Sean Bean interview

[patch]

Sean Bean: “Jeremy Corbyn does actually believe in what he stands for”

About to star in new series Medici: The Magnificent, the actor discusses the lessons of the medieval Florentine dynasty.

Sean Bean is having a vape and an espresso in the Palazzo Medici. As he puffs away in a chamber filled with autumnal Florentine sunshine from its grand arched windows, the English actor’s choice of vice appears incongruous in such luxurious surroundings. A tray with Prosecco and glasses sits untouched on an oval table.

I meet him here, beneath a high ceiling adorned with bas-reliefs and walls of Renaissance paintings, because he’s promoting Medici: The Magnificent, a big-budget Netflix series that sees the 59-year-old play the snarling, manipulative nobleman Jacopo Pazzi – head of a rival family to the House of Medici in medieval Florence. The first scene is a classic Bean entrance: wielding a sword at his enemy, his shoulder-length hair aflutter, he remarks: “Always looking for trouble, aren’t you boy?” Cue duel.

His green eyes flash similarly today, though his hair is cut short, there’s a brush of stubble, and he’s traded his doublet for a smartly pressed navy shirt. The Yorkshireman’s familiar Sheffield vowels are back, too.

“It [swordfighting] is something I quite enjoy, there ain’t no lines to learn,” he laughs, a veteran of fight scenes from more than three decades of playing action villains and noble fighters alike. “Every character I’ve played with a sword is always a good swordsman. There’s hardly anybody who’s crap is there?”

Wryly aware of his CV of macho roles – from a heartthrob rifleman in the Nineties TV series Sharpe and James Bond’s nemesis in GoldenEye, to Lord of the Rings’s Boromir and Ned Stark of Game of Thrones’s first season – he still regards Medici as a fresh career move.

The high-end drama was filmed in its historical setting, from the hilltops of Tuscany to this very Palazzo. “Subconsciously you absorb it,” he grins. “You just take it for granted that you are in a nice big cathedral with cobbled streets… When you’re at school, in history, it was a bit of a drudge wasn’t it? Because you couldn’t picture anything.”

Yet Bean jokes about flicking to the back of scripts when he receives them, so often has he come to an untimely end on screen (the real-life Jacopo was eventually hanged).

His tally of 25 deaths is so varied – showered with arrows, torn apart by horses, buried alive, decapitated, toppled off a cliff by cows and many more – that he’s become an internet meme with the #DontKillSeanBean hashtag. There’s even a “death reel” on YouTube, compiling his colourful demises. “I’m not complaining, I don’t mind about that, I’ve been some wonderful characters,” he smiles. “But I have been surviving quite a bit recently – well, up to about last year!”

He’s happy to laugh at his career, playing himself as a “spirit guide” cross between Boromir and Stark in Channel 4 stoner comedy Wasted, but says he prefers “personal, smaller dramas”. “If you’re playing one-dimensional characters, which you usually are in the big blockbuster things, that’s fine, that’s fair enough, but you can’t sustain yourself on that.”

One very different role clearly fills Bean with pride: the quietly haunted Father Michael Kerrigan in Broken, last year’s BBC series about a parish priest in a deprived north-west suburb. Bean has previously condemned Margaret Thatcher for destroying  the north’s industries.

He was brought up in Sixties Sheffield by his father, who owned a welding business, and his mother, who worked as its secretary. His family never moved out of the two-bedroom former council house where he grew up.

Bean, who praised Jeremy Corbyn in 2015 after the Labour leader was first elected, appears frustrated today. “He [Corbyn] does actually believe in what he stands for,” he says. “Although he’s often made to make compromises ever since he’s become leader, he’s had a constant attempt to compromise him and I guess he’s treading a fine line – he’s got the press against him, hasn’t he, in the main?”

While Italian audiences will draw comparisons between their tempestuous politics and the factionalism of the Medici rulers, Bean also sees parallels with Britain.

“At least in the Medici, it looks believable what they’re saying, you think they’re actually feeling it,” he says. “Whereas today, you watch people talking and they sound like mouthpieces – like something with a CD in the back of it.


