#Merlin but specifically Colin Morgan’s bbc Merlin

[mcmactictac]

my upcoming exams:

the fictional little guys who will not leave my brain, that I want to do a full character analysis on because no one Gets Them Like I Do and the world needs to Understand: :)

[elizaisdunn]

☝️😎 “watch this”

[prue84]

Prince Merlin of Essetir

Fandom: BBC’s Merlin (canon era) AU AU: Prince Merlin Related fanwork: King Merlin

Prince Merlin, heir to King Balinor of Essetir.

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Posted for the Merlin 10th Anniversary of the Finale Christmas Eve 2012 by @ladyofthelake.

Dedicated to @kairennart, whose King Merlin gave me the itch to finish this manip, and to @magicinavalon who asked them the Merlin in dark blue. Also, @queerofthedagger, as the author of "It Was One Kingdom, Once", the fic that inspired Kairennart's art. I don't know if this Merlin might fit into your fic but I hope you'll appreciate the same.

The prince of Essetir is to leave his home in order to meet his future husband, King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot.

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Manip planned and partially started (Colin's faces picked) in April 2019, but then abandoned. Turning Photoshop on to do either Kirk or Spock for Christmas, off course I go and manip something I have no rush for! The day before @kairennart had posted their Merlin in blue and their art inspired me to finish this manip. So, while not specifically related, anyone is welcome to picture this Merlin as the Merlin @kairennart painted.

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Literally finished the last touches yesterday. Posting before I can change my mind and find something else to do. I wanted to remove that horse, that looks like floating, but I couldn't replace it with someone else-- you'll see in the follow up that is coming for what I mean.

Tec stuffs (aka Behind The Manip) Manip started in 2019, when I completed the boring task of searching and picking the face. Initially I decided for a bearded Colin, completely finished the necessary retouches... and then, when I was about to delete the other placed temporary faces, I decided that the Merlin one was the best one... so I went and manipped that as well, thus this version. Unable to pick which version I wanted to trash, I decided to keep both. I did add something to make the second different, you'll see. Please appreciate the changing of the symbol/decoration on the pommel and the keeping of the grey for the "studs" like decorations of the jacket.

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Original picture from Games of Thrones. Colin Morgan from Arthur's Bane promo pic. Both from Far Far Away. Druid symbol unknown.

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Crossposted: Livejournal: prue84.livejournal.com/93133.html Dreamwidth: prue84.dreamwidth.org/84344.html Deviantart: deviantart.com/prue84/art/Prince-Merlin-of-Essetir-940684549

[googledocsdyke]

what would have happened if bbc merlin ran for fifteen seasons do you think. answerer's choice if that means 2008 to jesus christ 2023 or 1997-2012 or anything in between.

sam first of all i need to let you know that i have been thinking about this ask for the last nine days. not to any productive effect just rolling it around in my head like a shiny little marble and not denting its surface whatsoever

secondly i'm going to roll with the original 2008 pilot date here because i TRULY do think that the concept "what if we did a show about arthurian legend but completely randomly and arbitrarily made the central idea of the show that magic is both illegal in camelot and a metaphor for homosexuality, an idea which is not even remotely present in the original myths that revolve around the CENTRAL premise that merlin is 1) an ancient man and 2) does magic with arthur's full knowledge consent and encouragement" could really ONLY have been pulled off in its particular homophobias of that era. well i wouldn't really know i was like doing multiplication tables in 2008. but it's just SO early 2000s network tv. also as previously established anthony head was doing buffy in 1997 and i refuse to sacrifice rupert giles for anything.

ANYWAYS. i really do think that a 2013-and-beyond merlin would have to finally sacrifice its core premise of "nobody KNOWS about merlin's MAGIC" and actually you know sort of conceptually attempt to deliver on what was promised from the pilot. again like merlin would still be terrible i need to make this what merlin WOULD be not what i would WANT it to be but i AM picturing like. arthur survives by the skin of his teeth in diamond of the day part ii. merlin carries his wounded body home and maybe like....... seasons 6-10 are The Slow And Painstaking Legalisation Of Sorcery Across Camelot. like i'm talking star wars prequels space bureaucracy level of vibes. merlin has never been particular interested in the "details" of how "a government" might "work" so i'm picturing like whole episodes dedicated to arthur pitching up to some town where his father enacted unspeakable crimes of heinous genocide and being like "right listen chaps! why don't we all just get along :)" and some pale limp-wristed local sorcerette gets all pissy at merlin specifically and tries to do murder about it and there's a Very Big Fight that lasts for Twenty Minutes except for merlin gets to use magic in front of arthur and the knights this time and it all ends with some brisk handshakes and "the treaty has been reached good job old chap :)" and they gallop on home with some light-to-medium horseback slapstick

merlin starts dressing differently throughout this, to signify that He Is A New Man Who Has Earned Arthur's Grudging Respect. his neckerchief is purple now and he's getting into burlap cloaks. the whole shenanigan is interspersed with Soft Touching Scenes of arthur Trying To Figure Out His Fraught Relationship With This New Magical Merlin where they like almost brush cheeks before somehow making physical fart noises about it. like they will play this queerbait fiddle till the cows come home. the phrase "two sides of the same coin" increases to a frequency of once every 2 episodes. nobody does anything about it.

season 11 gaius dies. it's DEVASTATING. people make gifsets upon gifsets about it. colin morgan does that little scrunchy thing with his eyes and hearts break everywhere and there's a whole episode musing on the nature of fatherhood. luckily nothing ever stays dead on [bbc merlin] and the entire 11th season the big bad is like The Notion Of Ghosts Themselves. they bring EVERYONE back. buddy they're running out of ideas i'm talking ghostmorgana, ghostgaius, ghostelyan ghosttom and of course our dear best friend ghostuther. they pull some tertiary arthurian character completely out of context to be the Ghost Mastermind and it's all very heavy-handed stuff about how you can never escape the bearing of the ones you love. web-weavers go wild.

