A CONVERSATION WITH SAM NEILL AND ISABELLA ROSSELLINI Sam Neill (Jurassic Park) plays the title character and Isabella Rossellini (The Odyssey) is Nimue, the woman he loves, in Merlin, the star-packed special from Hallmark Entertainment that premieres April 26 and 27, 1998 on NBC. Merlin also stars Miranda Richardson, Martin Short, Helena Bonham Carter, Rutger Hauer, James Earl Jones and John Gielgud. Sam Neill and Isabella Rossellini were interviewed on the Merlin set, in a forest near Pinewood Studios. QUESTION: How much did you know about your character, and about the whole Merlin mythology, prior to joining this cast? SAM NEILL: Merlin's a rather sketchy character, actually. There were many people who were Merlin, and there was no one who was Merlin. He's clearly based on several historical figures about whom we know very little. It's pretty clear, too, that there was an early king named Arthur. But we know very little about him. What survives is a series of legends, all of which describe him and his times quite differently. My research is based primarily on Mallory, which I read at university. I've also studied Druidism -- one of the things that we know about Merlin is that he was the last of the Druids. He was the last great Druid priest. I find all that very interesting. ISABELLA ROSSELLINI: I didn't really know much about the Merlin legend. I went to school in Italy and France, so the only part of the legend I knew about was the Crusades, and a little bit about the Holy Grail. What I loved about the script is that it seemed like a fairy tale. It was so adventurous. That's what really captured me. There were good people and there were bad people, and I was happy to be playing a good person. But when I delved into the literature I discovered that my character, Nimue, could often be a dark character. Obviously, she's the one Merlin loves -- but she's also the one who enchants Merlin and takes him away from his duty. So in a way the story's about the struggle between the warrior who has the responsibility of searching for the right person to rule the country, versus the man who tries to connect with the person he loves. Finally, of course, Nimue is a positive character. But she does take Merlin away from Arthur, away from his responsibilities. Tell us about the Merlin/Nimue relationship... IR: They meet first when they're very young, and it's love at first sight. It's interesting that in the literature you read again and again about these men who were great warriors -- and yet, when they encountered a woman, they didn't even talk to her, because she was surrounded by ladies-in-waiting. These men would fall completely, irrationally, in love without even meeting the object of their desire -- and then ruin their lives in pursuit of love! On one level, they were masters of the universe; on another level, they were slaves to love. They were tormented by love. Merlin and Nimue are quite different people. Nimue's of the new religion; Merlin isn't, really. Also, Merlin's a fighter; he only turns to magic when he's exhausted all other sources of strength. Nimue's like a female Gandhi. She certainly doesn't believe in revenge -- which is what drives Merlin. She's a product of the new religion; she's ruled by compassion, and by her heart. SN: Obviously, Merlin's relationship with Nimue is how Merlin's character is 'humanized' throughout our story. Merlin is, after all, half- wizard, half-human. How better to show his 'human' side than to have him fall in love with a beautiful woman, a woman who later becomes hideously scarred? Having Nimue in the piece is a great dramatic device that allows the audience to really identify with -- and sympathize with -- Merlin. She helps make Merlin much more than just a comic-book hero. What's it been like, working with director Steve Barron? SN: He's very interested in the humanity of his characters, which is the quality I value most in a director. The other priceless asset he brings to Merlin is a kind of MTV sensibility. He understands the grammar and technique of contemporary filmmaking completely. And in a film in which there's such an enormous number of special effects, it's awfully important that the director be a technologist, as well as an artist. It also helps, of course, that he's worked extensively with the folks at the Jim Henson Creature Shop. He can speak in shorthand with them, and that's important when you're trying to meet the tough delivery deadlines we have to meet on Merlin, to have it ready for broadcast just a few months from now. Isabella, you were also in last year's The Odyssey. Did you think it was going to do as well as it did? IR: Honestly, I was surprised it did so spectacularly well. I mean, we knew when we were making it that it was a good film. You could feel that, somehow. But The Odyssey was based on a book, a classic, and I was afraid some people would criticize us for tampering with it. But nobody did, and the audience loved it. I'm not as concerned about Merlin. As Sam pointed out, there are very few -- if any --facts that get in the way of telling this great story. The writers have fleshed out some fabulous characters, and put them in interesting situations. SN: Let's not forget, there's a very good reason the saga of The Odyssey survived so many centuries, and there's a very good reason why the whole Merlin mythology is alive and thriving fifteen hundred years after the Dark Ages. They're both great stories, about extraordinary people living in extraordinary times. What do you think the audience is for Merlin? SN: I think the potential audience is vast: men and women, all ages and backgrounds. There's literally something for everyone. Much more than 'something,' actually. There's a treasure-trove of great material. And I think audiences today are hungry for this kind of raw and powerful story- telling. IR: I think what's so great about Merlin is that I have a four-year-old, and he's going to love this; he'll be entranced by the dragons and the special effects and the magic. And adults are going to embrace it because this legend is known all around the world; people love this story and these characters, and this film explores and enriches all that. I really believe there's something in it for everybody. It's a family film, and I think this kind of material is badly needed nowadays -- there's so little of high quality out there. And yet there's nothing watered-down or saccharine about this. Actually, it's quite gritty in a lot of places. But ultimately it's life-affirming The forces of good do triumph, and in a time of muddled morality, it brings tears to your eyes when that happens.