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Johannesburg – If you don’t know yet, where have you been? BBC Entertainment (120) debuts the UK hit The Musketeers this Sunday at 21:00.
Set in 17th Century France the classic tale of 'all for one and one for all' gets a fresh modern retake.
At a BBC upfront earlier this week we got to watch a special screening of the first episode and we can guarantee that this is a must-see.
Luke Pasqualino best known for his roles in Skin and The Borgias plays D'Artagnan who heads to Paris to avenge his father’s death.
There he meets the musketeers Athos (Tom Burke), Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) and Porthos (Howard Charles) who he forms a great friendship with.
We had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Luke (fan girl moment) to talk about his role in the
show.
Channel24:
How has your first visit to South Africa been?
Luke:
I love it. It’s such a beautiful place!
Channel24:
What attracted you to the show and the character?
Luke:
I’ve always been a fan of all the characters and the story in general and of course the movies and I used to watch the cartoon when I was a kid. I would have played any of the characters, I love all the characters individually. I was most suited to D'Artagnan so it just felt the most natural one to play.
Channel24:
How did you come to be in the show? What was the process?
Luke:
I got sent the script by my agent and he said to me have a read and let me know what you think. I read it almost immediately and it was a page turner. I auditioned and had a general meeting with the director who played a big part in casting. He gave me notes for my second audition and about two weeks later I got offered the part in the show.
Channel24:
Did you do any preparation for the role? I know you all went to Musketeer bootcamp, but what other prep did you do?
Luke:
For me it was watching other movies and doing research on the period. I used my character as a reference and wrote notes on my phone when I’d think of something. Everything happened so quickly before I knew it we were filming.
Channel24:
How is this character different from the other characters that you have played?
Luke:
He’s very similar and quite different from some of the other characters that I have played. It’s a different time to many of the characters I have played, it’s a different era and a different way of life in that period. This is the first time I go to throw a sword around.
Channel24:
Is there anything about the character that you play that is part of your own personality?
Luke:
Yeah, I think in every role there’s a part of you in there somewhere. D'Artagnan is the young buck with this appetite for justice he still has this not immaturity but vulnerability about him. Even with the boys he’s the youngest. And even when we’re not working and we’re just Luke, Tom, Santiago and Howard I still get the sense of that; the youngest taken under their wing.
Channel24:
How did you relationship with the musketeers evolve on screen and off screen?
Luke:
The essence of the show is all about friendship and allegiance between brothers and we all get on like a house on fire. The boot camp played a big part in cementing that for us to get the camaraderie going.
Channel24:
Do you have any memorable moments about filming?
Luke:
There are so many it’s difficult to choose just one. Just laughter on and off set. It’s such an amazing feeling coming off set at the end of the day and your cheeks hurt from all the laughing.
Channel24:
Did you find anything particularly difficult during filming?
Luke:
I found the sword fighting quite hard. You could do an episode and then there would be a five week block when you didn’t do any sword fighting at all and then you shot two more just trying to maintain the skills learnt.
Channel24:
How did you physically prepare for the action scenes?
Luke:
At bootcamp really. I’m not unfit I play a lot of football and go on some small runs. I’m not a gym freak, I don’t really like going to lift weights I’d rather do something outdoorsy.
Channel24:
Do you have a favourite action scene?
Luke:
In episode eight of season one there’s a lot of action we scheduled four fights in one day. It takes a lot of time to film an action scene because it has to be shot from different angles. At the end of the day you just sit and exhale. All the he mud and dust on your body at the end of the day was crazy.
Channel24:
What was it like filming all day in costume in this world that is created and then going back to ‘real life’?
Luke:
For me I try to leave the character at the door. It’s important to differentiate between you and your character. You never completely lose parts of the character you know. Sometimes I’d pick up a broom and mock sword fight. It’s a lot of fun. But when I put on my clothes I’m Luke.
Channel24:
Why should everyone watch the show?
Luke:
We spread out this amazing story over 10 hours, it’s a new fresh take, it’s gritty and there’s something in there for everyone action, adventure and romance. And it looks spectacular.