season 12 ratings are dropping like a stone and someone points out that maybe it's like, not a great look that gwen is the only living woman and only living black character on the show and has been reduced to like a clothesrack for medieval gowns. so this season is SUPER gwen-centric. arthur gets stuck in an enchanted megabog or something so the whole season is just merlin desperately hunting down arthur (why mess with perfection?) while gwen rules the kingdom with the knights by her side. it's executed incredibly poorly, and everyone eats it up. she girlbosses her way to like finding an optimal way to redistribute albion's grain stores and gets really into forging weapons agai wait actually i love this. gotta circle back to make it worse.

season 13 big bad is some totally real guy who actually lived in a completely different period of history. quite possibly king louis the xivth. there's discourse about merlin's nascent francophobia. there's only one bed. there's a gag episode where the guest star is david walliams with the head and tail of a donkey. season 14 they REALLY double down on the hibernophobia for no reason and also, unrelatedly, ealdor burns down. the villain is like king mark of cornwall or sir lamorak. merlin is like a total mary sue by this point who can dissolve castles with a snap of his fingers. he still cleans arthur's armour.

season fifteen and GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH IS BACK BABY to engage in constant recording of arthur and merlin's exploits. the whole season is a VERY poorly conducted but nevertheless compelling debate around how "greatness" is to be "remembered" as albion crests into its age of great glory and good english hearts swell or whatever. there is no conflict until the final episode WHEN arthur is randomly stabbed by a farm boy raiding the food stores. merlin's powers are incapacitated and he dies in his arms as before, BUT NOT BEFORE, muttering and uttering the words, "i love you," sending the internet into a tailspin. sorry for doing supernatural again but it's the only way i can conceive of anything occurring, ever, for all of recorded time. just call me geoffrey of monmouth.

finally, and this is key: merlin never once apologises

[make-me-imagine]

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xx

[minnesotadruids]

Hello there! If it s not too much trouble, how do you feel about media/pop-culture portrayal of druids?

Since the word “Druid” is used a lot to mean “Nature Wizard” would you prefer if people used/make up their own different words for their stories or find it ok to use the term as long as they’re respectful or accurate to Druidism to some degree?

In terms of the "best" media depiction of druids, I think the BBC series Merlin with Colin Morgan is probably the closest we can get to a positive portrayal of the Celtic priestly caste. I still hesitate to describe it as accurate, but at the very least I wasn't balking at the show as much as I did when watching an episode of The Librarians. We'll get to them in a moment.

There's also the fun Australian miniseries Roar that starred a young Heath Ledger. It was full of historical inaccuracies (the premise being about a Roman-occupied Ireland for one thing). But it portrayed the druids in a positive light despite being at a time when they were in decline.

In the TV show The Librarians: And the Rise of Chaos (season 3 episode 1) they have a very brief (2-3 minute) run-in with some angry druids. The mob only shouts and growls but don't seem to speak, all while wearing tattered robes and brandishing wooden farm implements of various functions. They were also wearing cringey cast-resin masks of animal skulls that miraculously fit perfectly on their faces and just looked fake. I should point out this show takes place in the present.

The librarians have to climb a wicker man and solve a puzzle to steal a rune-covered stone artifact. The puzzle is based on a Celtic board game gwyddbwyll AKA fidchell. In the episode, the game pieces are Norse runes (Elder Futhark). Historically, the Iron Age Celts would not have used those runes. The game pieces should be carved figures of warriors instead. Then things get a bit personal with the tree stump inscription.

One librarian translates the markings on the stump which he says are "ancient Gaulish mixed with third century astrological symbols," and somehow reads "when the king reaches the north, the light will reveal itself."

*FACEPALM*

Well the three symbols on the left side are more Norse Elder Futhark (i.e. not even Celtic), the symbol cluster in the upper right corner looks like it could be vaguely Lepontic script (i.e. yes, “ancient Gaulish”) but that specific one is not in the Lepontic alphabet at all. Just for fun they have the symbol for Aries (the aforementioned (but singular) Greek astrological symbol). The Celtic triskele is in the upper middle of the stump and variations of it go back thousands of years, but it doesn't really have a universally accepted meaning.

What upset me the most was the incorporation of the Druid Sigil (bottom center of the stump). It is the official symbol of the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA). The RDNA invented the Druid Sigil in 1963 to be a geometrically simple symbol, yet at the same time - unique. They went through books of symbols to make sure it didn't already exist. The RDNA founders described the Druid Sigil as a symbol for the Earth-Mother, but it is truly devoid of a specific meaning or powers.

In the RDNA, the individual imparts their own meaning into the Sigil, and whatever powers they want it to have if need be. To me the Druid Sigil is a sun wheel, and the two vertical lines represent the Two Tenets of Reformed Druidism. It means something different to everyone, and it is neither ancient Gaulish nor third century anything. The show producers obviously googled “Druid symbols” and that was the extent of their research.

I guess if someone was to make a new show, movie, or other media about druids, I would prefer that it would at least clearly be in the high-fantasy genre if they're going to make them all fanciful magic users, and especially if they're going to be portrayed as bad guys. If the show is trying to be more historically accurate, I'd much prefer that they stick to what's verifiable (though admittedly that's not much). Otherwise yeah, it would be nice sometimes if they used a different term, like sorcerers or warlocks if they're bad guys.

Oh gosh, Warlock! That was a 1989 supernatural horror movie that started a trilogy of gory films. The warlock was a bad guy, and a secret bloodline of druids were the only ones who had a chance of stopping him. The depiction of druids was okay I suppose, and on the plus side they wore plain everyday clothes in the 20th century, 'cause you know it's important to blend in.

