TV Star Interview with Craig Horner Part 2
Exclusive Interview: Craig Horner (Legend of the Seeker, Fan Questions Answered), Part II
And now it's time for the second half of our two-part exit interview with Craig Horner, the star of the late, lamented fantasy series Legend of the Seeker. Here, still answering your questions, Horner replies to queries both serious (interacting with fans) and trivial (the last movie he watched in a movie theater). Please note that many of you asked multiple questions and Horner replied to as many as he could and, where he didn't, we didn't include the question. Oh, and at the very, very end, he picks his two favorite questions, one each from parts one and two of our interview, with the winners soon to receive an autographed item from Horner. So, thanks to our readers for all the great questions and to Horner for his terrific work on Legend of the Seeker and for taking the time to respond in such detail. Lastly, though things look bleak for Legend of the Seeker, those still eager to fight the good fight on the show's behalf can start by visiting saveourseeker.com.
What did you and Bridget Regan actually carry around in your backpacks? (derascal)
Honestly? What was in there? I think it was just a bunch of old, ratty blankets. Actually, there was a couple of flint stones in there to start some fires. Just some cool little berries in case.
If they had gone to season three, would they have revisited WFR? Would you wanted to have moved on to other things, like the Keeper or Sisters of the Light? (mo770)
I really couldn't tell you where they were planning to head with the story. I didn't even think the writers sometimes from week to week. I think they liked to have a general arc and worked from there, and had the next general arc in mind as well. But to be honest with you, I didn't know and sometimes I didn't really want to know. Where were we going to be in season three, I didn't think Richard should know that. The action should let him discover his own character, you know what I mean. I would have definitely done the Keeper. You know what I would have done? If I would have started off season three, I would have started it off with Richard suddenly away from the group, on his own, in another kind of land or universe. Maybe we could have separated the characters a little more and then brought them back (together), or tried to get them back together over (the course of) season three. That would have been kind of cool, yeah?
I've learned that Richard's pendant had an interesting history in the books. Were the writers planning to give any more background about the pendant? Or were they just going to leave it as something from his father? (Necros)
Ohhhhhh, I don't think they were going to. They touched on it early on in the first season and (the TVStar reader) is right; in the book it belonged to a monster that was guarding the Book of Shadows. In the show we made it something of importance, but we never really mentioned it. That's the kind of thing we took a little liberty with and felt okay changing. We were worried about changing things like that at first. "Do we continue changing things?" But once we'd established the characters and these places, we had these objects and we'd say, "What do we want to do with them? How do we want to write them into the show?" So, yeah, I hope it wasn't too different for people.
What was it like playing a character like Richard when he was either possessed by someone or had to pretend to be someone else? How fun was it to step out of Richard for a few minutes and be a different character? (Tiffneyb)
It was fantastic. And it's very good for an actor to do that, especially if you're on a show and doing nine months a year of the same character. You wind up doing little scenes from movies by yourself in the bathroom just to try and get out of the character. So it's good to have these kind of stories, the body swaps and things like that, that let you do something different. Or when Richard had to try to act in a different way or was uncomfortable with something or was put in an awkward situation, even that was challenging in and of itself. And let's face it, every creative person loves challenges in that sense.
If you could have written the last scene ever for Richard and Kahlan (Regan), how would you have ended their story? And would it have been different from the Terry Goodkind books? (pktempleton)
I think his ending is actually kind of cool. It's sweet and it's beautiful. But, gee, it could be amped up a little bit, you know? Wow. Boy. I don't even know where to start. I wouldn't want to say something without really sitting down and thinking about this one. Ummmmm, let's see... I never think about them getting together because I was always sad when Buffy and Angel got together. It was finally like, "Now here it is. They're together. They're a team." But the tension was gone. I was always thinking about, with Richard and Kahlan -- and so were the writers -- how to keep these two apart for so long. We tried to put them in all these alternate realities and universes to see what it was like for them to be together. But that's a tough one. I wouldn't have put them together. Or I would have put them together briefly and then have them split. Yeah, that's right. I would have put them together, then something would happen. Richard would be in a completely new world or universe, and they would have spent the whole season trying to get back together. Then you would have them separated and could put them in new relationships. I think people would have liked that, to see both of them with someone else for a while, but then maybe eventually coming back to each other.
