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Interview with Keith Allen and Richard Armitage - Radio Times, October 2007 |
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John Naughton meets the chalk-and-cheese duo behind Robin Hood villains the Sheriff of Nottingham and Guy of Gisborne.
"Everyone knows the devil
has the best tunes, but on
the evidence of the first series
of Robin Hood, Beelzebub
also has the best lines, and
the best scenes, not to mention
the best costumes.
That is
to say, it's the bad boys, namely the Sheriff
of Nottingham (Keith Allen) and his loyal
but brooding henchman, Guy of Gisborne
(Richard Armitage), who've rather stolen
the show from the
kinder-hearted,
public-spirited
types such as
Robin, Much
and Marian.
The pair find themselves in a fine tradition of villainous
duos, both real and fictional. Clearly, there's some chemistry
between the Sheriff and Gisborne that adds to
their impact. It's a relationship that Armitage
is happy to analyse.
"The Sheriff doesn't really need Gisborne,"
he suggests, "but Gisborne needs the Sheriff
so badly, because without him he has no status
and no position. That's why he keeps coming
back for more, because he has no choice."
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Allen's take on their bond is
characteristically more direct. "Well, it's
as homoerotic as ever," he declares. "I think
emotionally the Sheriff relies on Gisborne
because he's the only person he likes in the
world, but also he uses him as a puppy. I think
he would be a very lonely man without
Gisborne, but Gisborne doesn't realise that."
Pivotal to the duo's scene-stealing success
so far have been the costumes, in particular
Gisborne's tight black leathers. It nearly didn't
happen, as original costume plans would have
seen him dressed in a chain-mail tabard.
"Thankfully, they decided
to scrap it," laughs
Armitage. "They said,
'Change of plan. He's
going to be a biker.'
The inspiration was a
hell-raising biker look,
which they adapted because in 1197 a biker
would have been a demon horse rider. It's
partly that and also a kind of heroin-chic,
slightly Goth look and it really works for me.
Sometimes we have rehearsals not in costume,
but I can't do it. I can't play Gisborne in flip-flops.
I have to get that jacket on to play him."
As far as outright
villainy goes, do the
duo look to take things
from bad to worse in
this second series?
"There's a lot more
dastardly stuff going
on because the Sheriff knows that Robin
can't kill him now," explains Allen. "So he pushes
the boat out in terms of terror.
"There's a lot of political manoeuvring
in order to get Prince John on the throne,"
continues Allen. "Then - who knows? -
he might even get rid of him and put
himself on there."
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Armitage echoes the idea that there will
be a lot more bad behaviour as well as
Machiavellian manipulation in this series.
"There's a scene in the series finale that's
going to take Gisborne past the point of
no return," warns Armitage. "There'll be no
coming back from it.
"But there are episodes where they've
flipped it on its head," he continues, "and
we have to collude with the outlaws to get
something done together."
Clearly happy with the way the show has
developed - "both darker and more comic" -
Armitage, nevertheless, has a radical
plan for Gisborne.
"I want Gisborne to die," he smiles.
"I think they should whack him in a big way.
The villains have got to get it at some point;
it's just a question of how long you can string
it out. But I guess it's that comic-book thing,
really - I'll get you next time, Hood!"
**
Now take a look at our full Robin Hood guide.
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