Set in 17th Century France the classic tale of 'all for one and one for all' gets a fresh modern retake.
At a BBC upfront earlier this week we got to watch a special screening of the first episode and we can guarantee that this is a must-see.
Luke Pasqualino best known for his roles in Skin and The Borgias plays D'Artagnan who heads to Paris to avenge his father’s death.
There he meets the musketeers Athos (Tom Burke), Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) and Porthos (Howard Charles) who he forms a great friendship with.
We had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Luke (fan girl moment) to talk about his role in the
show.
Channel24:
How has your first visit to South Africa been?
Luke:
I love it. It’s such a beautiful place!
Channel24:
What attracted you to the show and the character?
Luke:
I’ve always been a fan of all the characters and the story in general and of course the movies and I used to watch the cartoon when I was a kid. I would have played any of the characters, I love all the characters individually. I was most suited to D'Artagnan so it just felt the most natural one to play.
Channel24:
How did you come to be in the show? What was the process?
Luke:
I got sent the script by my agent and he said to me have a read and let me know what you think. I read it almost immediately and it was a page turner. I auditioned and had a general meeting with the director who played a big part in casting. He gave me notes for my second audition and about two weeks later I got offered the part in the show.
Channel24:
Did you do any preparation for the role? I know you all went to Musketeer bootcamp, but what other prep did you do?
Luke:
For me it was watching other movies and doing research on the period. I used my character as a reference and wrote notes on my phone when I’d think of something. Everything happened so quickly before I knew it we were filming.
Channel24:
How is this character different from the other characters that you have played?
Luke:
He’s very similar and quite different from some of the other characters that I have played. It’s a different time to many of the characters I have played, it’s a different era and a different way of life in that period. This is the first time I go to throw a sword around.
Channel24:
Is there anything about the character that you play that is part of your own personality?
Luke:
Yeah, I think in every role there’s a part of you in there somewhere. D'Artagnan is the young buck with this appetite for justice he still has this not immaturity but vulnerability about him. Even with the boys he’s the youngest. And even when we’re not working and we’re just Luke, Tom, Santiago and Howard I still get the sense of that; the youngest taken under their wing.
Channel24:
How did you relationship with the musketeers evolve on screen and off screen?
Luke:
The essence of the show is all about friendship and allegiance between brothers and we all get on like a house on fire. The boot camp played a big part in cementing that for us to get the camaraderie going.
Channel24:
Do you have any memorable moments about filming?
Luke:
There are so many it’s difficult to choose just one. Just laughter on and off set. It’s such an amazing feeling coming off set at the end of the day and your cheeks hurt from all the laughing.
Channel24:
Did you find anything particularly difficult during filming?
Luke:
I found the sword fighting quite hard. You could do an episode and then there would be a five week block when you didn’t do any sword fighting at all and then you shot two more just trying to maintain the skills learnt.
Channel24:
How did you physically prepare for the action scenes?
Luke:
At bootcamp really. I’m not unfit I play a lot of football and go on some small runs. I’m not a gym freak, I don’t really like going to lift weights I’d rather do something outdoorsy.
Channel24:
Do you have a favourite action scene?
Luke:
In episode eight of season one there’s a lot of action we scheduled four fights in one day. It takes a lot of time to film an action scene because it has to be shot from different angles. At the end of the day you just sit and exhale. All the he mud and dust on your body at the end of the day was crazy.
Channel24:
What was it like filming all day in costume in this world that is created and then going back to ‘real life’?
Luke:
For me I try to leave the character at the door. It’s important to differentiate between you and your character. You never completely lose parts of the character you know. Sometimes I’d pick up a broom and mock sword fight. It’s a lot of fun. But when I put on my clothes I’m Luke.
Channel24:
Why should everyone watch the show?
Luke:
We spread out this amazing story over 10 hours, it’s a new fresh take, it’s gritty and there’s something in there for everyone action, adventure and romance. And it looks spectacular.
