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I
wasn't as nervy as at some auditions and I think that put me into a good
mindset because I didn't have the pressure. Then when I got the part I
was amazed – gob smacked even – but ecstatic because it's such a
well-known and well-loved character, everybody knows Robin Hood.
But
being fully occupied in India, there weren't many opportunities for
Jonas to brush up his archery and sword-fighting skills, although he was
able to do some training.
I
was in the gym every day – I have quite a slight build anyway so I was
trying to eat a lot more and go to the gym and go swimming, says the
six-foot-tall actor. Once I got to Budapest [where Robin Hood is filmed]
we just had a week until filming started. We were on the horses every
day and practising archery and sword fighting and unarmed combat every
day, so it was quite difficult. Then at the end of the week they threw
me a sword and said, Right, now look amazing with it!
And
it's not just any old sword, either. It's a Saracen sword from the
Middle East, so there's a very specific way of fighting with it, Jonas
explains. I think I've really come on with it over the series.
The
25-year-old, who was born in Ireland but grew up in St Annes in
Lancashire, is also now a bit of an expert horseman too. 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 enjoy that," he grins engagingly. They give me free rein on
a horse now because I have got to be on them a lot more, so they gave me
more time to learn and paid extra attention to me. I'm the only one who
is allowed to gallop on a horse!
That's
the special status reserved for the hero – though Jonas says that in
this version of the robbing-from-the-rich-to-give-to-the-poor legend,
Robin isn't always in the right.
He's
a flawed character and he has got downsides to his personality, admits
Jonas. He's not just this do-gooder who hasn't got a bad bone in his
body – he does have some bad aspects to his personality. He can be
sidetracked and become clouded by his own agenda and his personal
issues, which can strain his relationships with the outlaws. He's quite
an arrogant character, rather vain and he can be self-centred – but
overall the rounded Robin is essentially a very decent, good,
good-spirited person.
Jonas,
whose previous TV roles include student Anthony in Teachers and
thrill-seeker Pete in gritty cop drama Ghost Squad, both for C4, admits
he likes Robin's flaws and that they make him a more interesting
character.
He
has to have these darker moments – it makes him human. People may say
he's supposed to be this dashing, swashbuckling hero and he has got
that, but there's another side to him too so hopefully that will come
across as well. It also makes him different to previous Robin Hoods who
have been more out-and-out heroes.
Another
surprising aspect of this Robin is that he's also a bit of a
womaniser...
He
does think he's got a way with the ladies! laughs Jonas, hastily adding
that his old flame, Marian, would certainly not agree.
She
just sees right through it. She says in the first episode, 'Seven years
and you're still peddling the same old drivel – does it ever work?!'
So she's not interested. Their relationship is frosty...
It
seems Marian still hasn't forgiven Robin for deserting her to go and
fight for King Richard.
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, going off there for glory rather than
staying with her. He comes back and just thinks he can pick up where he
left off and get her to fall back into his arms but it isn't that easy.
Which makes it all the better! It's about him trying to woo her.
Jonas
picks out this storyline as his favourite of the series.
I
think it is a love story, he says adamantly. There's also the battle
between the good and the bad, the tyrant and the hero, which is
obviously Robin and the Sheriff, and there's loads of action that will
engage an audience – action sequences and fighting and stunts and
everything else; but the love triangle between Sir Guy of Gisborne,
Marian and Robin is the most obvious through line of the whole thing, I
think, and the one I tried to concentrate more on.
And
it's not just a straightforward choice between hero and villain for
Marian.
Gisborne
is a better prospect because he has security and wealth. Robin would
have had that but he decided to become an outlaw when he came
back," explains Jonas. But hopefully the viewers will go, yes
Gisborne has got all that but he hasn't got the thing that Robin has
got, which is the excitement that he can give her and also, of course,
the love – she doesn't love Gisborne, she just sees him as a
breadwinner.
Back
in the actual time of the story, though, Marian wouldn't have had much
of a choice – in those days it was the men who decided. But the legend
has been updated to appeal to today's more sophisticated audience and,
says Jonas, is quite modern in its feel. Its contemporary slant has led
to it being dubbed Robin Hoody – much to Jonas's amusement.
People
have been on about this but I thought it was obvious to have Robin Hood
in a hood – that's his name!" he says wryly. I always thought
that he would have a disguise, and that's the hood.
But
while the series threatens to make the hoody trendy again, this may not
yet be rehabilitation for the much-maligned garment. As Jonas adds with
a twinkle, Don't forget, he is an outlaw!
Picture Credit: Copyright
© BBC 2006. All rights reserved.
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