Ioan Gruffudd Interview 2 Previous by Martyn Palmer Ioan himself would be far too modest to comment on such a claim. He's extremely polite, very likable and down to earth. This interview was conducted in his trailer on set near Wicklow, Ireland, as King Arthur neared the end of filming. The  oldest of three children, the 30 year old actor was born in Wales and by the time he was 14 was holding down a part in the soap opera People of the Valley. At 18,  he won a place at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. After RADA, Ioan quickly established himself as one of Britain's best young actors with a series of eye catching roles - notably playing Poldark, a romantic hero in a period drama, Officer Lowe in the aforementioned Titanic and then claiming the lead in the critically acclaimed television adaptation of the Hornblower series of books. Ioan currently lives in Los Angeles and is dating the English actress Alice Evans. Q This isn't the Arthurian legend as we know it... A  No and that's one of the reasons I liked it so much, it feels fresh. We haven't seen it before even though we all know the King Arthur legend.. Q What was the version of the legend you grew up with? A I always thought he was Welsh! (laughs). But I know the Scots claim him and the English too. But our story is based on some new findings that they came from Sarmatia, which is in Russia, and were in Britain as part of an elite Roman fighting force. They're dragged away from Sarmatia as kids and then trained up and they have to give fifteen years of service to the Empire, ending up in Britain. And in our story they are at the end of that service and waiting for their papers of release - but then there is one last mission that has to be done. Q It's actually quite a contemporary story, isn't it? It could almost be in Vietnam with the special forces... A Yes that's the feel of it. Antoine's (Fuqua, director) last film, Tears of the Sun was a bit like that. But it has that sense of the Seven Samurai too - that's the idea behind the whole thing. Q So this is set in the Dark Ages? A Yes, whereas usually with the King Arthur myth it's medieval.. Q And usually in the King Arthur stories we knew from before, your character, Lancelot, has  a forbidden romance with Guinevere... A (laughs) That's right. But there isn't that love triangle between Lancelot, Guinevere and Arthur which is a bit of a disappointment for me! Especially as young Keira is Guinevere (laughs). Next		Home Interviews Antoine Fuqua Interview King Arthur Interview Arv Grewal Interview Asia Argento Interview Behind the Scenes of "War of the Worlds" Bernie Goldmann Interview Clive Owen Interview Dakota Fanning Interview Dennis Hopper Interview George A Romero Interview Greg Nicotero Interview The Hulk Press Conference Ang Lee Press Conference Ioan Gruffudd Interview John Leguizamo Interview Kathleen Kennedy Interview Keira Knightley Interview