jonas laughs. "The costumes are really cool."
Of course,
Jonas has a lot to live up to. Many famous actors have played the role
of the outlaw who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, including
Richard Greene and Errol Flynn. While Jonas, at just 25 years old, is
far too young to remember those performances, he admits he did enjoy
Hollywood's 1991 take on the story.
"I think
every boy is a fan of Robin Hood. I was only five or six when Robin Of
Sherwood was being broadcast, but I can remember the images from the
show, and of course I remember the Kevin Costner film really well.
"Lads
always play bow and arrows when they are young and pretend they're
Robin Hood in the forest, so I was gobsmacked when I got the part."
And it
wasn't just the bow and arrows Jonas got to play with on set - Robin's
other weapon of choice is an impressive Saracen sword. Luckily, the
slight actor is a dab hand at sword-fighting.
"I've got
a certificate for stage combat. I trained when I was at Rada, so I
didn't go into it as a novice. I think that paid off.
"If there
was anything too risky though, for instance walking across a beam, I
had a stunt double that stood in. I got really annoyed they wouldn't
let me do that - it was only eight foot tall," he laughs. "I think it
was for insurance reasons."
One thing
they did let Jonas do was the horse riding.
"They gave
me free rein on the horses. I'm the only one who was allowed to
gallop," he grins. "It's a really good buzz when you're stuck on a
horse and told to fly around one-handed with a bow in one hand,
shouting orders - that's brilliant and I really enjoyed that."
But don't
be fooled, it's not all about the action. At the centre of the story is
Robin's romance with Marian.
"They were
sweethearts and then Robin went off to fight for King and Country in
the Holy Land," Jonas explains. "Obviously Marian was a bit miffed when
he decided to go off there for glory rather than staying with her.
"He comes
back and thinks he can pick up where he left off and get her to fall
back into his arms, but it isn't that easy. That makes it all the
better! It's about him trying to woo her - I think it is a love story."
It is
because of Marian we get to see a darker side of Robin's character too.
In the first episode, Robin seems amiable and cheeky, but things soon
change.
"He so
wanted to come back from the war and rekindle himself with society and
get his position sorted, but that goes totally out of the window. He
has to completely readjust to life in the forest with a bunch of
unscrupulous strangers. His personality does adjust, because it has
to," Jonas explains.
"His
personality gets darker. This guy is a trained killer, he was in the
King's guard, part of his personal protection, so he's a very able
fighter. He has got a temper and while he can usually control himself,
he can also lose it.
"As the
series goes on you do see snippets of that coming out, especially in
episode eight, I can't say exactly why, but it's to do with Gisbourne
and Marian," he says teasingly. "He goes to a dark place then. He is
capable of having a menacing side."
And that
is not the only flaw in Robin's character, Jonas reveals.
"He's
quite arrogant, rather vain, and can be self-centred. But overall the
rounded Robin is essentially a very decent, good, good-spirited
person," he insists.
Having
already signed on for a further two seasons if the programme proves
successful, there is no doubt that the show is set to catapult the down
to earth, aesthetically pleasing Mr Armstrong - who has previously
starred in Teachers and The Ghost Squad - into the public eye.
