A new British drama, one of the most expensive ever made for ITV, could rival A Game Of Thrones.
"Beowulf" is based on the epic Anglo-Saxon poem of over 3,000 alliterative lines, the first great work of literature ever written in the English language. It tells the story of Beowulf who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the settlement of Herot, when his people are being terrorised by the monster Grendl.
What is just a shame is that there is a black actor appearing in the new show, so let's just hope it isn't spoiled any further by incessant Political Correctness, which ruins many other TV series and movies released nowadays.
Meet the original monster slayer: A new retelling of epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf has become one of the most expensive ITV dramas ever made
The £17 million epic is hoped to rival Game Of Thrones in January
The action is quite graphic for its 7pm slot and has received complaints
Beowulf: Return To The Shieldlands begins on 3 January at 7pm on ITV
By Lisa Sewards for MailOnline
25 December 2015
Daily Mail
Far off the beaten track on the windswept moors of England’s north-east, a disused quarry has been transformed into the mythical world of the Shieldlands.
It’s the setting for one of the most expensive ITV dramas ever made as the family-friendly swords-and-monsters tale Beowulf has been turned into an action-packed, £17 million epic that it’s hoped will rival Game Of Thrones.
Like the famous Anglo-Saxon poem on which it’s based, the TV drama is a classic story of good versus evil, with heroes and villains, thrilling fights and chases, strange tribes and creatures, bloody battles and a notorious troll-like monster named Grendl – although be warned, some of the action is quite graphic for its 7pm slot.
(L-r) Elliot Cowan as Abrecan and David Ajala as Rate – both fierce warriors – Kieran Bew as Beowulf, Joanne Whalley as Rheda, Ed Speleers as Slean... and Grendl
Already there have been complaints from Mediawatch UK about gory scenes in the opening episode showing a father being murdered in front of his son.
The show is set in the Shieldlands, a world of swamps, woodlands and mountains, and the warrior hero Beowulf is played by 35-year-old Da Vinci’s Demons actor Kieran Bew, alongside a cast including Oscar-winner William Hurt, Wolf Hall’s Joanne Whalley and Ed Speleers, best known as Jimmy the footman in Downton Abbey.
The poem, often cited as one of the most important surviving works in Old English literature, was written anonymously between the 8th and 11th centuries – the period in which the Vikings were raiding Britain – and melds fiction with real historical events over 3,182 lines. It tells the story of Beowulf who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the settlement of Herot, when his people are being terrorised by Grendl.
William Hurt was thrilled to play Hrothgar and believes the series will be a hit with a modern audience
It has been translated by the likes of JRR Tolkien (in 1926) and Seamus Heaney (in 2000) and is said to have influenced Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings. Veteran star Hurt, 65, was thrilled to play Hrothgar and believes the series, which uses state-of-the-art CGI to bring the creatures to life, will be a hit with a modern audience.
‘I studied the poem when I did English literature at college, so when I got the script I only read three pages and loved it,’ he says. ‘The storytelling is monumental.’
Beowulf is such a physical part that leading man Kieran Bew had to be recalled during the audition process to prove he could be aggressive enough for the role. But it wasn’t a problem thanks to his childhood hobby.
‘They didn’t know then that I’d been fencing since the age of nine. By the time I was 14 I was in the British fencing squad,’ says Bew, who broke three ribs filming fight scenes for the show.
‘But the fencing helped with my career because when I was 19 and still at drama school I was choreographing our student plays’ combat scenes. Then I went to work on Mark Rylance’s Hamlet at the Globe Theatre. Now I’ve got my dream job.’
It didn’t seem that way at first for Bew, who was born in Hartlepool close to where the set was built. ‘I was thinking, “I’ve spent ten years trying to get out of the north-east where I grew up,”’ he laughs.
‘I was moving to LA and had got rid of my flat and started putting roots down there when I got this job and ended up living 12 minutes from where I grew up. But it was brilliant as I got to have Sunday dinners with my mum.’
He could be there quite a lot in the future because the set’s been built to last for ten years, allowing for follow-up seasons to be filmed if this 13-part first series takes off. Many of the cast were asked to sign five-year contracts in the hope that it does.
It also helped that Kieran is a Beowulf geek. ‘I was obsessed with Nordic gods, I’d read the Seamus Heaney translation and looked at the Tolkien version as well,’ he says. ‘I’m a true geek on this. ITV had no idea I’d already done that research and then I told them, “Oh yeah, I named my cats after characters of the era – Tostig and Saga.”’
