Funny Interview with William Moseley and Skandar Keynes by David Savage

William Moseley and Skandar Keynes Interview!

William Moseley (21) and Skandar Keynes (16) play Peter and Edmund Pevensie in the Narnia movie series. Following 2005's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the sequel: Prince Caspian is finally with us, and the sword-swinging screen siblings had a natter with David Savage about the new movie, New York, chickens, nerdiness and more!

William and Skandar at the London Premiere!

It's been a busy week for the Caspian cast: they had an international press conference in Prague on Tuesday, and now, on Thursday 19 June, they're back in London for interviews and the UK press conference, then the UK's biggest ever film premiere at the 02 Arena in the evening!

At midday, William and Skandar are holed up in a first floor suite in the swanky Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge. They're friendly, funny and full of energy despite a week of heavy promoting - but they do seem especially grateful to be asked anything a bit different from the norm, obviously having answered the same questions a few hundred times already.

They switch from being serious to messing about in an instant, and amidst much laughter, argue with and tease each other like very close mates. (Incidentally, despite some reports, Skandar seemed even cheekier about William than vice versa!)

Here's what we said:

Skandar, your character flirted with his dark side in the first Narnia film. With the new one, William, it's your turn to get moody and angry. Was that good for you?
WILLIAM: You know, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great outlet to, um - I mean, I'm not sure if you're aware but sometimes there's a lot of pressure on set. There's a lot of things going on and there's a lot of things you sort of expect of yourself. And you can almost translate that energy, your feeling right then, into the scene. You can use it and fully get angry and fully embrace all of those feelings. It can be quite therapeutic, actually, yeah.

I'd heard you practised in New York for a few months for it all beforehand. That sounds like an exciting thing to be doing.
WILLIAM: It was awesome.

What is William Moseley's New York, then? What were your favourite hang outs?
WILLIAM: You know, that's a really good question.
SKANDAR: We do need some unique questions for a change. Thank you very much!
WILLIAM: Well, I was living in the West Village in New York, and I was working with Sheila Gray who was my acting coach, and doing boxing training in Brooklyn.

Boxing in Brooklyn. That's quite butch.
WILLIAM: Yeah. So my favourite hangouts were a club called Salon - I don't think it's called that any more; it's changed to a different club - which is on James Street. We used to go there sometimes. And there's this really good cafe called Domar. And for brunch on Sunday we'd go to this cafe called Cowgirl which was absolutely awesome. It sold southern fried... (SKANDAR GIGGLES) a real southern kind of restaurant.
SKANDAR: Because you see, Will lives on a farm so he was going back to his roots!

William Moseley: misses his chickens.

I was wondering, actually, growing up somewhere really rural did you used to yearn to go somewhere urban like New York? Did you long for a city?
SKANDAR: He misses his chickens now. He misses his chickens.
WILLIAM: Unfortunately I didn't have chickens.
SKANDAR: You DID! You admitted to me you had chickens!
WILLIAM: We had, like, four chickens.
I didn't know it was that rural.
SKANDAR: (HOOTS) He went all the way!
Up early every morning milking the chickens, then?
WILLIAM: I'm not sure you can milk chickens, but, er... do you know, I was looking forward to going to the city. I was looking forward to seeing somewhere like New York that's a very vibrant, happening place, and especially growing up in that environment, it opens your eyes a little bit more, too. And I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. And I think I'm now going to buy a place in London.

You're an urban guy now, then?
WILLIAM: I'm not sure if I'm an urban guy.
SKANDAR Urbanised...
WILLIAM: I've still got my country roots, but I...
SKANDAR (SNORTS SOMEWHAT SARCASTICALLY) Yeah, you definitely do.

Do you still need every now and again to be surrounded by hedges and trees?
WILLIAM: Absolutely! Yeah. There's definitely a craving for it.
SKANDAR: And he's off on his way to the zoo.

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Skandar Keynes: "I don't have a problem making this film in any way, shape or form."

Back to the film. This one has a darker tone than the first. Does that suit both your tastes?
WILLIAM: I think the tone is definitely darker, but I think it brings a lot of the old things back from the first film. For me, I love the new, slightly more mature Narnia. It is 1300 years later, and it is a slightly more in-depth film, I think, and the character's more complex, and so is the story. So I think for those slightly older audience members, they can watch it and get a lot out of it as well.
SKANDAR: I think what's great about it is that on one side they've managed to have the dark aspect of it, and at the exact same time they manage to enhance the light, comedy effect. And I feel it's really great because they've got the exact right proportions of the two. And they've mixed them at the right times to equal it out, so, you know, you don't come out of the film scarred for life or anything from this dark atmosphere that's been portrayed. And you have a great time and have some great laughs.

William in Peter Pevensie mode.

I'd heard that some of the American religious critics thought it was too dark; and there've been comments like 'they all go to Narnia... and just kill lots of people!'
SKANDAR: (LAUGHS) Mmm.
WILLIAM: You know what I think's interesting? This film has more of an opinion.