See Also:

History of the Druid Sigil

Common Symbols in Druidry

[myohmine]

Tag nine people to learn more about their interests! Thank you for tagging me @bitnotgood28 Sorry it took me so long to do this 🥲

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5 fav lyrics?

“The high’s too high and the low’s too low when you love someone and they let you go. Don’t you let it kill you even when it hurts like hell.” (Don’t Let It Break Your Heart by Louis Tomlinson)

“And I’m back for the first time since then. I’m standing on your street. And there’s a letter left on your doorstep and the first thing that you’ll read…” (Tim McGraw by Taylor Swift)

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“ความหวานในใจฉันเหมือนมันต่ำไป กลับมารักกันทีได้ไหม ขาดเธอแล้วฉันอยู่ไม่ไหว คิดถึงเวลาที่มีเธออยู่ใกล้ กลับมาหาฉันทีได้ไหม เติมความหวานให้ใจฉันที” (ความหวาน/Sweetness by LULA. Translation: the sweetness in my heart seems too low. Please come back and love me. I can’t live without you. I miss when you’re near. Please come back to me. Add on the sweetness in my heart, please.)

“กี่ปีแสงจะผ่าน จะกี่ความทรมาน จะอย่างไรก็คุ้ม ถ้าปลายทาง ตรงนั้นฉันมีเธอ จะรอฉันรึเปล่า ที่สุดขอบจักรวาล หากมีเธอที่รัก ที่รออยู่ จะทำทุกๆ ทาง ไกลกว่านั้นก็จะไปให้ถึง ฉันขอแค่เพียงอย่างหนึ่ง แค่ยังรักฉันก็พอ” (กว่าจักรวาล/Than Universe by Atom Chanakan. Translation: No matter how many light years has passed, or how painful it is, it will be worth it if I have you at my destination. Will you wait for me at the edge of the universe? If you’re waiting for me, darling, I’ll do anything to get there. Even if it’s further than that, I’ll reach you. I have only one request. Just still love me the same.)

Oh wait that’s six. AHHHH. What is wrong with me? Math, man.

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fav book? Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

fav book series? Sherlock Holmes, Doraemon, Detective Conan, Deltora Quest, The Famous Five

comfort book? Dr Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

perfect book to read on rainy days? I used to live in Seattle where it rains ALL THE DAMN TIME. And I’m easily bored, so I don’t like to read the same thing twice. But textbooks = SO EXPENSIVE & I couldn’t afford to buy more books for entertainment. So THANK YOU to fanfic writers. You were my lifelines. Please excuse the long list, here are incredible fanfic writers I adore & remember by username: Dysonrules, Faithwood, Reiya, Ars_Matron, alykapedia, Anonymous1313, AL_KILLER, persephoneggsy, thehoyden, astolat, whatsup_buttercup, marguerite_26, dia_dove, ajwolf, Adrianna99, cuttlemefish, CreativeSweets, Pangea, and many more who share their talent for FREE. Currently, their works are up on AO3 ;)

fav characters? Draco Malfoy, Hattori Heiji, Hermione Granger.

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TV & MOVIES

fav tv/movie genre ? Sci-Fi, Sitcom, Cartoon, Documentary (Space/Ocean/Nature/Technology/Historical Inaccuracy lol).

fav movie ? Harry Potter. PIXAR anything. STUDIO GHIBI anything. MCU. Disney princesses.

comfort movie ? Coco

movie you watch every year ? none.

fav tv show ? Last Week Tonight, Doctor Who, Yuri!!! On ICE

comfort tv show ? Brooklyn 99

most rewatched tv show ? BBC Merlin

ultimate otp ? AMY AND RORY. “I specifically remember not noticing them.” “Great. The one time you can’t manage it.” “Together or not at all.” “It’s called marriage.” “Raggedy man, goodbye.” There. Five quotes I remember by heart from Amelia Pond & Rory Williams to make up for none from any books. Lol.

5 fav characters ? Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle, Makkachin from Yuri!!! On ICE, Merlin from BBC Merlin (Colin Morgan), Eleventh Doctor from Doctor Who (Matt Smith), Terry Jeffords from Brooklyn 99 (Terry Crews)

tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging |one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watches online

@the-soul-in-the-sixth-sense @mushroomlouu @karou-livesineroda @vintageumbroshirt @smellofrainn @allmytales @just-a-donut-who-reads @destieliscanonnow @thecarnivorouskitten @boobearlarry please consider yourself tagged!💗

[supergay-supergirl]

why merthur isn't queerbait

aka, the characteristics of queerbait and why merthur doesn't follow them

if you can tell this is going to make you upset, please don't read it, for your own sanity. I'm expressing some personal opinions/analysis and I would hate for you to get needlessly annoyed.

post under the cut.

the characteristics of queerbait

1. gay romantic vibes that never become canon

obviously. this is the umbrella of relationship under which queerbait falls. items 2-4 are characteristics that make it specifically bait, rather than just vibes/chemistry.

2. intent to market to a queer audience

queerbait is, by definition, an intentional (and nefarious) marketing strategy. relationships are baited in order to draw in a queer audience without ever following through and creating real representation, which just leaves everyone dissatisfied.

note that if it's not intentional, it's just... unfortunate. it's often difficult to tell whether a potential pairing is set up intentionally or not, but if it's pretty clear the intent wasn't there, then it's not queerbait. and if it was clearly intentional, then it's queerbait, 100%.

3. similarity to canon romantic relationships

one of the most common ways queerbaiting shows up is through parallels with canon (usually straight) romantic relationships. commonly detected through the test, "if a man and a woman / boy and a girl in this media did the same thing, would it be widely considered romantic?" phrasing, framing, lighting, and costumes can all be a part of this.

