Playing a rabbit in Watership Down is a perfect role for Scottish actor
James Mcavoy, who stars as Hazel, talks to Georgia Humphreys about the new production
To say James Mcavoy is a fan of Watership Down would be an understatement.
When producer Rory Aitken emailed the Scottish actor about voicing Hazel in the new, four-part animated adaptation of the tale for BBC One, he was actually wearing his Watership Down T-shirt at the time.
“I took a selfie of myself, like, ‘Check it out man!’” says the 39-year-old, as he talks about the series, alongside co-stars Gemma Arterton and Nicholas Hoult.
“And I am wearing that T-shirt right now,” he adds, lifting up his jumper to show it off.
“It’s actually a really beautiful T-shirt. I wanted to suggest we had it as part of our merchandise!”
Written by Richard Adams in 1972, Watership Down is a famous tale of adventure, courage and survival.
Set in the the idyllic rural landscape of southern England, it follows a band of rabbits who flee their warren which is being destroyed by humans to make way for houses.
Led by a pair of brothers – Hazel and Fiver (Nicholas Hoult) – the rabbits’ journey to a promised land, and the hope of a more perfect society, is a treacherous one, as they face predators and adversaries.
The novel was previously adapted into a (rather terrifying) animated film in 1978, which boasted John Hurt and Richard Briers in its cast.
But this is the first time it has been made into a miniseries, which will air on UK screens in two parts this weekend on BBC One. Internationally, it will be available on Netflix.
Taking part was a no-brainer for Mcavoy, known for films such as Split, Filth and Atonement, and Shameless on TV.
He first read the book (and loved it) when he was 20 and studying at drama school; they used it as material for a piece of work.
“We did a devised – already it sounds terrible – contemporary practice
0 Hazel (James Mcavoy) and Fiver (Nicholas Hoult)
movement piece,” he recalls with a laugh.
Mcavoy’s earliest memory of watching the film comes from when he was much younger.
He had a friend from another part of town round after school, but with his “entire extended family” over, they had to sit right in front of the TV with their dinner.
“I was like, ‘We’ve got fish and chips and Watership Down, it’s fantastic!’”
“I looked at my friend and he was crying. He was like, ‘I want to go home!’”
For those who remember all too well how graphic the violence is towards the beloved bunnies in said film, fear not – this new and innovative interpretation is much more family-friendly.
Expect plenty of chuckleworthy lines, impressive and colourful CGI countryside scenery and OK, yes, there’s the odd heartbreaking moment thrown in too.
There are also more female characters in this version; Strawberry, who is a buck, or male rabbit, in Adams’ novel, is voiced by Olivia Colman.
Other top-notch voices to listen out for include Sir Ben Kingsley as General Woundwort, John Boyega as Bigwig, Gemma Arterton as Clover, Miles Jupp as Blackberry, Freddie Fox as Captain Holly, and Annemarie Duff as Hyzenthlay.
However, the talent didn’t actually meet each other very much during recording.
Mcavoy continues drily:
“People ask us what was it like making this and we are the worst people to ask. We came on three years ago and I’ve done, maybe, ten sessions?!”
Not being able to play out the scenes together does bring up one or two challenges for the actors, mainly that they aren’t able to riff off each other.
“But maybe in the third session I started to hear what you did,” Mcavoy says, turning to his co-stars with a smile, “and that was really exciting.”
Did he have any visuals of the characters to help with moulding the part?
“I remember there being a really good cardboard cutout of Hazel,” he quips.
“And actually some really good artwork that I got to see, but other than that there wasn’t a lot.
“Because I’ve been trying to act it and I don’t know what it looks like, they said, ‘Why don’t we show James a scene?’ They show you essentially a flip book of what is really good sketches, but you’re kind of like, ‘I’m none the wiser!’
“There’s a lot of imagination involved. And a lot of you guys [the producers and director] really working overtime to try and give us an idea of what the environment is, what the environmental threat is.”
As for making the rabbit sounds? Yep, that is something that the stars actually have to do.
They even recorded noises for when their characters are nibbling on food; apparently some stars ate lettuce leaves from a bowl to get it right.
The things actors do for their art, eh?
● Watership Down, BBC1, this Saturday (7pm) and Sunday (7.20pm)
“I remember there being a cardboard cut-out of Hazel”