Matthew Goode (left) and Teresa Palmer in “A Discovery of Witches” —PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOX LIFE
If you could pick who to interview from the exceptional cast of the TV series “A Discovery of Witches,” who would you choose? That was exactly the “nice” dilemma I faced the first time the idea of a one-on-one interview with one of the show’s cast members was broached to me. Let me explain:
The series, currently being aired at 9 p.m. every Saturday on FOX Life, is a spellbinding brew of historical fact and tantalizing fiction. Based on the All Souls Trilogy of novels by American scholar Deborah Harkness, its characters navigate a world where the fabled likes of Queen Elizabeth I, William Cecil and love-struck poet/playwright Christopher Marlowe are seen living alongside witches, vampires and demons masquerading as humans.
Set on the gorgeous Oxford campus, “A Discovery of Witches” follows the unlikely romance that blossoms between Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer), a reluctant witch who works as a tenured historian at Yale, and Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), a vampire and geneticist who teaches Biochemistry at Oxford.
Their paths inextricably entangle when Diana discovers a long-lost manuscript—a palimpsest called the Book of Life aka Ashmole 782—in the Bodleian Library. Covens of witches, demons and vampires have been after this elusive manuscript for centuries.
For his part, Matthew has been looking for the book since 1859 because it contains secret incantations that could be used to annihilate the dwindling vampire race. Things take a more complicated turn when Matthew and Diana fall for each other.
In Season 2, the star-crossed lovers don’t just tie the knot and deal with a deadly disease afflicting vampires, they also find themselves traveling back to the 16th century in hot pursuit of the manuscript.
And this brings us back to the aforementioned interview invitation. Since lead actors Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode were busy shooting Season 3, I requested for James Purefoy, the series’ coveted costar who portrays Matthew’s disapproving father, Philippe Clairmont.
James, who was screen-tested and often rumored to replace Pierce Brosnan after the latter’s four-movie run as James Bond (from 1995 to 2002), is best remembered for his roles in “Mansfield Park,” “Resident Evil,” “A Knight’s Tale,” “Solomon Kane” and “George and the Dragon.”
The 56-year-old actor has been busier than usual in the past five years. In fact, he admitted that he almost missed this interview because of a scheduling gaffe. With profuse—and very charming—apology, James said he’s doing so much press work these days that he sometimes gets confused what the interview is for. “Please, forgive me,” James said with a disarming smile. “There’s so much chaos in the moment, isn’t there?”
Chaos or not, I was just thrilled to speak with the actor for this one-on-one interview, because I’ve grown to appreciate his body of work in highly acclaimed series, each as distinct as the next: “Sex Education,” with Gillian Anderson; “Pennyworth,” starring Jack Bannon; “Altered Carbon,” featuring Joel Kinnaman, and “A Discovery of Witches”—and these are just the ones I’ve managed to see!
“I’ve been incredibly busy, yes,” he quipped. “I’ve been doing a wide variety of parts and projects, and I’m embarrassed to say there are several that I’m doing publicity for, so I sometimes end up asking, ‘For which one is this (laughs)?’”
Asked if it’s a conscious decision for him to make each new role distinct from the previous ones, James said, “Yes, it is. I come from the type of actors who wants to transform in each part they play. Some people are not particularly interested in variety, they just want to do versions of themselves. Whereas I find the notion that you transform into something else exciting.
“As an actor, the older you get, the more you find that you’re being asked to repeat yourself. Sometimes, when you play an immortal billionaire to relative acclaim, as I did in ‘Altered Carbon,’ then suddenly, you get offered half a dozen billionaires coming out of everywhere!
“People just want you to recreate what was successful in the last thing you did. But I feel that I should be constantly changing, so people never know what they’re going to get next.”
James Purefoy
Excerpts from our Q&A with James:
You play Matthew Goode’s brother in the new version of “Roots.” Given that you’re only 14 years older than Matthew, how did they manage to convince you to play his father Philippe in “Witches”?