4. lack of romantic fulfillment for both of the characters

this is the main one that I wanted to talk about, because it's the main reason why I've found I get annoyed by some non-canon romantic vibes and I'm fine with others. when both characters in the potential romantic relationship are left available or romantically unfulfilled (does not include being single and happy about it), it's frustrating because there's a clear path not being taken in order to heighten tension. it's the same frustration as every will-they-won't-they relationship (think ross and rachel), but worse because they're denying canon queer rep so it's like. come on.

however, when one or both of the characters are romantically fulfilled, it's a statement by the creator(s) that a path has been chosen separate from the potential pairing, and it's the right path for the character(s). it's not leading consumers on; it's giving them a story and letting them decide how they feel about it.

merthur

another reminder that if this is going to make you upset, save yourself while you can.

merthur is commonly identified as queerbaiting and i! humbly disagree! merlin and arthur definitely have chemistry, and it's arguably romantic. however, what about the other characteristics?

intent: as far as I've been able to find on the internet, merthur was never advertised as a romantic relationship. it's consistently described as a "bromance," which does not carry romantic connotations in the mainstream. I can't speak for the showrunners or writers, but in interviews, colin morgan (merlin) and bradley james (arthur) seem to talk about their relationship as purely platonic. I didn't do a super deep dive, so if there's evidence against this, then I stand corrected, but from my knowledge, there was no intent to market merthur towards a queer audience (or any audience).

parallels: this one particularly interests me with merthur. at first glance, merlin and arthur's scenes together are very romantic. they're put in a lot of situations, both comedic and heartfelt, that push them closer and prove the strength of their bond. they are physically close much of the time too. however, when you compare their relationship to canon romantic relationships in the show, you realize that they're actually pretty different. none of the canon romantic relationships are nearly as frenemy-like or comedic, and they're characterized by... well, romantic feelings, rather than feelings like respect or companionship. (while respect and companionship are important in a relationship, merlin places a strong emphasis on Romantic Feelings being their own thing.) merlin and arthur have vulnerable conversations while lying side by side at night, but the canon romantic couples in the show never do. merlin and arthur bring gifts (notably flowers) to the objects of their respective affections, but never to each other. the show presents romance in a very particular way, and it presents merlin and arthur's relationship differently.

romantic fulfillment: and then, of course, there's gwen! gwen and arthur have a long-term, deeply developed romantic relationship, stemming from bbc merlin Romantic Feelings, in which they lean on each other and satisfy each other's need for romantic companionship. merlin does not have a long-term romantic relationship, but that's never presented as something he needs to be happy with his life.

tl;dr: merthur isn't queerbait but they still got hella vibes so go off

[teachinghimpoetry]

I posted 422 times in 2021

13 posts created (3%)

409 posts reblogged (97%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 31.5 posts.

I added 739 tags in 2021

#bbc merlin - 174 posts

#merlin - 152 posts

#merthur - 114 posts

#colin morgan - 111 posts

#arthur pendragon - 43 posts

#merlinedit - 39 posts

#bradley james - 29 posts

#achingly beautiful man - 26 posts

#achingly beautiful boy - 26 posts

#merlin fanart - 25 posts

Longest Tag: 118 characters

#and the real tragedy of s4 and s5 specifically is that merlin is literally surrounded by friends but still feels alone

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

28 notes • Posted 2021-08-13 07:42:25 GMT

#4

34 notes • Posted 2021-10-07 07:53:27 GMT

#3

45 notes • Posted 2021-08-01 16:16:05 GMT

#2

"Most of the characters I'm drawn to, as an actor, are ones that are quite intensely lonely and a bit lost and are looking for some kind of redemptive answer."

165 notes • Posted 2021-09-06 21:18:54 GMT

#1

261 notes • Posted 2021-09-12 00:12:33 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[magicinavalon]

I posted 7,620 times in 2021

137 posts created (2%)

7483 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 54.6 posts.

I added 1,781 tags in 2021

#merlin - 882 posts

#merthur - 366 posts

#arthur pendragon - 288 posts

#bbc merlin - 68 posts

#morgana pendragon - 35 posts

#arthur - 34 posts

#lotr - 30 posts

#ask mia - 29 posts

#taylor swift - 26 posts

#colin morgan - 23 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#umm what. I love these idiots so much it's unreal. Their smiles are so soft and you can just see how much they love each other. No wonder we are all so stuck on them <3

My Top Posts in 2021

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

See the full post

268 notes • Posted 2021-09-12 16:24:25 GMT

#4

352 notes • Posted 2021-10-18 15:16:23 GMT

#3

426 notes • Posted 2021-11-01 15:05:29 GMT

#2

Take me up, cast me away.

611 notes • Posted 2021-09-27 16:13:47 GMT

#1

So I’ve been thinking about this scene where Arthur asks Merlin why he doesn’t just use magic to light the fire, specifically the look they share here. It’s the equivalent of Merlin asking 'are you ready to see this?' and Arthur's quirked brow saying ‘go ahead.' 

That's all we've ever needed to know. Yes, Arthur is dying, but he forgives Merlin and openly allows him to use magic within only two days of discovering it. Can you imagine how much he would have loved Merlin's magic after a week? a month? a year? and how free and relieved Merlin would have been to share his magic with Arthur- to start a fire in the hearth of Arthur's chambers, or to light a darkened hallway, or to fight their battles together, side by side. This scene right here shows exactly what could have been. What should have been. These boys deserved so much more than the destiny they were given, and it hurts so much because they were so close (THIS close) to being truly happy and knowing each other.

And this knowing each other I’m referring to applies to both sides. Obviously, Arthur had no idea how much Merlin did for him, or how lonely his best friend was while he kept such a fundamental part of himself hidden, but then there is Merlin. Yes, arguably Merlin knew more about Arthur, but he didn't know this. He didn't know that Arthur would accept him and love him for who he was. He didn't know that he could have revealed himself, until this moment. Until it was too late.

