Rabbits’ hare-raising adventure
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 an 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 over Christmas 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 TV shows like Shameless.
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.
Watership Down has been reinterpreted into an animated mini-series – and it’s a stellar cast voicing the band of rabbits on a treacherous journey. James Mcavoy, who stars as Hazel, talks to GEORGIA HUMPHREYS about his love for the classic tale...
“We did a devised – already it sounds terrible – contemporary practice 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 chuckle-worthy 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.
Turning to look at the producers and director, who are also taking part in the discussion, Mcavoy notes: “I think you guys are so excited to get the right people, and partly because the project is so attractive to us, and partly because you only need us for a small amount of time, you’re able to get pretty much who you want.
“The idea of scheduling everybody so they can be in the same country at the same point, or be in the room at the same time, is not even a thought!”
He 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, 10 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 cut-out 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 is on BBC1 on December 22 at 7pm and on December 23 at 7.20pm.