Merlin: Katie McGrath Interview

A week ago I didn’t know anything about the BBC/SyFy series Merlin other than duh, it’s about a wizard named Merlin. But don’t we all know that? Oh, what a difference a day makes. Or more specifically an hour, because that’s all it took to get me hooked on this series. Revolving around the young wizard Merlin in the famous land of Camelot, Merlin takes us to the land of dragons, sorcerers and the legendary King Arthur before he was king. Filled with action, drama, and all the royal intrigue you could want, Merlin is a treat to sci-fi lovers everywhere.

Ahead of the US premiere of season 3 on SyFy, I had the extreme pleasure of speaking with Katie McGrath of the phenomenal series. She plays Morgana, King Uther’s ward and foster sister of the future King Arthur. Over the past two seasons she’s been the good girl, but that’s slowly started to unravel as the series takes a darker turn. In our interview, Katie talks Morgana’s future, the fruitless search for acceptance, and the right way to choose a superpower.

You star on the series Merlin, for viewers unfamiliar with the series can you describe it?

Katie McGrath: Merlin is sort of a “before you were famous.” Everybody knows what happens to Merlin in the future: that Arthur’s going to be king, Guinevere’s going to be queen and Morgana’s going to be a powerful evil sorceress. But this is about the characters before they get to where you know them. It’s about how they got there.

Can you tell us more about your character, Morgana?

KM: At the start of the series Morgana is sort of the first lady of Camelot. She’s a very privileged princess. As ward of the king, she’s lived her life at the court and is very sure of her position. The dark secret that she slowly becomes aware of herself and that she’s been suppressing, is that she’s magical in a kingdom where magic is banned. The first two series are about her coming to terms with the fact that she has this secret and what that means to all her relationships. But by the time you get to season three, she’s accepted who she is and that completely changes her relationships with everyone and her place in Camelot.

In the past two seasons we’ve seen Morgana as she’s becoming the bad girl of Camelot, how do you feel about playing a character that many see as a villain?

KM: Amazing. To me, the best thing about being Morgana is the fact that she’s going to become the villain. From where she starts, to where she ends up is so much more interesting than her just being out-and-out bad or out-and-out good. She’s neither of those things. She’s more than that and the journey she has to face to get to where she’s going is so huge; it’s so challenging as an actor that I was a little bit daunted but very excited about doing it.

How do you view Morgana?

KM: I personally don’t view her as the villain. I don’t view her as evil. I feel very fond of her because I think she’s been pushed in this circumstance not by her own doing. She’s been driven to where she is and has taken the only option that’s available to her. Everybody else turned their back on her and the only person who’s accepted her was Morgause, so obviously she’s going to align herself with her. I love her, and I love playing her and I hope that people don’t just see her as a villain because she’s so much more than that.

What do you think drives Morgana?

KM: The need for acceptance. She was so afraid that for her, magic means that she was going to be rejected by everybody that she loves. And when that happens and she has no one, she meets Morgause and Morgause says it’s okay. Finally she feels safe. If Uther ever found out that she was magical he would kill her, no matter how much he loves her he would turn his back on her. And this woman that she barely knows comes to her and says I know who you are and I still love you. She finally gets to hear what she’s been waiting to hear from somebody.

How would you describe season three in regards to the previous seasons?

KM: It’s much darker. As a show, it gets darker every year and this is the darkest yet. They’ve been quite clever and you get all the bits you expect from her, the wit, and the banter between the boys but as a town the whole season deals with much darker ideas. It’s a much more sinister feeling than the previous ones.

Last question, Morgana has the gift of foresight, if you could have any magical ability what would it be?

KM: You know the X-Men, the comics not the movies, the way that Rogue could just touch everybody and take their power. That one. I couldn’t pick one, so I want the one that gives me all of them.

And how would you use it?

KM: For my own ends…

Merlin returns for its third season Friday, January 7^th at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. Central on SyFy

Images courtesy of IMDbPro and SyFy.