One of the big draws for our readers, and I guess for a lot of Merlin viewers, is Merlin and Arthur’s relationship. Can you tell us how we’re going to see that grow and change over the course of Series 4?
Yeah, I mean it’s  one of the most iconic relationships in legend, and it’s very much about Merlin bringing Arthur to the point where he can rule the kingdom, where it’s fit for him, and he’s fit for himself. And in the fourth season we see them growing apart a bit, actually. There’s a new character called Agravaine, who’s Arthur’s uncle, who [Merlin] realizes very, very quickly is not all it appears he is. Yet he’s Arthur’s right-hand man, he’s exactly where Merlin should be… and it’s about Merlin trying to re-gain that position, to be by Arthur’s side, to get him to make the right decisions. Because things very quickly change and Arthur gets more responsibility. And it’s where Merlin should be, and he’s not there, and it’s about him sort of grappling with the whole concept.

What is your favorite Merlin to play? Is it the sort of clumsy, funny Merlin, or the dramatic Merlin, or the Great Dragoon Merlin?
I would say it’s the variety, that I like, it’s the facets of the character, that’s what fascinates me. I think variety’s the spice of life, and being able to push yourself in all directions – that’s what it is, the complexity that I enjoy the most.

What attracted me to the series was the fact that growing up I read all the different variations on Camelot and the Arthurian legends, and what I liked about it was that this one’s focusing on Merlin’s backstory. I mean Merlin, to me, was always a mysterious character, and I liked that. But also, in seasons four and five will he be taking more of that puppetmaster role that I was used to seeing in the previous stories and the previous tellings of that legend?
Yeah, that’s a big theme, actually, coming up in this season, because that’s  absolutely what Merlin’s driving towards. He’s gaining wisdom and a certain kind of power in that wisdom. Certainly in parts you’re seeing Arthur listen to him a lot more, you’re seeing Arthur in fact change the way he’s thinking, sometimes, because of what Merlin says. And you see the beginnings of that, and that’s pretty exciting. But they’re also growing a little bit further apart, so I’d say Merlin has to work ultra-hard to try and be heard. And hopefully by the end of the season you’ll see that the relationship has come to the point where maybe they’re ready to set rules and set grounds and become a good team to rule the kingdom.

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