It can't hurt to post several "cracky" questions...or maybe it can. Since LotS, do you enjoy red apples more, less or the same? Did the Spirit House scene affect you in real life? In what ways has Richard inspired you in your real life, and romantic life? (estrellangelica)
Oh, wow. The red apples, we didn't touch on in the show. So I still love my red apples. The Spirit House, I don't even think we touched on that enough on the show. It moved me in the book. It's a great scene, very well written, and it gave me a great idea how Richard and Kahlan were going to express their physical contact. And what was the last one? My romantic life? Yeah. Yes. Yeah, sure. It has inspired me. It taught me the value of having a lovely, beautiful woman by your side. I've always known that, so it re-inspired me. Let's say that.
Where do you see yourself in five years? Did you have any superstitions related to filming? (Tek20)
Where do I see myself in five years? I don't know, but I'm not too worried about whatever the universe has planned for me. I've liked it so far and I want to continue with film and TV, maybe a bit of directing, and I really want to continue with my music. Superstitions? No. No, no, no. I'm very practical about that kind of stuff. I do think that if we go in with a bad attitude then we're going to get a bad product. But nothing like Macbeth or something like that.
What movie did you last see in a theater? Off set, what did you, Bridget and Tabrett Bethell like to do together? Did you enjoy that sky jump that Tab gave you? (Dehlia)
What was the first one again? What did I see in a theater? Oh, I just saw a movie the other day. (He shouts to his friend who's with him). What movie did we see the other day? Oh, ah, yeah, Robin Hood. I saw Robin Hood. And, to be honest, I didn't hang out a lot with the guys from the show on the weekends. I can be a little bit anti-social sometimes when it comes to that. You've just be the focal point of attention all week and sometimes you just want to be by yourself and just chill out. It was the only time I'd get to do all my normal things, like play my guitar or watch my DVDs or I'd read a book or go to a cafe. Then it'd be Monday again. And the sky jump, that was awesome. That was a lot of fun.
What was your favorite episode, and why that episode? The fight scenes were amazing. How hard was it to learn all those moves and how long did it take? (Alice25)
Which episode did I think work best? The pilot worked best. I thought that was really exciting. I thought "Denna" was really exciting. I'm a really big fan of "Denna." And the fighting; I can't even express how much I loved the fighting. It was really, really awesome. We had such great people there and I feel like I can just into the next, I don't know, Highlander or something. It was so valuable having those people there. It was a boyhood dream, always, just to be able to do these choreographed fight scenes on a TV show. And I got to do it for nine months a year for two years, almost daily. It was weird. I started to take it for granted. It became second nature, like it was just part of the job. You're like, "Okay, here's my sword. Badda-bing, badda-bang. Bang, bang, bang, bang." You're thinking about your moves and how it looks. I tried to enjoy it as much as I could, but now that it's all over, I'm like, "Am I really not going to get to do that with all those stunties again? Oh my God, that's really sad."
How did it feel to see a man, easily 30 years older than you, play a decrepit, exhausted you in "Wizard"? Or was it just, "Meh, another day on the job"? (Dragonfly918)
It was just another day at the job. I was curious about what they'd have me look like. "Is that what I'll look like in a certain amount of time?" But that was really it. I'm just glad they didn't get me to do it!
A lot of celebrities have different preferences regarding fan encounters. If a fan recognized you in a public place, would you rather have them ignore you and pretend you weren't there, or would a polite nod or perhaps a "Hey, not to be too creepy, but I'm a huge fan and just wanted you to know that" be okay? I think we'd all benefit from getting a pointer or two from you. (istari)
Hey man, come on, I'm no one special. We've got time. And now I've got more time. Time doesn't exist, so why would you waste it? You might as well say hello to another human being as opposed to dodging into a cafe. I'm all for that. I've been there. If I see somebody like Al Pacino, somebody who's had a really big effect on me or someone who I really like, I want to say, "Hey, you're doing good" or just "Thank you." That's nice. There's not anything wrong with that.
Finally, you're going to be signing autographs for a couple of our readers, the readers whose questions you liked best. So, of the 22 question we just asked you for our stories, which two did you like best and why?
The epic hair one (from crystal2222) was funny. That made me laugh. And one that got me thinking was the one (from pktempleton) about how I would have ended the show, the relationship between Richard and Kahlan. That was a good question. I hadn't thought about that one.
