Merlin: a new 13-part drama series on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One
Richard Wilson plays Gaius
Richard Wilson may be one of television's most familiar faces but it's a fair bet there will be many who won't recognise him as the royal physician Gaius, the wisest old head in Camelot.
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"I knew I could not be a bald 70 year old who looks like Victor Meldrew so I knew I had to do something, go for a new image. So we went for this," he says, proudly running his fingers through the salt-and-pepper coloured, shoulder-length wig that is obscuring half his face.
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As Wilson explains during a break in filming at the spectacular Chateau de Pierrefonds, Gaius is Merlin's guardian and mentor.
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"My sister sends him to me because she can't control him any more. He comes as my sort of apprentice," he explains.
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"Merlin is a natural magician. But magic is banned in the kingdom. So I spend a lot of the early episodes saying: 'don't do that, stop it'."
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It is only as the story unfolds that Gaius himself reveals his own abilities as a magician.
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Wilson confesses that, his wig aside, the most challenging aspect of the production has been the arcane and colourful language he finds himself having to deliver on camera.
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"The only thing about doing magic is that you have to speak a lot of old English. I just find it so difficult to learn," he admits.
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"I just try to believe in Gaius and to take care of Merlin and give it as much respect as possible. It would be easy to muck about with something like that," he adds.
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Working on Merlin has only deepened his admiration for actors like David Tennant who play long-running roles in fantasy and science fiction series.
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"That's where I admire David Tennant in Doctor Who. He has had such a steely dedication to mumbo jumbo really. All these knobs, you don't know what they are for but you believe he does," he explains.
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Wilson reveals that he came close to turning down the role because of the pressure of work.
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A successful theatrical director, he was involved in a number of productions in London and was also at work on a new Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ series, Britain's Best Drives, in which he drives vintage motor cars along some of the country's most picturesque routes.
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"When I was offered that, I thought that's a nice little summer job and accepted it. Then Merlin came along and I thought 'do I want to turn this down?'," he explains.
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Producers Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps were determined to cast him, however, and offered to organise the shooting schedule to suit Wilson.
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"They said we will work around you. But working around me has meant its non-stop," he smiles.
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"But I have enjoyed it. I've realised that no matter how old I am I enjoy working and I'm still learning. This is a great experience. I'm very lucky to have been asked," he says.
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If the Merlin magic works and the series becomes a staple of the Saturday night schedules, he may be willing to return to the part – and the wig.
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One thing is certain, however.
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Having been so strongly associated with a single role for so long, Wilson is looking forward to having a new generation recognising him as someone other than Victor Meldrew.
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He admits he gets irritated by reviewers' habit of always referring to his landmark role – even when he is directing rather than acting.
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"The fact that they keep showing it means I know I will never escape him. In a sense it's a compliment I suppose. But when you direct you would think people would give it a break. I bet you when they review me in this they say it's Victor Meldrew in a wig," he laughs.
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His hope is that Merlin will make him a familiar face to a new generation of television viewers, one that will soon know him better as Merlin's Gaius than the irritable Mr M.
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"Wouldn't that be great? To be able to go out and have youngsters not able to recognise me in the street because I'm bald," he laughs.
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