My Fey Lady
Katherine Langford plays Nimue
How would you describe Nimue?
Nimue is this young Fey woman with a mysterious gift, and because of it she’s treated very much as an outcast. Throughout the course of this series, we see her journey – not just a physical journey, having to deliver this sword of power to Merlin, but also having to learn how to embrace and harness her powers in order to fight injustice, and the armies threatening her and her people. At the beginning, we see this young woman who isn’t quite sure of herself, yet she’s wild and clever and funny, then see her really come into her womanhood and who she is.
How does Cursed differ from other takes on Arthurian lore?
Everyone knows the characters of Arthur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table, but rarely do we dive into the lives of some of the other characters, particularly the female ones. This is a story that has literally been told for centuries and centuries, and this is the first time we’re really seeing this story told through the lens of one of the most mysterious but also most prolific characters, the Lady of the Lake. In that sense, to me it feels very fresh and new. And in terms of the tone: again, it’s familiar, but it’s also very fresh, and I think that’s a real credit to Tom Wheeler and Frank Miller. Y’know, it’s a fantasy with action and these magical elements, but it’s also very grounded and very real. I think that combination presents a really unique take.
What else appealed to you about the role?
I had to learn a number of skills that I’d never done before, within a very short period of time. That included horseriding and swordfighting, and also picking up and developing a new dialect, which is a combination of Received Pronunciation and a couple of other influences. I used to be a swimmer, and I trained as an athlete for a couple of years, so I was quite keen to get into doing my stunts and try to do as many of my stunts as I could. As a result I did have a few injuries, but I made it through!
Nimue plants a headbutt on Arthur in episode one – did Devon survive unscathed?
Yeah, he’s a tough cookie! We’re both Australian, so we were both up for a challenge, and we had a lot of fun on-set together!