“It’s like Theresa May, she’s just like” – he puts on a mechanical voice – “WAH WAH, like a kind of robot. How can they keep repeating the same things and expect us to believe it? ‘Brexit means Brexit’? I mean, how many fucking times can you say that?”

He repeats in a slow-motion drawl: “Breeexit means Breeexit. It doesn’t actually make any sense. Nothing makes sense any more, nothing. It’s just like background music, lift music. And I think that, you know, [they’re] just kind of outright liars, really, for the most part.”

After playing his Machiavellian character, he reflects that politicians “use any means at their disposal in order to protect their positions and keep their privileges. And ultimately, they justify it now by calling it ‘democracy’, don’t they? But there’s a lot of strings attached!” 

“Medici: The Magnificent”, produced by Lux Vide, is on Netflix from early January 2019

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/10/sean-bean-jeremy-corbyn-does-actually-believe-what-he-stands

[Beanfan]

Very interesting interview!
Sean has his own personal  point of view about nowadays politics.

[Clairette]

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=ru&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kinopoisk.ru%2Farticle%2F3278296%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Duzhe-segodnya-na-kinopoiske-mozhno-posmotre&edit-text=

Very nice interview with Sean.
I do not know how well Google has translated from Russian into English, but I hope the main thing will be clear.

[patch]

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=ru&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kinopoisk.ru%2Farticle%2F3278296%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Duzhe-segodnya-na-kinopoiske-mozhno-posmotre&edit-text=

Very nice interview with Sean.
I do not know how well Google has translated from Russian into English, but I hope the main thing will be clear.

Thanks Clairette

Sean Bean - about the "Magnificent Medici", bad guys and screen deaths
Another villain in the gallery of images of Shona Bean is Jacopo de Pazzi, the enemy of the Medici house from the new series about Florentine intrigues

The new costume-historical series “Magnificent Medici” , which can already be seen today at KinoPoisk, tells about another page in the history of the Florentine rulers and patrons of art.  In the name of saving his beloved Florence, the young Lorenzo Medici takes over the leadership of the family bank.  He is actively involved in politics, extends the economic influence of the family and the city to the whole of Europe, becoming the head of the Florentine Republic.  Patronage of Lorenzo in the field of art, the support of artists by the House of Medici, including Botticelli and Michelangelo, the construction of public buildings not only bring him the title of the Magnificent, but also cause the envy of competitors.  The most dangerous of them - the Pazzi family, weaving a conspiracy against the Medici.

 The role of Lorenzo is played by Daniel Sharman , and his avid enemy Jacopo de Pazzi is Sean Bean .  KinoPoisk met Binom in Florence and talked about the history of this city, the feud between the Medici and de Pazzi, and also remembered the most spectacular deaths of its on-screen characters.

- Tell a little about your hero.

 - Rod Pazzi was an ancient Florentine clan, which, unfortunately, went down in history only because of a conspiracy against the Medici family.  Those were too powerful and rich, and this caused envy of many noble families at that time.  My hero, Jacopo de Pazzi, initiated the plot and his leader, for which he was severely punished.  I do not think this is a spoiler: the history of the Medici and the conspiracy have long been known historical facts.  The problem of my hero was that his ideas about politics, society and lifestyle were too different from the views of the Medici.  The latter were enthusiastic and innovative, but my hero was distinguished by conservatism and did not want changes in society.  He was annoyed by the enthusiasm and idealism of the young Medici.  He himself was considered an extremely pragmatic and mundane man to believe in lofty ideas and an ideal society.  To be honest, I feel sorry for Pazzi, but not because his life was tragically cut short, but because he lived, tormented by envy.  He could not appreciate his brilliant and artistic opponent Lorenzo Medici.  For this, Jacopo was too cruel and crude in nature.

- In the series, Lorenzo is shown as an idealist, while Jacopo is shown as a pragmatist.  How do you feel about idealism?  Do I need him in the acting profession?

