NYC Prince Caspian: Day 2 – Interview with Ben Barnes

Here it is, the interview that many of you have been waiting for. Prince Caspian himself, Ben Barnes. He walked into the room and really ran the place. A totally cool and laid back guy, he was really easy to talk to. After the interview, Ben got a sword. One of the toy, Caspian swords, that makes a noise when you swing it. The first thing that he did when he got it: he swung it at my neck. He was very excited to finally have a sword, and whenever he walked around, he was swinging it, so that it would make the awesome slashing sounds.

Paul Martin: Hi!

Reporter: Hello, gorgeous!

(laughter)

Ben Barnes: (laughs) Dang! This is gonna be fun!

Paul Martin: How you doing? Paul Martin, NarniaFans.com

Ben Barnes: Ben, nice to meet you. How are you?

Paul Martin: Good, nice to meet you.

Ben Barnes: Narnia fansite, huh, that’s cool.

Reporter: So, how exciting was it for you to get this part to be Prince Caspian?

Ben Barnes: Um… do you know, I can’t even describe that, that evening I found out. I told them to ring me anytime that they made their decision. Just ring me either way, I’ve gotta know either way, and it was about four a.m. London time when they called me, and I was just ran around the house, screaming. I can’t explain to you the thrill of the first, you know, lead… Hollywood… big film.. and particularly when it’s something that you’ve grown up reading and you don’t get many moments like that.

Reporter: It is quite big though… the pressure on you alone must have been quite a bit. At what point did that hit you, the size and scope of the movie as a project?

Ben Barnes: I don’t know. I rented the first movie when I was auditioning, and I thought ‘these are big, aren’t they?’ Cause I remember watching the BBC series and finding it just charming and lovely and I, you know, I was eight, and it’s magic and it’s real. And then you watch it back, and you go ‘It’s just a dwarf in a mouse suit. It’s just a… that’s not an effect! That’s not a mouse, that’s a dude!’ And I brought that up with Warwick, cause it was him in the original series. You know, and I watched a few minutes of it when we were shooting this, and I just, you just think it’s lost… you can’t watch too much of it because it’s like all those things. It’s like when you rewatch old He-Man episodes and you realize they’re just using the same frame over and over again, and you don’t want it to lose it’s magic. Kids today don’t know how good they’ve got it, I mean, I was completely overwhelmed by the way it looked last night. I mean, I wondered what Andrew’s been doing since September and now I know.

Reporter: Was it easy for you to watch it as just a movie and enjoy it…

Ben Barnes: No.

Reporter: …or were you picking at everything you did?

Ben Barnes: I wasn’t picking, I found it very hard to form any sort of thoughts about anything as I was watching it. But I was… I might as well have been watching it on my own. I mean, I was totally engaged in it. I remember watching the first ten minutes of it and sort of sitting with my feet up on the seat, thinking, you know, as Glozelle moves towards the wardrobe that I’ve hidden in, with the secret passage… feeling tense. And then realizing that I knew that I’m not in there, so there’s no reason for me to be. And I kind of felt a little bit like that all the way through. I felt like I wasn’t quite sure what was gonna happen next, even though I’ve already shot it, because a lot of the lines, even the dialog had changed for the animated characters. They changed a lot of the dialog from the original script, you know, Eddie Izzard, one of my comic heroes, I’ve seen him so many times on stage. And he’d obviously just gone in there and thought, ‘well it’d be funny if I did this, and how about this way’ and I can just imagine him doing it. And it was great to sit down and see what is essentially a year of your life condensed into two and a half hours of relentless action and emotion and all that good stuff. What was the question?

(laughter)

Reporter: It think you got it, about could you just watch it and enjoy it as a film, that was the question.

Ben Barnes: Right, yeah. I mean, no I think is the short answer to that. I mean, I need to see it again to be able to relax a little bit. I was feeling kinda sick before it. Because it’s been such a long time.. ‘what did I do? Did I know how to act then?’

Reporters: (talking over each other) Ben did you — How did–

Ben Barnes: Wait, uh disfu– (laughter)

Reporter: Was..

Ben Barnes: I didsu– (laughter)

Reporter: Was it tough to get used to the choppier style of acting as opposed to the stage, where you are a character all this time?

Ben Barnes: Yeah, yeah. It is, it’s a different skill entirely. On stage you have two and a half hours to go through a two and a half hour journey. And this is seven months to go through a two and a half hour journey. So you have to kind of syke yourself up for each individual moment. And I think, actually, the main enemy there is that you can syke yourself up too much for one particular moment, because it’s the only moment you have to make sure of that day. And so it’s the most important thing in the world to you at that moment and it actually might not be that important a moment. And I think you have to remember that it’s part of this whole through line, and there are moments where it has to ease off, and you can’t be too intense and earnest about it all the time. But I think it’s probably something that takes years to get used to the difference and be able to kind of flit between the two, and obviously most of my experiences on the stage. I’m kind of looking forward to doing more in the film world and seeing how I get on.

Reporter: I can imagine how excited you were to get the role, but I’m sure there was a lot of stress as well, having to make the decision to leave History Boys as well. Could you talk about that?