Excuse me while I go cry-

707 notes • Posted 2021-10-28 22:41:12 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[rocknvaughn]

New Colin Morgan Interview from the Sunday London Times 23 February 2020 (Typed out for those who need to translate)

Colin Morgan interview: the star of TV’s Merlin on why theatre is still his greatest love

The Northern Irish actor likes to avoid the obvious. He’s a perfect choice for Caryl Churchill’s disturbing two-hander A Number

Colin Morgan strolls out of rehearsal at the Mountview drama school, south London, with a smile on his face and a woollen cap pulled down on his black curls. He’s 34, but doesn’t look much older than the students rushing to lunch around him. Yet in the packed years since he left college — to take a leading role at the Young Vic — he has established himself as one of the best and most original actors around.

Whether on stage in acclaimed productions of Brian Friel’s Translations at the National and Arthur Miller’s All My Sons at the Old Vic, or on television in The Fall and Humans, he has a knack for finding a different aspect to a character, refocusing them in often revelatory lights. “I suppose I am interested in characters who are misfits,” he says with a grin, in his rolling Northern Irish accent. “Characters who may on the surface appear to be part of society, but actually internally, in their world, don’t feel like they are.”

He is starring opposite Roger Allam at the Bridge Theatre in Caryl Churchill’s elusive, disturbing A Number, about a father and his cloned sons. It’s a characteristically bold choice for someone whose instinct has always been to avoid the obvious. “The road I like to walk down is the one where you can’t see round the corners,” he says.

Given that, it’s a fascinating irony that Morgan is still best recognised for the role that launched him to fame: the titular Merlin in the BBC TV series, for four years from 2008. A rethinking of the Arthurian legends that put the young wizard at its centre, it started off as a children’s favourite and became something more. “It turned into a main-slot drama on Saturday night, which I hadn’t really anticipated.” He took the part because of his love of a challenge. “All I saw was the opportunity to do something that was on me, on my shoulders,” he says, with that disarmingly gentle smile. “I had only done one bit of filming, for an episode of Doctor Who, before then. It was an amazing experience.”

It did, nevertheless, change his life, making him recognised in ways that were not always easy. “You meet people who have grown up with it. You realise that you have been part of their life. Sometimes it’s hard to take that on board, because each individual has a different experience with something that essentially is not who you are. I must pale in comparison.”

Morgan is engaging company. He isn’t exactly reserved, but he does seem very private, making absolutely no comments about his domestic life, and quite shy. He stays completely away from social media — “I think if I had some platform it would be just part of my need. I have no attachment to technology, it’s not my go-to thing” — which means he is insulated to some extent from the frenzy his appearances provoke among his legions of fans. He hasn’t, for example, read any of the feverish excitement surrounding his brief appearance as a “hot journalist” in an episode of The Crown. “I know what people tell me. Which is bizarre, because it was just a few scenes in one episode of a show I was a fan of. I had that experience and I loved it. What happens afterwards is not in your control. It’s just mad.”

Looking back on the early days, when Merlin took off, he is thoughtful. “You are not really equipped to deal with these things. I was used to going into the theatre each day, doing the show and going home. I still feel like that’s my job. Then you realise that when you do other things, you have to be there for the promotion. That was the big adjustment. I don’t enjoy it.”

There is nothing in Morgan’s background in Armagh, Northern Ireland, to suggest a glittering career as an actor. But from a young age, performing with local drama groups, he knew it was what he wanted to do. “I was just fascinated by everything in school productions, watching things, being fascinated by what was behind the sets. The idea of this mysterious world behind what you could see.

“To this day, I get that childlike curiosity and excitement about being backstage — before you step on stage and everything changes. You are on your own, completely, then in a second you are in the company of hundreds. It’s an amazing transition.” He adds pensively: “I feel more comfortable on stage than I do off. That’s the weird thing.”

Morgan’s talent and determination took him to drama school in Glasgow; in his final year, he met Rufus Norris, then associate director of the Young Vic, who cast him in Vernon God Little. He was off and running in an unbroken line of work that has taken in film — he recently starred opposite Rupert Everett in The Happy Prince — TV and the stage. “I want to do that juggling act my whole life if I can. I never want to be just the one thing.”

Yet theatre holds his heart. “I will never, ever not do theatre,” he says firmly. His pleasure at rehearsing A Number under the direction of Polly Findlay is obvious. “What’s great in the room is that there is a combination of fun and seriousness. I’ve never done a two-hander before. It’s a different ball game — thankfully a good game, this one.” Predictably, it was “the impossibility of it” that attracted him to the part. “I had so many questions.” Normally, he prepares by trying to put himself in the environment of a play: for Translations, he took a trip to Donegal, where the drama is set. “Just to breathe that kind of air up there and bring that back over to London with you.”

For A Number, it’s different. “A lot of time was spent with the script as a catalyst for the imagination.” Churchill herself has been in rehearsals — but, like her plays, she doesn’t provide any easy answers. “You might ask her something specific, and she will literally say it could be that. Or it could be that. She is fantastic and liberating.” He looks cheerful. “You mustn’t put any of your inhibitions in the way. You just have to be incredibly open and disciplined to what’s there.” He might be talking about his entire career.

A Number, Bridge Theatre, London SE1, until March 14

Link here: (Behind Paywall)

[odilecheng]

Colin Morgan new interview from Menswear Style Magazine. http://www.menswearstyle.co.uk/2017/04/07/in-conversation-with-colin-morgan/7643 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSlopamDrAl/

IN CONVERSATION WITH COLIN MORGAN AT LA MAISON REMY IN SOHO Written by Peter Brooker in Food & Drink on the 7th April 2017    

 Colin Morgan is an Irish film, television, theatre and radio actor best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series Merlin, the lead in The Living and the Dead, and main roles in Humans and The Fall; film roles in Testament of Youth, Legend and The Huntsman: Winter's War. Colin is constantly tipped by various magazines to be on the precipice of greatness. With his cherubic features and lustrous head of hair, he was also a lateral move for the likes of La Maison Remy to invite him down for a private talk to its members during their recent stint in Soho the other month. We managed to catch up with Colin ourselves and ask about his aspirations and career highlights to date.

 WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CAREER HIGHLIGHT TO DATE? 

 “My very first professional job was playing the role of Vernon in the stage adaption of the novel Vernon God Little at the Young Vic Theatre in London. There are a lot of elements as to why it feels like a highlight; I was still at drama school when I got cast in it, I had never really been to London much before, Rufus Norris is a hugely talented director and the company of actors were just superb - and of course it was all new to me and I still look back on that first experience with fondness and with such appreciation for the luck I had in getting to do it. Since then, working recently on the BBC drama The Living And The Dead was another highlight because of the collaborative nature of it, which feels rare in television these days. The feeling of everyone working openly and creatively together as a team was unique and so rewarding and I feel that that project is really close to my heart and shines out as a highlight because of the creative work we all did together.”  

 WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

  “I’m inspired by anyone who is passionate and dedicated to what they do, not just in acting and storytelling but in any arena, the commitment to a process is always an admirable thing and I can spot it so clearly in people and projects, even if the end result isn't successful or a spectacle - for me it isn't about that, it's about the process to get there and the results are really out of our control. I admire filmmakers and storytellers like Sam Mendes, Paul Thomas Anderson, Tim Burton. I admire writers like Tennessee Williams, John Steinbeck, Harold Pinter and current playwrights like Jez Butterworth and Conor McPhearson. Actors like Sean Penn, Paul Newman, Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Those are my rock-steady favourites, but I find I'm discovering inspiration every day.”  

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON RECENTLY? 

 “I recently finished working on Rupert Everett's directorial debut called The Happy Prince. The film tells the story of the final years of Oscar Wilde's life. Rupert plays Oscar and also wrote the superb script, I think he's got a wonderful piece of work on his hands and I enjoyed the project so much. I play Alfred "Bosie" Douglas who was Oscar's friend/lover for a period of his life. Inhabiting Bosie was such a pleasure and honour for me, the project felt like a real adventure and complete departure into a different and challenging world; all the things I look for and hope for in a project. I believe it will be out and about later this year. I also recently gave a talk at La Maison Rémy Martin - a private members club, now in its third year. La Maison Rémy Martin celebrates multiple talents, encouraging members to celebrate their passions and skills and to be defined by many things rather than the one that that they do.”  

 WHEN DID YOU REALISE YOU WANTED TO BECOME AN ACTOR? 

 “I would definitely describe it as a natural instinct for me. I naturally gravitated towards elements of performance and expressing myself in those terms from a very young age, so I do feel that it has always been in my blood and I'm just lucky to be pursuing and living what I've always known. It takes people to really believe in you for that to happen and I could have all the natural instinct in the world but without people taking chances on me I wouldn't be able to be an actor, so I'm sort of constantly grateful for everything that has happened to come my way so far.”  

 WAS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY THAT DROVE OR INSPIRED THIS DECISION? 

 “As it has always felt instinctive I can't say that the initial influence came from anywhere or anyone other than somewhere inside myself. But that's not to say that I haven't been inspired and driven by some of the amazing talent that is out there in this business. Kevin Spacey is a real inspiration for any actor I think, his ethic and talent is a constant lesson for any aspiring actor. I've always loved Tim Burton movies and the creation of world's ulterior to our own, it’s what acting is all about too and I've always been drawn to films that create that. So, influences are always there and being discovered every day, we can never stop learning.”  

 WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST CHALLENGING PROJECT TO DATE?  

 “Challenge is what I look for in any project, and the definition of challenge can take many forms and is as diverse as the variety of roles out there and so I can't really pinpoint a challenging role that out-challenged another because they each have their own terms. I hope to always keep seeking out those challenges as I go forward, because once one challenge has been conquered it means that the next one needs to exceed that in a way.”  

 IF YOU HADN’T HAVE BECOME AN ACTOR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO HAVE BEEN? 

 “I had no Plan B, I was encouraged in school to come up with one and I would do that to satisfy teachers without any real personal true intent, in my head I knew I was only ever going to pursue one thing. I guess it's that determination you need to pull you through, knowing there's no back-up and being prepared to fail, otherwise you'll never know if it was ever possible.”  

 Colin Morgan recently conducted a private talk for members of La Maison Rémy Martin,lamaison.remymartin.com

[merlins-earmuffs]

Colin Morgan is an Irish film, television, theatre and radio actor best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series Merlin, the lead in The Living and the Dead, and main roles in Humans and The Fall; film roles in Testament of Youth, Legend and The Huntsman: Winter's War. Colin is constantly tipped by various magazines to be on the precipice of greatness. With his cherubic features and lustrous head of hair, he was also a lateral move for the likes of La Maison Remy to invite him down for a private talk to its members during their recent stint in Soho the other month. We managed to catch up with Colin ourselves and ask about his aspirations and career highlights to date.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CAREER HIGHLIGHT TO DATE?

“My very first professional job was playing the role of Vernon in the stage adaption of the novel Vernon God Little at the Young Vic Theatre in London. There are a lot of elements as to why it feels like a highlight; I was still at drama school when I got cast in it, I had never really been to London much before, Rufus Norris is a hugely talented director and the company of actors were just superb - and of course it was all new to me and I still look back on that first experience with fondness and with such appreciation for the luck I had in getting to do it. Since then, working recently on the BBC drama The Living And The Dead was another highlight because of the collaborative nature of it, which feels rare in television these days. The feeling of everyone working openly and creatively together as a team was unique and so rewarding and I feel that that project is really close to my heart and shines out as a highlight because of the creative work we all did together.”