 - I think you need to have a large share of idealism in order to decide to become an actor in general.  The intention to live for a living from art can be considered a manifestation of idealism, and people who believe in it - crazy.  However, what is idealism?  Idealism is a way of thinking, a lifestyle.  This is when a person who believes in his ideas often puts himself at risk, and when he falls, he does not learn from his mistakes.  An idealist actor can expect too much from his viewers.  He will hope that he will get only the most brilliant and creative roles.  Idealism is necessarily necessary in our world, because if our world rests on pragmatists, then it is still created by idealists.  I am also an idealist.  It is more interesting for me to play in a small art-house project and enjoy the role, than to chase after blockbusters and big budgets.  Although I also played in them.

- How did the British play the famous rulers of Florence?

 - Difficult to give an exact answer.  Could this be related to financing?  However, I believe that the heritage of Florence has long ceased to be exclusively Italian and turned into a world and universal humanity, like the art that was supported by the Medici, is today part of human history.  My hero, regardless of his origin, was the same person as us.  I do not consider his weaknesses and vices, temperament and character purely Italian.  Envy and rudeness can be inherent in people in different parts of the world.

 - Do you like to play bad guys and villains?

 - The bad guys play much harder.  This makes me an actor’s excitement.  It is at such moments that work begins to give me real pleasure.  It is interesting for me to understand how these people feel, what motivates their actions, how they justify actions that I could never do in real life.  I never killed.  And he did not die.  The acting profession is also interesting in that it is possible to die and revive in it indefinitely.  By the way, I have not had a chance to play the worst of all villains - a serial killer maniac.  And in the plans for this, too, no.

- And what was the most memorable death for you in the movie?

 - From a visual point of view, the most beautiful and heroic was the death of Boromir from The Lord of the Rings .  True, in my opinion, the action there is too delayed.  From the moment when Boromir hit the first arrow, and until when he finally goes into another world, it takes more than ten minutes.  But the most strange and fatal for me was the death in the film “The Field” by Jim Sheridan .  There are cows following me.  I try to escape, fall from a cliff and die tragically.  Animals rush off the cliff after me.  And at the end of the scene, a very strong frame is shown: the body of a man spread out and the corpses of animals scattered around him.  Straight Sergei Eisenstein!

- Do you add something from yourself to the image or maybe learn something from your character?

 - When I was young, it seemed that life brought me something new and unusual every day.  With age - and I have already been in the movies for a long time - I learned to abstract from my work.  My life does not intersect with the life of my heroes.  Therefore, I don’t scoop anything from my roles.  But in the case of the Medici, I learned a lot of interesting historical facts.  For example, before starting work on the Medici project, I was acquainted only with their ingenious banking operations.  When I read the script and prepared for the shooting, I learned how this family lived, I realized what the famous lily flower means - the symbol of Florence.  I was surprised to find that the story of Shakespeare about Romeo and Juliet was not so original, because the Medici and Pazzi also had their Romeo and Juliet.  Only the Florentine lovers were able to overcome difficulties and stay together.

- Where do you like to work more - in TV shows or in movies?

 - Easier to shoot for television.  First, television series are filmed, usually in chronological order.  In the cinema, one cannot afford such luxury.  Secondly, the mode of work on television projects is much more sparing: shooting can take five to six hours a day, and sometimes they even last only an hour or two.  In the movie, the working day comes to 16 hours, and this is really exhausting.

- Do novice actors come to you for advice?

 - To be honest, I think the representatives of the younger generation of actors are much more competent and self-confident than me.  A friend of mine loves to say: “I raised, taught and raised my children.  Now they have grown up, so they teach and educate me! ”

 Today, the younger generation is growing up with ideas about their own uniqueness and exclusivity, and at this age I too often got it from my parents, I also had to overcome my shyness and restraint.  Therefore, I do not like to revise my paintings.  I'm always strange to watch myself from the side.  Also, I would not want to suffer because of the mistakes that I still cannot fix.

- Your characters are very active on the screen.  How do you train?

