Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
OUR DREAM ROLES
Taron Egerton and the all-star cast of Netflix’s stunning Dark Crystal series tell why they couldn’t resist the chance to revive Jim Henson’s classic characters
Jim Henson’s classic fantasy film The Dark Crystal has been reborn – and its stars reveal why they lined up to take part
Taron Egerton, the star of the moment thanks to his acclaimed por trayal of Elton John in Rocketman, says there’s only one role he’s ever signed up to without reading the script. A new Tarantino? A modern-day Shakespeare? Another superstar biopic?
No. The job was voicing a puppet – but not just any puppet. Taron is the voice of Rian, the lead character in a stunning prequel to Jim Henson’s 1982 masterpiece Dark Crystal. ‘It’s the only part I’ve known I was going to accept before opening the email,’ says Taron. ‘The film and all of Jim Henson’s movies were a huge part of my childhood. They were enchanting, the right side of dark for my sensibilities and completely otherworldly. So when I saw an email from my agent saying The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance I had two thoughts in my head. One was, “How do I accept this as quickly as possible?” And the other was, “How am I going to get them to give me a puppet?”’
Taron wasn’t alone, as some of the biggest names in showbiz signed up for the tenpart series, which is on Netflix later this month. Henson, who also made The Muppets and Fraggle Rock, inspired generations of youngsters to go into film-making, and it appears they remember where they got the bug. Set designers turned down work on the latest Star Wars movie for this, while Taron isn’t even the biggest name in a cast that includes Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Hamill, Sigourney Weaver, Eddie Izzard, Mark Strong, Jason Isaacs, Simon Pegg and Game Of Thrones stars Lena Headey, Natalie Dormer and Nathalie Emmanuel.
The original film told the story of two pixie-like Gelflings, the last of their species, who needed to reunite the Crystal, the source of all power in their world of Thra, with a sliver that had splintered off from it. It was the only way to defeat the evil, bird-like Skeksis. The Skeksis were killers who stole ‘the essence’ – life force – of the Gelflings and another race of creatures, the diminutive and peaceful Podlings, in order to stay alive.
‘I remember the original film being an overwhelming experience. Everything about it – the visuals, the score – it was one of those movies where
you came out of the cinema slightly changed,’ says Simon Pegg, the Star Trek actor who plays a Skeksis villain called The Chamberlain.
Henson, who died in 1990, never envisaged a follow-up. ‘He was a creatively restless person who always moved onto the next challenge,’ says his daughter Lisa, executive producer of the new series. ‘But I hope he’d be thrilled by what we’ve done with his vision. The movie was such a complete fantasy world, it always felt there was a history to it that should be told.’
The new series, which like the original was filmed in the UK, goes back in time by several generations. It’s the height of the Gelfling civilisation, when they still think of the Skeksis and their leader skekSo (voiced by Jason Isaacs) as rulers they can appease. But the power of the Crystal has begun to wane and the Skeksis can no longer get the life force they need from it, so are seeking a new way to stave off old age. Suddenly the creatures they rule over begin to look like prey.
The series focuses on a small band of rebels who realise something evil is happening. Rian is the Gelfling son of the Head Guard for the Skeksis. He’s loyal to his masters until a chance encounter means he sees the depths of depravity the Skeksis will go to to prolong their own lives.
There’s also Brea, voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy, a rebellious Gelfling princess who doesn’t like to do what her mother All-Maudra (Helena Bonham Carter) tells her. And then there’s the Gelfling Deet (Nathalie Emmanuel), who has been given a message by the roots of the tree she lives under to venture out to find help. Her only friend is Hup (Victor Yerrid), one of the little Podlings, whose weapon of choice is a wooden spoon.
Lisa Henson isn’t the only one who brings a family link to the production – the design supervisor is Toby Froud, whose parents Brian and Wendy met while working on the original film. And Toby is something of a cult star himself as he was the baby in Henson’s 1986 film Labyrinth, which featured David Bowie.
Toby worked with his parents to come up with new creatures on the show. Each puppet, which has a fibreglass skull covered in foam and latex, required three puppeteers to make it work. The editing processes remain largely the same as in the 80s, with CGI only used to cut out the puppeteers and show the puppets running.
‘There’s a joy in knowing that every detail has been lovingly crafted,’ says Taron who, as yet, hasn’t worked out how to get one of the puppets to keep. ‘There’s something akin to a great painting in this show. It’s a wonderful thing and that’s why it feels like such an event. I think fans will feel like me; I want to switch off for a whole day and exist in this universe because it’s so incredible.’
‘It always felt like there was a history that should be told’