In the opening scenes Beowulf is seen galloping across the Shieldlands, returning to his childhood home of Herot to pay his respects to the recently deceased Hrothgar, the man who raised the orphan Beowulf alongside his own son Slean. ‘Beowulf’s enigmatic with quite a few secrets,’ says Bew. ‘He’s an honourable man but he’s complicated and conflicted. And now he’s returned to Herot he has unfinished business.’
The monsters of the show include Warigs (left) and Grendl (right)
Beowulf goes in a spirit of friendship, but he’s met with deep hostility by Slean, played by Ed Speleers in a role that’s a far cry from Downton footman Jimmy. ‘You couldn’t get two more different roles,’ laughs Speleers.
‘But I’ve never had the chance to play a part like this. That’s what drew me in. Slean is so complex. He’s not just a clear-cut bad guy. I was in trouble quite a lot at school but I also consider myself quite an ambitious guy. Slean is just the same. He’s a shrewd man. He wants to be king and he believes he can do the best job possible for Herot, rather than his mother Rheda [played by Joanne Whalley] who’s inherited the throne.
'He had a turbulent relationship with his father and felt his father never liked him, never showed him any affection and didn’t really believe in him. Slean is a human being and he’s been shunned a lot in his life.’
Speleers says it was an honour to work alongside William Hurt, who appears as Hrothgar in flashbacks, but they almost came to blows.
‘As his son, no matter what I tried to do to get his love I couldn’t seem to achieve it while Hrothgar was alive. It was in one of his last moments with me that William, rather than saying “I love you”, really slapped me. But it wasn’t like a stunt slap or stage slap, he actually slapped me – and not just once.
'I thought, “It’ll be fine,” and then... “Bam!” This happened three or four times and I was getting quite annoyed. I kept thinking, “It’s all right, but if it happens again...” But William was lovely, a very intelligent man and it was a great privilege to work with him.’
In the series, Slean’s battles continue with Beowulf himself. ‘They have a rocky history because when they were growing up Beowulf took all Hrothgar’s attention. Beowulf was better, stronger and faster. He’s already caused Slean so much pain and now he’s back. Beowulf is the reason everything went wrong for Slean so he’s envious of him.’
Speleers had a clear vision of how he wanted Slean to look. ‘Getting in shape was important, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow. But I didn’t want Slean to be too big and hulking, I wanted him to be quick and powerful.
'And no more floppy fringes like Jimmy’s! I wanted something radical, as did our make-up designer, so my hair’s shaved all round the sides and the back, while the costumes are loosely based on Mongolian clothes.’
The great love interest in the show is raven-haired Elvina, played by Merlin actress Laura Donnelly. ‘She’s the village healer, but we don’t know a lot about her background except that she’s from a travelling tribe. We get to know that Elvina and Slean are lovers but it’s a secret relationship,’ explains Laura.
‘It’s very clear that they trust each other. They have a history and understanding between them that we’re not entirely sure of at the outset. And then Beowulf comes along and throws a spanner in the works.
‘Elvina is instantly intrigued, if not attracted by Beowulf. But she spends a little time fighting that. She’s not a silly girl who’s going to fall for the first handsome man that comes along. But as they get to know each other she recognises he’s a kindred spirit.’
The weather was so extreme on the set with high winds and horizontal rain that a crane erected for filming aerial shots often had to be abandoned. ‘It was brutal. It was a tough shoot, seven months in the north-east of England,’ admits Speleers.
‘You battle with the elements knowing that, actually, if you were there in 750AD it would have been far worse. At least we didn’t have to sleep there. But it was a compliment to be asked to sign for five years. I hope this goes on and on.’
THE GRISLY CREATURES
GRENDL
Half-human half-monster, Grendl lives in the hinterland between the human inhabitants of the Shieldlands and the Mudborn creatures who ruled there before the humans conquered it hundreds of years earlier. He wants to belong and has an affectionate side.
SKINSHIFTERS
A race of powerful, human-like creatures that can change their physical appearance at will and live up to 500 years.
TROLLS
Fully grown, these animals stand at 10ft tall and sport large horns. They adopted a carnivorous diet to compensate for a lack of mineral salt in the mountains, so the humans now provide salt for them to prevent any bloodshed.
BARGHESTS
Descended from prehistoric wolves, Barghests are larger and smarter than ordinary wolves. They have good night vision with deep red eyes that gave rise to the myth that they have fire in their eyes.
WARIG
These highly social Mudborn creatures are humanoid and distinguished by their animal-skin clothing and thick eye protection which they wear because they’re sensitive to daylight.
Beowulf: Return To The Shieldlands begins on 3 January at 7pm on ITV.
