THE DARK LIGHT

A quick word with Marton Csokas, who plays the violent Francis Carver

Q How was your experience filming in New Zealand?

I hadn’t been in Aotearoa for a long time, so I returned with both trepidation and excitement. It was weird. I sensed more profoundly what I describe as “liquid obsidian”, and I loved it all the more. It seemed all the more apparent that we are shells of flesh and our spirits are that which ultimately define us. I hadn’t seen some of my friends and colleagues for 30 years, and it was magnificent. I sometimes didn’t recognise people whom I’d worked with briefly, but I remembered their “life force”, their “mauri”. I found it inspiring around ideas of infinity and the eternal soul.

Q Had you read the book before being cast in the show?

I hadn’t. A friend of mine suggested it to me, but I hadn’t gotten to it. I started to, but alongside the screenplay, it was so very different. I’ve learned my lesson previously, that it’s best to stick to the genre you’re working in.

Q What are your thoughts on astrology?

My sign is in Cancer, and if I told you my time of birth you could figure out my ascendant and my moon; imagine the dirt you’d have on me.

I try and give all my characters astrological signs, usually a combination of Western and Chinese. It opens up possibilities of invention, like a game. It’s fun and useful.

As a human being, I’ve found astrology useful as a reflection for self- discovery and also in the dynamics of relationships, particularly when combined with Carl Jung’s work and Greek mythology. Liz Greene and Monika Wikman are authors in that field I enjoy. What did Oscar Wilde say? “We’re all born in the gutter, but some of us are looking up at the stars.” We should do that more often, they’re pretty.

Q Do you have any favourite book to TV adaptations?

I watched Paddington 2 with my daughter last night and had a great time.