 - I do not subject myself to special training or diets, like my American colleagues.  I don't do sports regularly.  I start training right before the shooting, but since, I repeat, I went to the cinema a long time ago, I had to ride, fence, wear heavy gear, or run fast.  Therefore, for each new project I don’t need to start everything all over again, but just a little bit to remember what I once memorized.  But as soon as the shooting ends, I again throw all the training.
 

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=ru&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kinopoisk.ru%2Farticle%2F3278296%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Duzhe-segodnya-na-kinopoiske-mozhno-posmotre&edit-text=

[Janice1066]

Interesting interview, thanks!

By the way, I have not had a chance to play the worst of all villains - a serial killer maniac.

Has he forgotten The Hitcher?? 

[Clairette]

Interesting interview, thanks!

By the way, I have not had a chance to play the worst of all villains - a serial killer maniac.

Has he forgotten The Hitcher?? 

a serial killer maniac

)))

[patch]

Sean Bean: " The Medici brings a piece of history to the viewer"

INTERVIEW - Actor Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones plays the sworn enemy of Lawrence the Magnificent in the historical series on the illustrious family of the Renaissance. Imagined by Frank Spotnitz, the saga is a hit in Italy and is broadcast on Saturdays on the Altice channel. This season is centered on the conspiracy of the Pazzi against the Medici in 1478.


With the adaptation of Elena Ferrante's prodigious Friend who arrives this Thursday on Canal +, it's one of the big fall hits of Italian public television. After two years ago, telling the story of Como, who allowed his lineage to become a major political force in Florence, the historical series The Medici looks at the rise of his grandson, the legendary Laurent the Magnificent, patron of the artists of the Renaissance. "A rock revolution", promise the showrunners, to discover discreetly on Altice.

This time, the Anglo-American-Italian fiction, always shot in the Tuscan countryside and its period homes, does not give in to the sensationalist temptation to give the story the accents of crime. No need to invent artificial poisonings like with Dustin Hoffman in season 1. The rivalry between the Medici and the Pazzi is enough to structure his eight episodes. Dark fort. In front of the young lion, played by Daniel Sharman ( Fear The Walking Dead ), Sean Bean ( The Lord of the Rings, Game Of Thrones ) takes the clothes of the conspirator, pragmatic and more rustic, Jacopi de Pazzi and is a captivating antagonist.

"Why this confrontation between bankers of the 15th century speaks to us? Because it is a parable of our time: the young generation challenging the established order, "said Figaro producer Frank Spotnitz ( X-Files, The Master of the High Castle). And to emphasize: "Laurent de Medici is an idealist and wants to use his privileges to remake the world. His leg shows why art and beauty are values ​​to defend. It is a heritage that must constantly be remembered. The approach seduced Sean Bean. The British actor, accustomed to historical fiction, explained to us mid-October why, amazed by the very nice office of the mayor of Florence in which the round table was held. The town is indeed installed in the palace Medici-Riccardi. A building built for Como de Medici.



LE FIGARO - Why did you agree to go back in time in fifteenth-century Italy?
Sean BEAN. - I loved the first season of the Medici, masters of Florence on Como. I really like historical fiction. I discover a lot of elements. Yet in class, history classes bored me royally: only dates, figures, names. But as long as history appeals to imagination and images, it comes to life. Think of Shakespeare's plays: Henry V, Richard III. The Medici brings a piece of history to the viewer. I am also very curious about medieval times and the Renaissance. The bonus was to play in Italy sometimes where our characters evolved. We shot in mansions with period coats of arms.

Who is Jacopo de Pazzi, the adversary of Laurent de Medici, to whom you lend your features?
It's not a bad guy at a discount. Jacopo de Pazzi is a juicy character to embody. He is a lonely, cruel and arrogant man who does not understand at all the fascination that the Medicis have for art. He is only concerned with commerce and finance. This makes him despise and underestimate the Medici.

What surprised you most about your research on the time?
His violence. Jacopo de Pazzi has met a ruthless death, because yes I pass away again! He was hanged and his head was used as a balloon. She got stuck in trees etc.