Read more: Meet the original monster slayer: A new retelling of epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf has become one of the most expensive ITV dramas ever made | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
"Beowulf" is based on the epic Anglo-Saxon poem of over 3,000 alliterative lines, the first great work of literature ever written in the English language. It tells the story of Beowulf who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the settlement of Herot, when his people are being terrorised by the monster Grendl.
What is just a shame is that there is a black actor appearing in the new show, so let's just hope it isn't spoiled any further by incessant Political Correctness, which ruins many other TV series and movies released nowadays.
Meet the original monster slayer: A new retelling of epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf has become one of the most expensive ITV dramas ever made
The £17 million epic is hoped to rival Game Of Thrones in January
The action is quite graphic for its 7pm slot and has received complaints
Beowulf: Return To The Shieldlands begins on 3 January at 7pm on ITV
By Lisa Sewards for MailOnline
25 December 2015
Daily Mail
Far off the beaten track on the windswept moors of England’s north-east, a disused quarry has been transformed into the mythical world of the Shieldlands.
It’s the setting for one of the most expensive ITV dramas ever made as the family-friendly swords-and-monsters tale Beowulf has been turned into an action-packed, £17 million epic that it’s hoped will rival Game Of Thrones.
Like the famous Anglo-Saxon poem on which it’s based, the TV drama is a classic story of good versus evil, with heroes and villains, thrilling fights and chases, strange tribes and creatures, bloody battles and a notorious troll-like monster named Grendl – although be warned, some of the action is quite graphic for its 7pm slot.
(L-r) Elliot Cowan as Abrecan and David Ajala as Rate – both fierce warriors – Kieran Bew as Beowulf, Joanne Whalley as Rheda, Ed Speleers as Slean... and Grendl
Already there have been complaints from Mediawatch UK about gory scenes in the opening episode showing a father being murdered in front of his son.
The show is set in the Shieldlands, a world of swamps, woodlands and mountains, and the warrior hero Beowulf is played by 35-year-old Da Vinci’s Demons actor Kieran Bew, alongside a cast including Oscar-winner William Hurt, Wolf Hall’s Joanne Whalley and Ed Speleers, best known as Jimmy the footman in Downton Abbey.
The poem, often cited as one of the most important surviving works in Old English literature, was written anonymously between the 8th and 11th centuries – the period in which the Vikings were raiding Britain – and melds fiction with real historical events over 3,182 lines. It tells the story of Beowulf who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the settlement of Herot, when his people are being terrorised by Grendl.
William Hurt was thrilled to play Hrothgar and believes the series will be a hit with a modern audience
It has been translated by the likes of JRR Tolkien (in 1926) and Seamus Heaney (in 2000) and is said to have influenced Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings. Veteran star Hurt, 65, was thrilled to play Hrothgar and believes the series, which uses state-of-the-art CGI to bring the creatures to life, will be a hit with a modern audience.
‘I studied the poem when I did English literature at college, so when I got the script I only read three pages and loved it,’ he says. ‘The storytelling is monumental.’
Beowulf is such a physical part that leading man Kieran Bew had to be recalled during the audition process to prove he could be aggressive enough for the role. But it wasn’t a problem thanks to his childhood hobby.
‘They didn’t know then that I’d been fencing since the age of nine. By the time I was 14 I was in the British fencing squad,’ says Bew, who broke three ribs filming fight scenes for the show.
‘But the fencing helped with my career because when I was 19 and still at drama school I was choreographing our student plays’ combat scenes. Then I went to work on Mark Rylance’s Hamlet at the Globe Theatre. Now I’ve got my dream job.’
It didn’t seem that way at first for Bew, who was born in Hartlepool close to where the set was built. ‘I was thinking, “I’ve spent ten years trying to get out of the north-east where I grew up,”’ he laughs.
‘I was moving to LA and had got rid of my flat and started putting roots down there when I got this job and ended up living 12 minutes from where I grew up. But it was brilliant as I got to have Sunday dinners with my mum.’
He could be there quite a lot in the future because the set’s been built to last for ten years, allowing for follow-up seasons to be filmed if this 13-part first series takes off. Many of the cast were asked to sign five-year contracts in the hope that it does.
It also helped that Kieran is a Beowulf geek. ‘I was obsessed with Nordic gods, I’d read the Seamus Heaney translation and looked at the Tolkien version as well,’ he says. ‘I’m a true geek on this. ITV had no idea I’d already done that research and then I told them, “Oh yeah, I named my cats after characters of the era – Tostig and Saga.”’
