Ioan Gruffudd Interview 3 Previous by Martyn Palmer Q Keira's on an amazing run at the moment. How is she doing? A She's absolutely stunning and a diamond as well. She'll go very far. She's very level headed and has only just turned 18. It's amazing, she's a great actress and a lovely young woman. Q What's Lancelot like? A  Lancelot he's a bit darker than usual. He's more of a tactician. Arthur is kind of very religious and trying to work it all out and Lancelot is more pragmatic, he knows what has to be done and he wants to get out of there, to get home, and he wants every one of his fellow knights to survive as well. So he's a realist, really. Q Were you part of the Knight School? A Yes, boot camp (laughs). I think since the days of Saving Private Ryan when Tom Hanks did it  the Americans are quite big on it. But it's been priceless really, I have to admit. We had two weeks solid when we'd come in in the morning, go horse riding for about two hours then go weight training, practice archery, choreograph the fights. Real physical stuff, but we loved it and it's a real bonding experience. Getting to know each other as guys and actors, just priceless really. Q Was that here in Ireland? A Yes, actually, all the stables are here and the wall was being built around us and it was interesting to see how that developed . Q A set like that must be a great help for the actors... A Yes, it's unbelievable. I thought I'd seen  it all when I saw the Titanic because when i used to drive down towards the Titanic  set which was on the tank, at the Baja Studios in Mexico, you could see it for miles. But then to see this, I couldn't believe it. With CGI and stuff now you'd have thought there'd have been green screen or whatever. But it's interesting that they've actually built it . Obviously it's cost an enormous amount of money. The first time I saw the set completed I couldn't believe it. t seemed to stretch for miles. And by the time the put the CGI on the shots as well, it will be just brilliant. And you know, as an actor, it makes the job so much easier when you have that kind of wonderful backdrop to help feed your imagination Q How physically demanding has the role been? A At the beginning you're euphoric and once you get on the horse it's brilliant and the horses that we're riding are incredibly well trained. People would give their right arm to get to ride one of these and it gives you energy and you think, `Wow I'm on the horse!'  (laughs) And it  makes you feel great and you sit in a certain way and it really gets you into the mood. But I have to say, just getting ready in the morning (laughs) can take a bit of time. Usually you can just dress yourself, but in this there's all this fiddling and putting different bits (of armour) on and tying things on. But because we've gone for the authentic look,  even just lacing this thing on takes forever (indicates very intricate body armour). So that's a bit draining. It's time consuming just getting ready. And by the end of the day you've spent on the horse, you realise that you have worked out quite a bit and you are very, very tired.  For the fight sequences, I use two swords and I had to train my left hand because I'm not ambi dexterous. That was a challenge, let me tell you (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