Prince Charming

Back for the second Narnia film,this actor has grown up

Wednesday June 18 2008

AT 21, William Moseley knows he has come along way from the young boy who was cast as Peter Pevensie in the first ‘Chronicles Of Narnia’ film.

Since ‘The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe’ was released to rave reviews in 2005, William has been back to school to sit exams and then spent months with an acting coach in New York to prepare for a more mature reprisal of the role in the forthcoming ‘Prince Caspian’.

“In the first film, I really had no flipping idea what I was doing,!” he admits, candidly. “I was just turning up, saying my lines and stepping through the wardrobe as William would, and Peter would at the same time!”

Three years later, Peter has become a man, fighting to save the Narnians, and it’s clear that William too has grown up.” Throughout the experience, I’ve changed a lot in myself. I’ve travelled to so many different countries, met so many different people!” says William, in his refined tones.

‘Prince Caspian’, based on the third book in the series by C.S.

Lewis, sees the children magically transported back to Narnia from a London Tube station when the troubled Prince blows Susan’s magic horn to call for aid.

Whilst only a year has passed in England, more than 1,300 years have gone by in the magic realm.

Aslan hasn’t been seen for years and the Narnian creatures have been all but wiped out by a race of humans known as the Telmarines.

The film’s climax sees William in a fight-to-the-death with Miraz to win the freedom of Narnia.

“I did all of that myself!” says William, proudly. “If you can do it, why not? If you can chase a horse, kick the guy and jump on the back then why not? It looks so much better than visual effects!”

“I didn’t want anyone doing any of my stunts, because I saw them as MY stunts. And I wanted to make sure everyone had their full trust in me, so that ‘take ten’ was just as good as ‘take one’.”

Sadly though, William’s Narnia adventures have come to an end - Peter has grown up and doesn’t appear in anymore of Lewis’s books.

“It is really sad,” admits William.

“I’m thinking, ‘Well, that’s another chapter in my life’, but in some ways change is good. If you want to progress you have to move on and put yourself in a vulnerable position.”

“I’ll definitely use all the tools I learnt from ‘Narnia’ and hopefully get some more along the way.”

The young actor is cagey about his next role: “I don’t trust Hollywood – not until I’m on that plane and I’ve signed that contract.”

He can reveal he’ll be working on an independent film and “one of those stories where it’s seen through my character’s eyes”.

For now though, William is looking forward to the first class flights and the “beautiful clothes” on his publicity tour to Prague, London and Paris.

“It’s a lot more glamorous than shooting the film. But I do look at it as work. A chance for me to put myself and the film out there.”

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/film-cinema/prince-charming-1413693.html