In the opening scenes Beowulf is seen galloping across the Shieldlands, returning to his childhood home of Herot to pay his respects to the recently deceased Hrothgar, the man who raised the orphan Beowulf alongside his own son Slean. ‘Beowulf’s enigmatic with quite a few secrets,’ says Bew. ‘He’s an honourable man but he’s complicated and conflicted. And now he’s returned to Herot he has unfinished business.’
The monsters of the show include Warigs (left) and Grendl (right)
Beowulf goes in a spirit of friendship, but he’s met with deep hostility by Slean, played by Ed Speleers in a role that’s a far cry from Downton footman Jimmy. ‘You couldn’t get two more different roles,’ laughs Speleers.
‘But I’ve never had the chance to play a part like this. That’s what drew me in. Slean is so complex. He’s not just a clear-cut bad guy. I was in trouble quite a lot at school but I also consider myself quite an ambitious guy. Slean is just the same. He’s a shrewd man. He wants to be king and he believes he can do the best job possible for Herot, rather than his mother Rheda [played by Joanne Whalley] who’s inherited the throne.
'He had a turbulent relationship with his father and felt his father never liked him, never showed him any affection and didn’t really believe in him. Slean is a human being and he’s been shunned a lot in his life.’
Speleers says it was an honour to work alongside William Hurt, who appears as Hrothgar in flashbacks, but they almost came to blows.
‘As his son, no matter what I tried to do to get his love I couldn’t seem to achieve it while Hrothgar was alive. It was in one of his last moments with me that William, rather than saying “I love you”, really slapped me. But it wasn’t like a stunt slap or stage slap, he actually slapped me – and not just once.
'I thought, “It’ll be fine,” and then... “Bam!” This happened three or four times and I was getting quite annoyed. I kept thinking, “It’s all right, but if it happens again...” But William was lovely, a very intelligent man and it was a great privilege to work with him.’
In the series, Slean’s battles continue with Beowulf himself. ‘They have a rocky history because when they were growing up Beowulf took all Hrothgar’s attention. Beowulf was better, stronger and faster. He’s already caused Slean so much pain and now he’s back. Beowulf is the reason everything went wrong for Slean so he’s envious of him.’
Speleers had a clear vision of how he wanted Slean to look. ‘Getting in shape was important, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow. But I didn’t want Slean to be too big and hulking, I wanted him to be quick and powerful.
'And no more floppy fringes like Jimmy’s! I wanted something radical, as did our make-up designer, so my hair’s shaved all round the sides and the back, while the costumes are loosely based on Mongolian clothes.’
The great love interest in the show is raven-haired Elvina, played by Merlin actress Laura Donnelly. ‘She’s the village healer, but we don’t know a lot about her background except that she’s from a travelling tribe. We get to know that Elvina and Slean are lovers but it’s a secret relationship,’ explains Laura.
‘It’s very clear that they trust each other. They have a history and understanding between them that we’re not entirely sure of at the outset. And then Beowulf comes along and throws a spanner in the works.
‘Elvina is instantly intrigued, if not attracted by Beowulf. But she spends a little time fighting that. She’s not a silly girl who’s going to fall for the first handsome man that comes along. But as they get to know each other she recognises he’s a kindred spirit.’
The weather was so extreme on the set with high winds and horizontal rain that a crane erected for filming aerial shots often had to be abandoned. ‘It was brutal. It was a tough shoot, seven months in the north-east of England,’ admits Speleers.
‘You battle with the elements knowing that, actually, if you were there in 750AD it would have been far worse. At least we didn’t have to sleep there. But it was a compliment to be asked to sign for five years. I hope this goes on and on.’
THE GRISLY CREATURES
GRENDL
Half-human half-monster, Grendl lives in the hinterland between the human inhabitants of the Shieldlands and the Mudborn creatures who ruled there before the humans conquered it hundreds of years earlier. He wants to belong and has an affectionate side.
SKINSHIFTERS
A race of powerful, human-like creatures that can change their physical appearance at will and live up to 500 years.
TROLLS
Fully grown, these animals stand at 10ft tall and sport large horns. They adopted a carnivorous diet to compensate for a lack of mineral salt in the mountains, so the humans now provide salt for them to prevent any bloodshed.
BARGHESTS
Descended from prehistoric wolves, Barghests are larger and smarter than ordinary wolves. They have good night vision with deep red eyes that gave rise to the myth that they have fire in their eyes.
WARIG
These highly social Mudborn creatures are humanoid and distinguished by their animal-skin clothing and thick eye protection which they wear because they’re sensitive to daylight.
Beowulf: Return To The Shieldlands begins on 3 January at 7pm on ITV.
Read more: Meet the original monster slayer: A new retelling of epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf has become one of the most expensive ITV dramas ever made | Daily Mail Online
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