King Arthur Interview 4 by Martyn Palmer Previous “It would look stupid and we are all really aware of that and I didn't want it to be the girly thing with the girl who can suddenly kill all these ten foot people. So we decided it would be a really good idea if a lot of the women who are all around my size and build sort of fight in a pack a bit like wolves, and then you see how they can overpower a big man and how they can win. “But basically she gets down and dirty and there's none of that honour on the battlefield, she will do absolutely anything to win, which is great, really cool. And it gives something more interesting to play, and something we've never seen with a Guinevere - she is ruthless, which is great.” For most of the cast, preparing for the long - five months - and physically demanding schedule meant starting training weeks before filming even began. Clive Owen, for instance, had never ridden before and he knew that “60 or 70 per cent” of the film would find him on horse back. “I was sort of in denial about the horse riding, and literally that day I got the part I called Jerry's office and said `I've got to get on a horse tomorrow, I have to start now..' I mean, we couldn't mess about because 60, 70 per cent of the movie is on a horse. So being comfortable is a huge part of the job and I then went five, six days a week for two months before shooting, for at least an hour or two every day. “Now I really enjoy it. I'm not sure how good  I am as a horseman I am but I'm pretty fearless. I can pretty much sit on any horse and I would feel confident.” Boot camp - or Knight School as it was quickly nicknamed - saw the actors honing their sword fighting skills, working with the horses and generally getting ready for the shoot to come. “When I heard about that I thought `******** boot camp!'” says Clive. “I'm not having some guy shouting at me for two weeks!'  Everyone has got their own way of preparing and mine isn't that. “But to be honest with you, that is a very loose term. What that means - and it was very, very beneficial -  is that you go away for two weeks and practice riding your horse in the environment you are going to be riding it in and you practice wielding the weapons you  will be using, so really it's a strange term because it's a very valuable time and it's not wasted at all. “The term suggests some bully standing around barking orders and it's not that at all. It's just spending a good few weeks getting up to speed getting ready to shoot.“ But no matter how good a horseman you are, the animals are still notoriously jittery and prone to doing exactly the opposite to what is required when the camera is rolling. “It was difficult because horses aren't stupid and once you have taken them into a situation where it's not pleasant, you know, where there is noise or fire or a ton of people around, once they have done it once, they are hesitant to do it again,” says Clive. 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