Matthew and I are also in another show called “The Wine Show,” where we travel around to various vineyards and sit down with winemakers to talk about wine. He asked me to play Philippe because I happened to be with him the very moment they suggested three actors, including myself, for the part.
We were sitting in a bar in Portugal having a Negroni one night when his phone beeped. It was the executive producer of “A Discovery of Witches,” which is a show he had already completed one season of. And she said, “I’ve got three actors [to choose from] to play your father.” The other two are contemporaries and competitors of mine.
So, we went about destroying the reputation of the other actors and said that James Purefoy was the only one who could play this part well (laughs)! Obviously, the producer didn’t know I was sitting beside Matthew at that very moment.
Matthew and I get on very well. He’s a cool guy. He’s a dangerous and mercurial actor to work with—you never quite know what you’re going to get. He has a fierce intelligence in front of the camera and off.
Then, Matthew said, “There’s only one problem: You’re going to have to play my father …” He so enjoyed telling me that it was a possibility that I could be his father! I said, ‘What’s the part?’ And he said, “Well, he’s a 3,000-year-old vampire. So, it doesn’t matter if we’re quite close in age because when you’re talking about 3,000 years, age doesn’t mean as much as it does to you and me” (laughs).
Episode 6, the episode you’re mostly in, is without a doubt one of Season 2’s best episodes. I was as scared as I was moved because it zeroes in on relationships—which brings the themes of the show closer to home for viewers. Care to talk about this?
I have a son who’s 23 years old—that’s a young man now. For men who has grownup children, there’s a certain amount of alpha male/beta male fighting that goes on between them. I thought it was important to show that even though we’re immortal vampires, it’s a relationship that viewers could relate to.
All father-son relationships are complicated—sometimes, there’s competition. But you have to find a way to deal with a boy growing into a man and what that means. Philippe has been around for a long time, so almost nothing surprises him anymore.
Are you anything like Philippe as a father?
Oh, I wish (laughs)! One of the things you learn as a dad is, as you get older, you tend to roll with the punches.
You’ve read Deborah Harkness’ books and saw Season 1. What did you like about the book that translated well onscreen?
I loved the idea of the feminine power. That for me was something that was so strong that came across in the book. There’s a scene in Episode 6 where you see lights starting to emanate from Diana. She displays her power to him, and he’s awestruck!
For somebody like Philip to get awestruck is pretty astonishing because there’s really not much he hasn’t experienced. I find it rather touching that somebody who is so old could still have an experience that can delight and surprise. That’s a fresh moment for him. I don’t think a 3,000-year-old man still experiences many fresh moments like that.
You didn’t suck in the show, literally and figuratively. If they give you permission to bite another actor in the cast, who would it be?
It’s a very good question. Yes, that was a disappointment. It’s the first vampire role I’ve ever played, and I was looking forward to somebody baring his or her neck for me to bite down into (laughs). But sadly, that didn’t happen.
Who would it be? I’d like to get my teeth into Matthew. In fact, we had a lovely scene, which was cut from the episode, that shows Matthew standing by the fireplace and explaining in a long monologue how Philippe went mad after he was tortured by the Nazis during the Second World War.
He was sent home mad by the Nazis. You could see me writhing around in my bed, doing the best “mad acting” that I could come up with (laughs). And Matthew has to kill me, because he wants to put me out of my misery. I invite him to do it, so he did bite me on my neck! I’d like to have returned the favor at some point (laughs).
The series tackles a lot of themes, but what’s your takeaway from the show?
I like the way that they come to a sense of peace with each other. There’s a nice scene when we say goodbye and we’re on horseback, and you get a sense that they understand the measure of each other for the first time in their lives.
There are no hard feelings, no rank bitterness or anger left. There’s just forgiveness. We could all do with a bit more forgiveness, couldn’t we? INQ“A Discovery of Witches” Season 2 is telecast same day as the US on FOX Life (channels 48/172 on SkyCable, and channels 124/232 on Cignal).