Why do you like to die so much?
One passes the weapon to the left very often in the historical fictions. In the TV movie Henry VIII where I played the Catholic rebel Robert Aske, I was deceived by the king and nailed to the walls of the castle. In Black death , a feature film with Eddie Redmayne about the ravages of the plague, I was quartered between two horses. I think it's my favorite death!

You made your name in the 90s thanks to the TV adaptation of the Sharpe novels , this British soldier fighting during the Napoleonic wars. Has the way of doing historical series changed a lot?
Thanks to the green screens, one can give the illusion of a crowd of soldiers, of an immense cavalry, to reconstitute castles. With Sharpe , it was much more artisanal. We did not have many extras. They went back and forth on camera to make an illusion! It was very old school.

Will you be in front of your screen for the last season of Game of Thrones ?
Like you, I am in absolute ignorance of what will happen. On the other hand, I took part in a meeting of actors of the series in Belfast. It was hosted by American presenter Conan O'Brien and will be on the DVD of this eighth season.

http://tvmag.lefigaro.fr/programme-tv/sean-bean-les-medicis-amene-un-pan-d-histoire-chez-le-spectateur-_4cb04918-f4bd-11e8-885a-b1fb59570753/

[patch]

Curfew Interview with Sean Bean:The General



 https://tvfeatures.bradfordzone.co.uk/2019/02/07/curfew-interview-with-sean-bean-the-general/



And Curfew Cast interviews,Character Guide and Episode synopsis
https://tvfeatures.bradfordzone.co.uk/2019/02/07/curfew-coming-to-sky-one-on-22-february-at-900pm/

[patch]

Sean Bean: Another baby? Yes. That would be nice

The actor is famous for his tough roles and how many ways he has died on screen, but he shows Andrew Billen his softer side

One rule always applies when interviewing the actor Sean Bean. Journalists may ask him about his latest project — in this case Sky’s new dystopian thriller Curfew in which he plays a terrifying underground car salesman. They may discuss the performances that have won him armies of fans in Sharpe, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. His subtler work, such as his Bafta-winning portrayal of a Catholic priest in the BBC’s Broken, will obviously be a focus. And do ask about his “hobbies”. His tortuous private life, however, is off limits.

Picture my surprise then, when, while waiting for him at the fancifully plush Rosewood Hotel in central London, I am introduced first to Bean’s wife. One doesn’t want to make out Bean,…
 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/times2/sean-bean-another-baby-yes-that-would-be-nice-szq3j8w3p

Nice interview in @thetimes today, 👌🏻 @ashleybeanx
 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuCIU5anqlD/





Sean Bean, 59, reveals he is ready for more children after marrying fifth wife Ashley Moore, 33... as he admits age has helped him reflect on his past mistakes

Sean Bean admits he is open to the prospect of having more children at the age of 59 after finally settling with his fifth wife, former actress Ashley Moore.

The celebrated actor exchanged vows with Moore, who at 33 is 26-years his junior, in 2017 after a five-year relationship that began with 'a chance meeting' in his favourite North London pub.

But he admits four previous marriages, from which he has fathered three daughters, has not dissuaded him from considering a fourth child, and his first with his Moore, as he enters his 60th year.

Weighing up the possibility of more children, he told The Times: ‘Possibly, yes. With Ashley, yeah. That would be nice, that.’

Bean's relationship with his wife began unexpectedly, with the pair making an immediate connection after meeting in Belize Park bar The Cobden Arms, a stones' throw from his former home in the affluent London suburb.

'She was there with friends and I came in with my friend and it was just a chance meeting,' he recalled. 'I used to go in there now and again, but it was the first time she'd ever been in. We kind of hit it off.'

While Moore's 'optimism and vibrancy' has helped change his life, the actor says advancing age has also given him the ability to look back at his previous relationships  with a greater degree of maturity.

'You know, you look back on things and and think, "Maybe I should have done that in a different way. Maybe I wouldn't have done that. I'd do that differently now."