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

“I’m inspired by anyone who is passionate and dedicated to what they do, not just in acting and storytelling but in any arena, the commitment to a process is always an admirable thing and I can spot it so clearly in people and projects, even if the end result isn't successful or a spectacle - for me it isn't about that, it's about the process to get there and the results are really out of our control. I admire filmmakers and storytellers like Sam Mendes, Paul Thomas Anderson, Tim Burton. I admire writers like Tennessee Williams, John Steinbeck, Harold Pinter and current playwrights like Jez Butterworth and Conor McPhearson. Actors like Sean Penn, Paul Newman, Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Those are my rock-steady favourites, but I find I'm discovering inspiration every day.”

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON RECENTLY?

“I recently finished working on Rupert Everett's directorial debut called The Happy Prince. The film tells the story of the final years of Oscar Wilde's life. Rupert plays Oscar and also wrote the superb script, I think he's got a wonderful piece of work on his hands and I enjoyed the project so much. I play Alfred "Bosie" Douglas who was Oscar's friend/lover for a period of his life. Inhabiting Bosie was such a pleasure and honour for me, the project felt like a real adventure and complete departure into a different and challenging world; all the things I look for and hope for in a project. I believe it will be out and about later this year. I also recently gave a talk at La Maison Rémy Martin - a private members club, now in its third year. La Maison Rémy Martin celebrates multiple talents, encouraging members to celebrate their passions and skills and to be defined by many things rather than the one that that they do.”

WHEN DID YOU REALISE YOU WANTED TO BECOME AN ACTOR?

“I would definitely describe it as a natural instinct for me. I naturally gravitated towards elements of performance and expressing myself in those terms from a very young age, so I do feel that it has always been in my blood and I'm just lucky to be pursuing and living what I've always known. It takes people to really believe in you for that to happen and I could have all the natural instinct in the world but without people taking chances on me I wouldn't be able to be an actor, so I'm sort of constantly grateful for everything that has happened to come my way so far.”

WAS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY THAT DROVE OR INSPIRED THIS DECISION?

“As it has always felt instinctive I can't say that the initial influence came from anywhere or anyone other than somewhere inside myself. But that's not to say that I haven't been inspired and driven by some of the amazing talent that is out there in this business. Kevin Spacey is a real inspiration for any actor I think, his ethic and talent is a constant lesson for any aspiring actor. I've always loved Tim Burton movies and the creation of world's ulterior to our own, it’s what acting is all about too and I've always been drawn to films that create that. So, influences are always there and being discovered every day, we can never stop learning.”

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST CHALLENGING PROJECT TO DATE?

“Challenge is what I look for in any project, and the definition of challenge can take many forms and is as diverse as the variety of roles out there and so I can't really pinpoint a challenging role that out-challenged another because they each have their own terms. I hope to always keep seeking out those challenges as I go forward, because once one challenge has been conquered it means that the next one needs to exceed that in a way.”

IF YOU HADN’T HAVE BECOME AN ACTOR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO HAVE BEEN?

“I had no Plan B, I was encouraged in school to come up with one and I would do that to satisfy teachers without any real personal true intent, in my head I knew I was only ever going to pursue one thing. I guess it's that determination you need to pull you through, knowing there's no back-up and being prepared to fail, otherwise you'll never know if it was ever possible.”

[dragonlordcol]

Q&A with Colin Morgan who stars in Waiting for You

Q&A with Colin Morgan

Actor Colin Morgan was born in Armagh in 1986 and is best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy TV series Merlin, as well as Channel 4 hit sci-fi show Humans and the BBC’s supernatural show, The Living and the Dead.

How did you come to be involved?

With this script I was immediately enthralled. I thought that it was really atmospheric, and mysterious. I like the fact that it had this road trip feel to it, and again what draws me to most characters is their lost-ness. I am often drawn towards characters that are trying to find something – whether it is outside themselves, inside themselves, or a mixture of the two.

When I met Charles I was taken aback by his enthusiasm for the story and how much passion he had along with his desire to get it made, which fuelled me even more. With an independent feature it can be more challenging to get it off the ground, which can make it feel even more special to be involved. It felt like a collaborative experience.

What was it like working with Fanny Ardant?

Charles didn’t want us to meet until our first scene. It had been scheduled that the first scene we meet was the first scene that we did together. I had been at this house in France filming for a few weeks, and the first scene that we did together was the scene where we first meet in the movie. That was great, because we were feeling each other out. She is incredibly warm, generous and glamorous, sophisticated and innocent, and you can’t help but admire and like her. She is a fabulous actress with a beautiful passion and a wealth of experience behind her eyes. We had a really interesting chemistry and dynamic with each other. The film delves into the past and the secrets that the house might hold, and there is this weird sexual energy that hangs around them, whether as lovers or a maternal love, making for a strange mix.

What was the greatest challenge for you?

Mapping out the journey in more or less every scene. When you are the character whose eyes the story is being told through you have to be more explicit in the changes that are happening and you are experiencing. If it is one note throughout the whole film then the audience are stuck with that for the duration, so you have to be aware that if the camera is your face then you really have to be doing some peddling underneath. The story does that naturally, but you have to be specific about where your character is in each moment. It is a constant jigsaw puzzle, and I love it, but definitely a challenge.

[alicethruthelookingglass]

Colin Morgan is an Irish film, television, theatre and radio actor best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series Merlin, the lead in The Living and the Dead, and main roles in Humans and The Fall; film roles in Testament of Youth, Legend and The Huntsman: Winter's War. Colin is constantly tipped by various magazines to be on the precipice of greatness. With his cherubic features and lustrous head of hair, he was also a lateral move for the likes of La Maison Remy to invite him down for a private talk to its members during their recent stint in Soho the other month. We managed to catch up with Colin ourselves and ask about his aspirations and career highlights to date.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CAREER HIGHLIGHT TO DATE?