You do kill a lot of people.
WILLIAM: We absolutely do.
SKANDAR: I wouldn't use the word 'kill.' Sort of disarm. Immobilise. Momentarily.
With big swords.
SKANDAR Arf!
WILLIAM: I think you're absolutely right that some of the Christian audiences have found it a little bit intense, but at the same time, we're not really making Christian films.
No.
WILLIAM: Andrew's making a film from his own vision, his own imagination, and I think it makes a better film. I think, you know, it's better to be led by your own intuition than somebody else's.

I thought this film did have less of an obvious religious slant than the first one...
WILLIAM: Absolutely.
SKANDAR: Mmm...
...and probably less so than the actual book. Skandar, you've said you're an atheist. The first one did have some strong Christian symbolism...
SKANDAR Yeah.
...so was that ever a problem for you? And when you read the books as a child did you even notice all that or did it all go over your head?
SKANDAR: When I was a child, when I first read it, it completely went over my head. That's what I think is so great about C S Lewis's writing is that while it does have these messages that, you know, I have no problem with at all, it is a very sort of 'take it or leave it' attitude that he's taken. And I think that's what we tried to do with the first film. And what we try to do all the way with these films. This film did very well in Muslim countries so it proves that that aspect isn't vital, and isn't a completely integral part of the film. And it meant that to me, as you said there, with other beliefs, I don't have a problem making this film in any way, shape or form.

You weren't around for some of the recent promotional stuff, Skandar, like the Tokyo Premiere which looked quite exciting. Was that because of school?
WILLIAM: It's because he's actually racist.
SKANDAR Arf! Yes, I can't go. Only England. I'll only talk to people in England. Erm - no. So apparently I'm an atheist, I'm into Darwin...
WILLIAM:...a fascist...
SKANDAR: No, I was doing exams. A very boring reason.

That must have been quite depressing.
(BOTH HOOT)
SKANDAR: Yes, very depressing...
Couldn't you have just sneaked out...
SKANDAR: Aw, I would have loved to.

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"You would have this intense stink of B.O. I mean, I almost couldn't breathe in..."

William, you did the New York Comic Con, as well.
WILLIAM: I did, yes.

I collect comics myself.
WILLIAM: Do you! Which comics?

Vintage British ones mainly.
WILLIAM: Really!
(BOTH CHEER!)

And the big New York Comic Con always looked exciting, but I'd be a bit worried it might be a little too packed with people dressed as Star Wars characters, and all that. What's it actually like?
WILLIAM: It is! And between you and me... we were in a fairly nice air-conditioned place, but when you go into where the comic books were, where the Star Wars characters will be walking around, you would have this intense stink of B.O. I mean, I almost couldn't breathe in. (SKANDAR LAUGHS AND GROANS) So for the next one I'm going to bring a gas mask. So even though it is absolutely important and a wonder of the world to go to Comic Con, because it really is like nothing I've ever seen before. Absolutely insane.

What is the connection between collecting things and not washing, though? How do the two fit together?
SKANDAR: They spend all their time looking for stuff and collecting it...
WILLIAM: Exactly - they don't have time! And they think it's all going to rub off on them one day, and if they shower, it'll come off.

"You are actually more nerdy than I am!" "How am I more of a nerd?" etc.

Is there anything that you're both nerdy about?
WILLIAM: I'm a complete and utter nerd.
SKANDAR: Yeah, he's the biggest nerd I've ever met.
WILLIAM: You are actually more nerdy than I am!
SKANDAR: How am I more of a nerd?
WILLIAM: Because you love schoolwork way more than I do!
SKANDAR: (OUTRAGED) I love... what, you're joking?!

So what are you both mad about?
SKANDAR: He loves tea.
Tea?
SKANDAR: He's a big tea man.
You don't collect vintage teabags or teapots, do you?
WILLIAM: No, I wish I did. I can be kind of a nerd about a lot of things. I love films - I can be a little bit nerdy about that. And Sixties music as well, I'm really kind of into.

What about you, Skandar?
SKANDAR: Ummm - I used to be a very big Star Wars fan when I was little.
So you would have been one of the people at his Comic Con?
SKANDAR: Well, I wouldn't have done that myself. But I definitely enjoyed them when I was growing up. And - I don't know. What would classify me as a nerd? I don't know. I think nerds can't recognise their own nerdiness, that's why.

How will you cope not being in the next Narnia, William? Obviously, it gives you the chance to do something new, but some of your mates will be off there making the film without you...
SKANDAR: We're giving him counselling. Therapy. He's gonna get through it, he's gonna get through it.
WILLIAM: No, I don't think we'll miss being on set. As you know, Anna's not doing it and Andrew's not doing it, and I think it's time to move on. I think I've established everything I can with Peter, I've given him my best shot.

Are you going to try to do the kind of thing Daniel Radcliffe's been doing - choosing roles that are well away from fantasy to show a broad range...
WILLIAM: Well, I think I'm lucky. I haven't done seven films. I've only done two. And my next film, which will be about the Magna Carta, and slightly bloody, will be along the same kind of lines, but also quite different.

Oh, a new film. So that's official?
WILLIAM: That's official.

Great. And in the next Narnia then, Skandar, you should get more of the close-ups.
SKANDAR: Exactly!


The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian hits UK screens on Thursday 26 June.

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Interview date: 19 June 2008