'But then again, you're a lot younger, they're different times and you think, "Would I have done that? Would I really do it any differently?"'
 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6716585/Sean-Bean-59-reveals-ready-children-marrying-fifth-wife-Ashley-Moore-33.html

[patch]

#JosephFiennes #MartinClunes #SeanBean #ShaunEvans feature in the new Radio Times Magazine. Order it worldwide here <<< http://bit.ly/2Sap6vi

https://twitter.com/YourCelebMags/status/1097827339441004544

https://www.yourcelebritymagazines.com/collections/joseph-fiennes/products/uk-radio-times-feb-23-2019-steve-coogan-joseph-fiennes-sean-bean-martin-clunes

[patch]

UK Express Review 10 Feb 2019: SEAN BEAN COVER STORY
Cover and large interview with photos.

https://www.yourcelebritymagazines.com/products/uk-express-review-10-feb-2019-sean-bean-cover-story

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/UK-Express-Review-10-Feb-2019-SEAN-BEAN-COVER-STORY/223388559684?hash=item3402fee944:g:6nUAAOSwcY5cZAUp:rk:7:pf:0

[patch]

Watching Curfew? 📺

Read Free Car Mag's interview with Sean Bean for some juicy behind the scene's gossip.

https://motoreasy.info/Curfew-Interview … #MondayMotivation #Reading #Curfew @CurfewSeries 

https://twitter.com/motoreasy/status/1105120637499179010

https://www.motoreasy.com/magazine/327/MotorEasy-Reading-Curfew-The-Race-Is-On-In-Free-Car-Mag

[patch]

Welcome to my Ned Talk: Sean Bean reflects on his Game of Thrones legacy

He was a good man; the first good man. And though nearly eight years have passed since his death on Game of Thrones, his spirit lives on. Such is the legacy of Sean Bean’s Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell.

As they say in the North, “When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.” Pure-of-heart Ned was the lone wolf cut down so soon in the game of thrones by King Joffrey’s executioner. (Shocking to anyone who hadn’t read George R.R. Martin’s books, at least.) That was all the way back in the penultimate hour of season 1. But his remaining pack — Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright), and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) — ensure his memory survives, even as they prepare for the massive season 8 conclusion to HBO’s fantasy epic.


Bean, 59, was one of the first actors to join the cast of Game of Thrones, alongside Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister); he even appeared in the elusive unaired pilot, shot (and later reworked) before the show officially got picked up. Ahead of winter’s long-awaited arrival in Westeros, the actor looks back on his time as Ned, the character’s lasting impact, and that one game-changing secret about his supposed bastard son.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: About that secret Ned took to his grave, did anyone from the show give you a courtesy call to reveal the truth about Jon Snow’s parents?
 SEAN BEAN: No. Like with everything with Game of Thrones, it was kept very dark and secret. I think that’s the kind of magic and the glory of Game of Thrones — that’s why it’s so stunning and breathtaking when these secrets are revealed.


Did [showrunners] Dan [Weiss] or David [Benioff] tease anything to you about the character ahead of filming?
 Yeah, we met for lunch in Soho, six or seven years ago now, before we started the pilot. We had a really good chat, and I was very thrilled to be asked to play the role. I think it was only myself and Peter cast at the time. I was very thrilled by the whole idea. I didn’t actually know at that time how enormous and massive this series would become. I was just getting my head around the part, as we all were. None of us really could’ve imagined it would be such a big-scale, tantalizing drama. Yeah, that was the beginning of the story for me. And, of course, I knew I wasn’t going to last very long. I accepted that.

During that meeting, were you able to get any teases for that big Jon Snow secret?
 Not really. They said that some things happened, there were quite dramatic twists and turns. They let me know what they were within the first [season]. It was enough just keeping up with these intricate and complex story lines, with all the families and different worlds. Any more information would’ve probably been overload. As you can see, the death and how it’s developed, I think there’s only so much you can take at once. They only reveal what they want you to know, and that’s good, I think. That’s what makes it so exciting to find out.

