The Seeker’s Omnibus

Craig Horner Talks LEGEND OF THE SEEKER

Currently starring in the hit syndicated fantasy series LEGEND OF THE SEEKER, Horner plays Richard Cypher, a young man who discovers that he’s destined for greatness. And this being television, he’s also destined for romance, action and adventure, all of which Horner was only too happy to talk about while taking a break from shooting the series on location in New Zealand.

Has the popularity of the show begun to sink in?
Craig Horner: Man I am so isolated from everything it’s crazy. And because we’re still in it and shooting, I work really long hours only to get home, put on a DVD or pick up a book and get ready for the next day of work. We don’t even have the show here [in New Zealand] but I’m starting to hear things here and there and I’m able to get on the net, but really, I’m just concentrating on work at the moment and finishing up the season. It’s kind of crazy.

How familiar were you with the series before accepting the role?
I read the first book [The Sword of Truth: Wizard’s First Rule] before we started shooting because we had quite a bit of free time and since there were no scripts yet that’s all we could really do and get a hold of our characters.

Many fans have compared LEGEND OF THE SEEKER to its genre predecessors HERCULES or XENA. Were you a fan of either show growing up?
We had those shows in Australia when I was growing up and I remember them well. I recall being somewhat into them, although not overly. I thought at the time that both XENA and HERCULES were very tongue in cheek and didn’t take themselves too seriously. Whereas with our show, the world has changed and people want their fantasy shows to be a bit more serious.

Fans have really responded to your chemistry with your co-star Bridget Regan (who plays Kahlan Amnell), what’s your working relationship like?
It’s great. We’re both Aquarians and Aquarians tend to get along together. We’re both fans of the book, similar ages, both love acting and really try and make our scenes together really sincere. It’s great to work with an actress who’s not just showing up to collect a paycheck. Bridget really cares about the job.

For all the Richard/Kahlan shippers out there, is there any hope?
We kind of have a Buffy/Angel kind of relationship where the whole point is that we really can’t get together. We really want to and those feeling aren’t going away. That said, we push the boundaries in some upcoming episodes but really that’s all I can say.

Numerous fans cited director Michael Hurst’s episodes “Denna” and “Sacrifice” as two of the season’s most riveting hours. Was there anything specific that Mr. Hurst did to bring out such strong performances in both yourself and Bridget.
What’s great about MIchael is that he’s really theatrical on set and you can see out of the corner of your eye behind the monitor him just jumping up and down and clapping his hands in the middle of takes. Michael is there every-step of the way and all he cares about are the performances, which is exactly what the show needs. It’s already got such amazing cinematographers and lighting guys, we just need a good director who makes something out of the scripts and the dialogue and I think that’s why his episodes are so successful.

Now that the show has officially been picked up for a second season is there anything you can tease about where your character is headed?
I’ve done all I can as an actor to try to develop my character, taking him from a boy to a man in terms of story-line and am really just focused on finishing the first season. In terms of the second season right now I really don’t know a thing about it. All I do know is that they’re not filming with the book because if they went with the book every season there would be no room for the viewers to be surprised.

How involved has Executive Producer Sam Raimi been?
Sam has yet to come down, but his brother Ted has been on the show. Sam’s partner on the show is Rob Tapert and he is always here and heavily involved.

As an Australian working in New Zealand, is one of your goals to work in America?
I don’t know. Personally I just want to get to the stage in my life and my career where I can live where I want to live wherever that may be, be it New York, LA or Australia and just work on great projects.

Any chance of seeing yourself and the cast at July’s San Diego Comic Con?
If I’m not working that would be cool.

Source: thetvaddict.com