The Seeker’s Omnibus

Craig Horner Interview: “Seeker” Star is Holding Up Just Fine

Craig Horner has had quite a year.

It wasn’t a year ago that he flew to New Zealand to star in his own show, Legend of the Seeker, the latest fantasy romp from the visionaries behind Xena: Warrior Princess, Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi.

And since then, his life had been turned upside down. The show has broken out as a solid hit and made plenty of fans (including yours truly; read my latest recaps of the show here and here).

Craig, an Australian native, has been at the center of a media storm.

But that doesn’t mean he has been a total trooper. Craig spoke to me by phone from New Zealand. According to a publicist, to determine the time there compared to the U.S., “You just subtract four hours and move forward one day.”

My math is terrible, but I think that means he was up very early, and squeezing me in before a grueling day’s shoot.

But you never would’ve known it during our chat. He couldn’t have been more charming:

TheTorchOnline: I know you had a successful film and TV career in Australia before landing this role, but I’m wondering if you can’t relate to the character of Richard in that your life was much simpler a year ago, and then the producers of this show showed up and changed everything, just like with Richard.

Craig Horner: Oh, man, you hit the nail right on the head right there. It was just that big kind of leap into the next level of my career. I was forced to step up into the lead of a show with 22 episodes, move to another country, set myself up, and yeah, you couldn’t be more right. I’ve really grown up.

TO: There are leads, and there are leads. You are in almost every scene, and it’s a very demanding role. How are you holding up?

CH: I’m holding up, man, I’m still going. I’ve got three weeks to go, and then I’ll probably collapse and vegetate and go into a coma. It’s been pretty full-on. It’s been long hours. There’s not a day when there’s not horse-riding and sliding and just running around. And every episode, almost every scene, it’s like the end of the world. And you can’t just walk through a scene where the whole world is at stake. You can’t just sit around and go, “What’d you have for breakfast?”

But it’s good. I love it.

Read the whole interview…