Ben Barnes: Yes. It was a very difficult period for me, actually. Much more difficult than I kind of let on at the time, I think. You know, it’d always been my dream to work on The National Theatre. (England’s Royal National Theatre). If you’re British and an actor, and you’re ten years old, and you’re going to The National Theatre with your parents; that’s the pinacle of all acting, really. And then I got this job, and I’ve been on the tour with them for six months and I was in the west end, and it was this amazing play by this brilliant British playwright, Alan Bennett. And then it just so happens that a few weeks before the end, you get this opportunity to work on C.S. Lewis, another great British thing, in a film context, which you haven’t really done. I had only done two films before and it was just unfortunate that both those, sort of, dreams came true in the same year. And that sounds like an awful, conceited thing to say, you know, ‘whoa is me, two of my lifelong dreams have come true in the same year.’ But actually, it was a difficult time, because I consider myself to be quite a loyal guy, and it was tough for me to leave earlier than I wanted to. And I hoped it would work out, but it didn’t quite.

Reporter: Ben, did you feel that your character conveyed a specific message, and if so, what?

Ben Barnes: I’m not sure there’s… I’ve been discussing this in the other room. What I like about Caspian: it’s not too spoonfeedy. There’s not one particular moral message that kind of comes to the fore, but I think that there are good lessons in there. I mean, there’s moments where he makes mistakes and you learn about his regret of those mistakes. And there’s moments where he has to trust in other people around him, and their ideas, and learn to kind of concede. And then there’s, obviously, this sort of overarching message that believing in something that’s greater than yourself. And, you know, nature is the thing that saves the day at the end, and you know, fifty years ago when these books were written, that was a much more allegorical message. And now it’s something that looks really cool, but I think it’s there if you choose to see it. I think that Miraz – Telmarine – imagery is very strong. I mean, you’ve got all the eagles, which is a very sort-of Nazi-esque kind of look to it, but it’s only there if you really look to see it, you know, this faceless race with this ethnic accent. And it’s set during World War II, and you know, Sergio would be the first to say, he thought Miraz was kind of, that sort of Hitlerian figure. And then you look at Caspian, and his uncle has murdered his father, and has him thinking whether vengeance is the best policy, you know, which.. Pop quiz: which Shakespeare play does this remind you of? You know, so yeah, I think there’s a lot of these interesting layers, and I think there’s a lot of good, interesting moral messages about humility and all those. You know, there’s a lot of different messages in there, and they’re there if you choose to see them, and if you don’t, then there’s cool battle scenes.

Male Reporter: What are your thoughts on being sexy and a Hollywood heartthrob?

Ben Barnes: Ummm…

Male Reporter: Sorry, I have to ask.

Ben Barnes: Really, ummm… you don’t have to.. Sorry..(laughter) that was your question?

Female Reporter: Let me, take it from a woman.

Ben Barnes: Okay, you ask. (laughter)

Reporter: I saw the film last night..

Ben Barnes: Yes, yes.

Reporter: And all of the women around me, including yours truly, were swooning.

Ben Barnes: She’s much better at this than you. (laughter)

Reporter: We were like, all, is he good looking?

Ben Barnes: Yeah, now you’re embarrassing me, stop it. (laughter)

Reporter: How are you going to take it, because you’re going to get this?

Ben Barnes: I don’t know, I take it as it comes. It’s all very flattering, and still feels slightly ridiculous and surreal at the moment. You know… take it as it comes. It’s putting a smile on my face.

Reporter: Was the kiss between you and Susan, or Prince Caspian and Susan, the epitome for you?

Ben Barnes: Was it what?

Reporter: The epitome, the big thrill in the film.

Ben Barnes: No. I was worried about it, actually, if I’m being honest. Not doing it, it’s fine. You know, I’ve done screen and stage kisses in almost everything I’ve done, so that part of it is fun. But I was actually worried about it because it wasn’t in the book, and as a Narnia fan I knew it wasn’t in the book. And I thought, actually, there’s certainly one massive scene between Caspian and Susan that’s not in the movie. It will be in the deleted scenes, but it’s not in the movie. And I think it helped a lot that it wasn’t in the film. I understand why they took it out. And actually, seeing it last night was one of the things I was most relieved about, because I thought it really was something that felt very real. There’s a few glances between them, and then they go through this thing together, and they don’t really talk about anything because they’re in the midst of doing all this stuff, and then they say goodbye, and she walks away, and she thinks ‘you know what, I’m not coming back, why not?’ And it felt like a real moment, and that’s thanks to Anna and thanks to Andrew and you know, I’m just standing there, really. You know, I receive a kiss, that’s the easiest job in the world. But it did feel like something kind of quite subtle and real, and I felt the same. Well not the same, kind of relationship between Caspian and Peter, because I was worried about that being a bit too rotting stags, or whatever. But actually, it does feel very born out of the story, and born out of these situations they find themselves in, and the tragedy of losing the people in the night raid, and stuff, and it sets them really on edge. And neither of them are quite sure where they fit in this world. One was a ruler and then came back, and the other, my character, is very ambivalent about where he finds himself and he doesn’t feel he’s ready to be a king or a leader or a man yet, really. And yet he’s forced into this situation, so I think, I was very please at the subtlety and the, sort of, the adult feel of the relationships.

