March 1, 2007

This week sees the US launch of the new Robin Hood series on BBC America. Newcomers Jonas Armstrong and Lucy Griffiths star as the iconic characters Robin and Marian, on a series that portrays quite a rift between the famous lovers, even as both fight for what's right against the will of the Sherriff of Nottingham (Keith Allen). In fact, in this version, Marian really gets in on the action, and proves just as adept as Robin when it comes to physically taking on the bad guys.

Griffiths recently accompanied Armstrong and the producers of Robin Hood to Los Angeles to promote Robin Hood's debut in America, and I was able to speak to her for an exclusive chat with IGN. The 20-year-old British actress told me this was actually her very first time in the US, before we sat down to talk about her rising career and how she came to play Marian.

Before Robin Hood, you had a few television credits, but you'd mostly done stage work, right?

Yes. And of my television credits, one of them was a two second appearance, which I got told about the day before! And another one was sort of a guest lead on a series which is popular in England. I don't know if you have it over here; it's called The Sea of Souls. I played an evil demon goddess, so it was very different from Marian! But yeah, I'd mostly done [stage] shows.

How long have you been acting?

Well, professionally, I did a couple of operas when I was in school, when I was 18. Not professionally, since I was 11.

Operas? So I take it your background is in singing?

To start with, yeah. I was in the children's chorus. I wasn't the lead. [Laughs] I mostly did musicals and concerts when I was younger, and then I realized I don't quite have the voice for it, so I went into acting, which I enjoy more.

Well hey, there is a resurgence in movie musicals lately.

There is! And yeah, I'd love to have a look at some of those if I ever got the chance. It would have to be the right project.

How's the transition been for you going from stage to television work?

Fine. I mean the complaint with me being on stage was always that I was slightly too naturalistic and not projecting enough. I've got quite a soft voice, so that didn't help. So going to screen [acting] kind of seemed like the natural thing to do, and I had a few people say, "I think you can do that, because you're quite small anyway." I had to tweak a few things, and there were definitely sort of angles which you need to avoid and things in your speech which you need to kind of tweak to make yourself clearer. But it fell into place quite nicely, I hope. You be the judge of that! [Laughs]

Here in America, we hear a lot about what a huge process actors go through auditioning and testing for a lead role on a TV show. What was it like for you and Robin Hood?

Well I had four auditions in London. I live about an hour away and I was actually in another play at the time, so my saving grace really was the director allowed me time off from rehearsals to go to auditions. It stretched over a period of... My first audition was at the end of November, and I found out [I was cast] at the beginning of March, 2006. It was one of those where I really wanted it, and every night I'd think, "I really want this!" But then I actually forgot about it, and stopped thinking about it, because it didn't seem real that it would take me so bloody long! [Laughs] I didn't think it would happen.

What was your reaction when you found out you got the job?

Speechless. It's a cliché, but I really was like [mimics holding phone], "Okay… Thanks…" And it was really when I spoke to my mom that I kind of went, "OH MY GOD! I'm gonna be on the tele!"

How would you describe your version of Marian?

She'd modern. She's very feisty, and I suppose kick ass, if you want to use that expression. Marian's always been a strong character, but my Marian in particular is quite cold for a lot of it, and that's because she's... Well, I thought of it that she's essentially in love with somebody that she can't have, as far as she can see. And I think that would make a lot of people cold, especially towards the person in question, because there's kind of a bitterness related to that person, even though you're really in love with them. So she's kind of quite cold throughout the whole thing. And also, she's got Guy of Gisborne to contend with, who is the sheriff's right hand man, and who wants to marry her, basically. She's constantly trying to think, "Well, it's the right thing to do to marry him. It's what I should do. But I don't love him." It's kind of a battle there, so she's quite troubled. And she does do a lot of physical fighting as well, especially in the later episodes.

Marian has an alter-ego, right?

Yes. She's called The Night Watchman. She comes out at night, dressed in leather and shoots baddies, and feeds good people.

So what's it like wearing your leather battle outfit?

Tight! Yeah, it was good. I'm not really a dress kind of girl anyway. I'm more comfortable in trousers, so I loved it.

Did you get to do much of your own fighting and stunts?

Yeah, I did. I was allowed to do more fighting towards the end, because I pushed. Pushed my luck and eventually I got to do some fighting, because of course a lot of the things are considered stunts, and therefore are done by the stunt team. Because if you're out of action, if you so much as sprain your wrist, you cost the company thousands and thousands of pounds. So it's not an option to have people injured, and therefore they're very careful. But towards the end, it was more of a, "Uhh, whatever!"

"Go for it, we're almost done with the season."

Yeah!

So what is keeping Robin and Marian apart? Why can't they be together?

Well, to start with, he is an outlaw and he lives in the forest, and she lives in the village. And due to the fact that he's an outlaw, she's not supposed to associate with him, so that keeps them apart. Also her relationship with Guy; she's being courted by him, so to be seen off with another bloke's not really allowed. And probably the main reason -- not the reason they can't be together, but the reason they may not be together, even if they had the choice -- is that he left her. From our story you gather that they were probably young teenagers in love. And he went off to the holy lands to fight, and left her. And he came back and expected everything to kind of be… You see in the first scene, he arrives at the front door and she comes out and is like, [in a stern voice] "What are you doing here?" And he says, "It's me! It's Robin! I'm back." And she's like, "Yeah. Go back where you came from. I'm not interested."

The show's already aired in England. Have you had your first taste of celebrity with it?

Um, I wouldn't say that. I think I look quite different on screen then I look in real life. So I think there's a certain element of where if you want to get noticed and recognized, you will, and if you don't want to, you won't. And I'm in the "don't want to" school of thought. I mean, it's great fun. I presented an award at an English awards show with Jonas and that was great fun, going on the red carpet and stuff. I do enjoy it, but I think it's something you have to be careful about. Because your personal life is something that's gonna last forever, and your career in stage, film, television, whatever, is not necessarily going to do that, so to keep the two separate's a very good thing.

Is it exciting for you to have the series airing in America now?

Yeah. Well, it's great exposure for us, and we're very proud of the series as well, so it's nice that it's gonna be, hopefully, recognized by such a big country, which produces so much excellence in terms of films and television.

We've heard there will be a second season for Robin Hood. Have you seen any scripts or heard any plot points yet?

One of our producers was actually writing one [episode] on the way over here, so they're not finished just yet.

Who are actresses that you look up to?

I look up to a lot of comedians actually. Jennifer Saunders, who's here with us on this trip… I haven't watched a huge amount of her stuff, but I've watched enough to know how good it is and how funny it is. And to be able to write your own stuff as well… I don't know if it's admire or look up to, but I aspire to be somebody who's successful, but who also does what they would like to do, as opposed to succumbing to media pressures or pressures from agents or producers or whatever, and just kind of doing your own thing. There are a lot of British actresses; Judi Dench… I think I look up to anybody who can sustain a career for a decent amount of time, because so many people, they're a flash in a pan and then they're gone. People like Kate Winslet, for example, who first emerged when she was a bright young thing and sort of the young, English rose. She's still very young, but she's somebody who strikes me as an actress who will be acting until she's 60 or 70, when she isn't a beautiful, young thing. I admire that a lot.