The Musketeers: Luke Pasqualino on D’Artagnan and the Second Season

It’s back on BBC-1 on 2 January 2015, the highly anticipated second season of The Musketeers and at the centre of the action is D’Artagnan as played by Luke Pasqualino. Here he talks about what we can expect from the second season and why we will love to hate new baddie Rochefort.

How has D’Artagnan developed since series one?
He’s now a fully-fledged Musketeer after being commissioned at the end of series one, so he’s well in there with the boys now. He’s trying to use his head over his heart more now in terms of his hot-headed temper, so he’s come a long way. He’s matured a lot in that sense. I think we just see him much more of a man now. He’s not just this kind of incredibly skilled child, we see him developing into this Musketeer that he was destined to become.

What can we expect in terms of his relationship with Constance?
We are going to see a lot more of that. Obviously it’s tricky because she is still married. It’s been very fun to play actually. It wouldn’t be great drama if things went smoothly all the time! Obviously you are going to see hiccups in there but it’s about when they come and how they happen, which is something for the audience to look forward too.

Have you enjoyed filming back in Prague with the other boys?
We’ve been out here since March, and it’s been fantastic; I’ve loved it. Me and the boys get on like a house on fire, so it’s great to have everyone back and just do it all over again. Fingers crossed we go for a series three! I’m going to be sad to leave on Monday when I go back to England but I’ll still see the boys’ in-between. It’s great; we have a lot of fun. We just get to be children for twelve hours a day!

Has it been nice having Marc Warren join the cast?
We love Marc. He’s such a laugh. He’s brilliant in the show as well; I think people are really going to enjoy what he’s doing. He’s been a real asset to the show and all of us love him to bits. There had been a few names flying around of who could possibly play Rochefort, and now that I’ve seen Marc do it, I can’t imagine it being anyone else. He’s absolutely fantastic. You love to hate him.

Are you missing the Cardinal on set?
We are! I never really got to work with Peter (Capaldi) that much; none of us really did as he was mainly based in the palace with the King. When we did work with him he was just a delight. He’s just such a gentleman. I’ve not got one bad word to say about him – and he’s Italian which helps!

Do you think The Musketeers has changed at all this series?
Absolutely. The tone of it has definitely changed. There were certain things before we couldn’t do when we thought we we’re making the show for pre-watershed, but now we know it’s going out later we can push those boundaries a little bit. We can tell the truth in certain aspects, which I think really lends itself to the story. It’s just much more adult now, which I think is good.

Have you been keeping up your Musketeer skills for series two?
It was nice to freshen up and get back to grips with the technicalities of it all. We all got back into the swing of it from the start. The bootcamp is just as much about us getting back together and getting that camaraderie and banter going between us because that’s what The Musketeers are; they’re just really good mates. It just so happens that we are really good mates, and we have laugh and giggle. You leave your ego at the door and you’re all sweating together. No one is better off than anyone else; you’re all pouring sweat and putting a hell of a lot of effort into trying to get to a certain point.

Have you done any stunts this time around you’ve really enjoyed?
There was one across the ravine in episode one that was really great. I was a little bit nervous about doing it at the start, but after a few go’s I was thinking ‘let me see how far I can jump this time!’ so I was just trying to get further every time. It was brilliant and a lot of fun to film.

Can you tell me about anything funny that’s happened on set?
Far too many to tell. I could tell you a million! There was a funny one where Tom getting on his horse and was trying to get his foot in the stirrup, but the horse just trotted off with him dragging along on there too. He was just half-draped over this horse and off he went! That sticks out, it was very good!

What can audiences look forward to from series two?
The foundation of The Musketeers, as well as it being adventurous, dangerous and action-packed, is that there still drama there and characters to be discovered. It delves more into the backgrounds of these characters that we are playing, their history and what made them who they are; how they got to where they are. It’s been a nice journey for them this year, it’s been different. It’s bigger, bolder, braver and more adult. It’s what we all wanted and what we’re working towards getting the best out of – I think it’s coming together really well.