“My very first professional job was playing the role of Vernon in the stage adaption of the novel Vernon God Little at the Young Vic Theatre in London. There are a lot of elements as to why it feels like a highlight; I was still at drama school when I got cast in it, I had never really been to London much before, Rufus Norris is a hugely talented director and the company of actors were just superb - and of course it was all new to me and I still look back on that first experience with fondness and with such appreciation for the luck I had in getting to do it. Since then, working recently on the BBC drama The Living And The Dead was another highlight because of the collaborative nature of it, which feels rare in television these days. The feeling of everyone working openly and creatively together as a team was unique and so rewarding and I feel that that project is really close to my heart and shines out as a highlight because of the creative work we all did together.”

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

“I’m inspired by anyone who is passionate and dedicated to what they do, not just in acting and storytelling but in any arena, the commitment to a process is always an admirable thing and I can spot it so clearly in people and projects, even if the end result isn't successful or a spectacle - for me it isn't about that, it's about the process to get there and the results are really out of our control. I admire filmmakers and storytellers like Sam Mendes, Paul Thomas Anderson, Tim Burton. I admire writers like Tennessee Williams, John Steinbeck, Harold Pinter and current playwrights like Jez Butterworth and Conor McPhearson. Actors like Sean Penn, Paul Newman, Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Those are my rock-steady favourites, but I find I'm discovering inspiration every day.”

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON RECENTLY?

“I recently finished working on Rupert Everett's directorial debut called The Happy Prince. The film tells the story of the final years of Oscar Wilde's life. Rupert plays Oscar and also wrote the superb script, I think he's got a wonderful piece of work on his hands and I enjoyed the project so much. I play Alfred "Bosie" Douglas who was Oscar's friend/lover for a period of his life. Inhabiting Bosie was such a pleasure and honour for me, the project felt like a real adventure and complete departure into a different and challenging world; all the things I look for and hope for in a project. I believe it will be out and about later this year. I also recently gave a talk at La Maison Rémy Martin - a private members club, now in its third year. La Maison Rémy Martin celebrates multiple talents, encouraging members to celebrate their passions and skills and to be defined by many things rather than the one that that they do.”

WHEN DID YOU REALISE YOU WANTED TO BECOME AN ACTOR?

“I would definitely describe it as a natural instinct for me. I naturally gravitated towards elements of performance and expressing myself in those terms from a very young age, so I do feel that it has always been in my blood and I'm just lucky to be pursuing and living what I've always known. It takes people to really believe in you for that to happen and I could have all the natural instinct in the world but without people taking chances on me I wouldn't be able to be an actor, so I'm sort of constantly grateful for everything that has happened to come my way so far.”

WAS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY THAT DROVE OR INSPIRED THIS DECISION?

“As it has always felt instinctive I can't say that the initial influence came from anywhere or anyone other than somewhere inside myself. But that's not to say that I haven't been inspired and driven by some of the amazing talent that is out there in this business. Kevin Spacey is a real inspiration for any actor I think, his ethic and talent is a constant lesson for any aspiring actor. I've always loved Tim Burton movies and the creation of world's ulterior to our own, it’s what acting is all about too and I've always been drawn to films that create that. So, influences are always there and being discovered every day, we can never stop learning.”

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST CHALLENGING PROJECT TO DATE?

“Challenge is what I look for in any project, and the definition of challenge can take many forms and is as diverse as the variety of roles out there and so I can't really pinpoint a challenging role that out-challenged another because they each have their own terms. I hope to always keep seeking out those challenges as I go forward, because once one challenge has been conquered it means that the next one needs to exceed that in a way.”

IF YOU HADN’T HAVE BECOME AN ACTOR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO HAVE BEEN?

“I had no Plan B, I was encouraged in school to come up with one and I would do that to satisfy teachers without any real personal true intent, in my head I knew I was only ever going to pursue one thing. I guess it's that determination you need to pull you through, knowing there's no back-up and being prepared to fail, otherwise you'll never know if it was ever possible.”

Colin Morgan recently conducted a private talk for members of La Maison Rémy Martin, lamaison.remymartin.com

[rocknvaughn]

A Question To the BBC Merlin and Colin Morgan Fandoms

I'm hoping for lots of feedback, here.

Recently, I have been considering auctioning off part of my Merlin/Colin Morgan memorabilia collection. Specifically to benefit a charity to support UK Theatre creatives.

For example, I have the entire hardbound Merlin book collection as well as all the annuals. I have an official Merlin backpack, and some marketing materials. I also have plenty of hard to find magazines featuring Colin as well as theatre programmes.

But I also have some rare things that I would be willing to part with for this cause if I knew there was interest. Some of the things I might be willing to part with would be things like my official Merlin crew jacket and official Merlin Moleskine notebook that I bought from a charity auction from Dale McCready (the head of photography for Merlin), a First Series Merlin DVD signed on the case by Colin, programmes from the plays The Tempest and Translations autographed by the whole cast (acquired via charity auctions).

I also have a wonderful Merlin poster I bought from a former Shine employee that was fully signed by the Merlin cast at the official launch party at OXO Tower in 2008. Signatures of Richard Wilson, Anthony Head, Bradley James, Angel Coulby, Katie McGrath, and Colin Morgan all as big as your forearm in gold and silver metallic Sharpie. I love it to bits, but might be willing to rehome for a fair price.

Anyway, the point of this post is to determine whether there would be enough interest in the rarer items to make the effort of setting up auctions worth it.

Thanks for your responses! ❤