Reporter: How is it playing a younger person when you’re twenty-six – but you look like you’re seventeen or eighteen – to play that?

Ben Barnes: I honestly didn’t play an age, I think it’s very hard to try to play younger or older. I think you get in a world of trouble if you start trying to play an age. I think you are the age you look, and people will kind of believe it, or they won’t. And I thought it was very important for the story of our version, that Peter and Caspian seemed like similar ages, and I think they do.

Paul Martin: Now, you said before that you had never ridden a horse before, but then you said that you did. Can you sail a ship for Voyage of the Dawn Treader?

Ben Barnes: No. And, uh, but now I’ve definitely got the part, I can say whatever I want, so I CAN’T SAIL A SHIP! (laughter) AT ALL! (laughter)

Reporter: Did you get to take a sword home with you, or anything from the set?

Ben Barnes: Do you know what? I asked for a sword, I still haven’t got it. WHERE’S MY SWORD? (laughter) They said they would give me a sword, but I really wanted one. I got one of, you know, Edmund’s torch. I’ve got one of those.

Reporter: You’re gonna need one to beat the women off. (laughter)

Ben Barnes: (laughter) Ha ha! I love her!

(laughter)

Reporter: Can you tell us about one of your most embarrassing moments on set? Were there any?

Ben Barnes: Do you know what, there were a couple. My very first day on the actual set, I wasn’t shooting anything, I was doing a costume and make-up test. I’m sure William has told you this already, because he’s kind of proud of it. I had hair extensions in, they were trying a wig as well, they weren’t quite sure which to go for, so I had the hair extensions and the wig, and this fake tan, and I had the costume on for the first time, and I had spent two hours. They were trying to get it right for when we started filming, because then you can’t change it. And I was standing there, waiting for them to come back from set, and I could see Andrew’s car coming towards us to come and sort of check me out and we were discussing it. I was a little nervous, I had only met him like twice before, and Will comes up to me as a joke, and pretends to throw orange juice in my face. But instead of pretending, he squeezed the thing, and it goes *sshhshshshhhh* all over me. (laughter) And I’m like ‘you little..’ and I start, and he just runs. (laughter) Will is really fast. So he’s just gone. And I’m just standing there, surrounded by these poor people who spent ages dressing me up and making me up and doing the hair, and they’re all surrounding me, just going *mouths dropped open*. (laughter) You know, their mouths agape, and Will’s run off, and Andrew’s come up, and we have to go in and get changed again, so that was really embarrassing. But one they really set me up on was, you know the scene at the beginning, where the professor wakes me up and he puts his hand on my mouth and I go, ‘Oh, it’s you, five more minutes.’ You know, that bit. Andrew came in and he goes ‘Okay, that was good, we got it, we just want to change a little something with the lights. We just gotta turn up just slightly, do exactly the same thing Ben, same thing.’ And I was like, ‘Okay.’ And I go back to sleep. You’re kind of vulnerable in this position, I realize now, when you’re asleep with your eyes shut. And instead of Dr. Cornelius, I feel these lips on my lips, and I’m like, ‘if this, if I open my eyes, and this is the professor, I’m gonna be furious.’ (laughter) So I open my eyes, and it was the director’s assistant, who’s quite good looking, so it was okay. (laughter) I’m sure it will be on the extras.

Reporter: Did you ever get Will back?

Ben Barnes: Did I ever get Will back? No. Well, not in so many words, but ther was continual banter every time I would draw my sword. I’d be like ‘Oh, so.. how long is your sword, Will? Big as that?’ And he’d be like ‘no, it’s not.’ So, I had the biggest one, so I was one up on him there.

Reporter: Speaking of that, are the action scenes all just work, or can you have a little fun when you’re doing that, too?

Ben Barnes: Umm, half and half. I really enjoy choreographing them and rehearsing them, and when you actually get to do them, actually, it’s four o’clock in the morning, and it’s raining and you’ve got pathetic tennis elbow and it can be quite grueling. But really satisfying when eight guys come at you and you’re just like: ‘one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and done.’ (laughter) And you can’t lose because you’re in the next movie.

Female Reporter: Are you dating anyone?

Ben Barnes: No.

Male Reporter: Is there a follow-up question to that? (laughter)

Female Reporter: No.

Ben Barnes: Thank you, everyone!

Reporters: Thank you!

Paul Martin: Thank you very much!

Ben Barnes: Cheers.

Paul Martin: Awesome job in the movie.

Ben Barnes: Thanks

Paul Martin: (hands Ben a NarniaFans.com card) Here’s my website.

Ben Barnes: Cool, these are the real, the real real fans.

Paul Martin: The real deal. They’re gonna love it!

Ben Barnes: Oh, good! Thank you very much!

Up next in the series, we’re going to talk about the exhibit that was on display upstairs from the interviews. It’s right on time, as the exhibit opens this weekend! Stay tuned!