Why do you think Ned resonates so strongly with people?
 He’s very honorable, he’s very honest, he’s a man of integrity, and he does the dirty work, as he does at the beginning when he chops off the guy’s head. But he’s a man who’s very fair-minded, and he’ll stick to his principles through thick and thin, regardless of who he’s up against. With him going to King’s Landing and getting involved with such backstabbers, it’s something he wasn’t used to, and certainly not at that level. I think it was quite tragic to see him chipped away by these people until he was really struggling, and he was in very deep. Throughout, he maintained his honor and his integrity, and I think that’s something viewers really took to their hearts. He’s one of the very few good men. He was the first good man in Game of Thrones, and he stayed that way to the bitter end. His sons and daughters have taken those values for themselves, and it’s a much richer show because of that — because of him.

There was the pilot that we all saw, and then there was the original unaired pilotthis link opens in a new tab. What do you remember from filming the original?
 I think there were some very good moments. It was experimental in some ways. I think they were trying to portray what could be achieved: the kind of wonder and awe, the vast scale and complexity, all these war-faring tribes, the magic, the beauty, and the treachery. I think trying to get that into a pilot may have been difficult, and perhaps the story was lost a little. But nevertheless, it gave you a sense of what it could be. We were just going along with what was down there [on the page], but though they didn’t use the pilot in its entirety, they used certain moments, and I think the pilot served its purpose. As I said, it shows you what could be done and certainly what was done thereafter. It was developed, it got bigger and bigger and bigger and more exciting and breathtaking. It was just an idea, I think. It’s impossible to get an idea of the whole season of Game of Thrones into a pilot. We were very pleased with what we’ve done, and we really enjoyed being on it, and we knew there was something special in that early stage.

What were some differences between the original pilot and the one that aired?
 I remember a scene with Bran in the old tree and [his parents are] talking to him about life. He was very young at the time, when Isaac was playing the part. There are some nice scenes with [Williams as Arya]. I quite enjoyed those scenes because there was a lot of horrible backstabbing going on, and I think those scenes stood out because they were very natural and people could identity with them: a father and his children. I also remember the banquet, which was quite interesting. We shot it in Scotland, and it was a banquet with King Robert. All the families were coming together, there was a real feeling of this horrible tension, which represents what we did afterwards.

Coming full circle, what do you remember about filming your last scenes as Ned?
I suppose it was just the general downturn day, the slide into this pit of vipers that he couldn’t really extricate himself from. He was falling in, he was trying to keep his values, his dignity. At the same time, he had no support, but he still carried on. He stayed on for Robert as Hand of the King, and then he was on the throne himself and things got worse and worse. I remember filming that day. The death, that was wonderful because it was so unexpected. I thought it was amazing how they shot it. But I died, and then I had to do some scenes from earlier in the episode, so it wasn’t the end for me. We were in Malta; it was very hot. It was very colorful. Everyone was there, and with things like that there’s a sort of gallows humor to it. It’s awful what’s happening, and you start giggling and laughing. When the head fell off, there were mistakes. It didn’t quite work out sometimes. It was quite comic. So it breaks the ice a bit.

https://ew.com/tv/2019/03/14/game-of-thrones-sean-bean-ned-stark-legacy/?utm_term=D0A7BC62-4678-11E9-8BFE-9DB04744363C&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=entertainmentweekly_ew&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link

[patch]

Five minutes with Ned Stark: His 'Game of Thrones' predictions and whether he'll return
Fans are hopeful the former Lord of Winterfell could return — dead or alive — for the final season. What does Sean Bean have to say about that?

"Game of Thrones" fans are hopeful Ned Stark might return — dead or alive — for the final season, even though the former Lord of Winterfell was executed in an epic beheading on the wildly popular show almost eight years ago.

Eddard Stark, as the character was formally known, was the first of many major figures to die in shocking ways on the show, but his legacy cast its shadow on subsequent seasons.

As the series approaches its conclusion (the final season premieres on HBO on April 14), new theories have emerged about the ending, and interest in Stark has grown. Since the start of 2019, and particularly in the last month, Google search traffic around the character has spiked. One of the top searches since November: "Does Ned Stark Die."

The character was played by Sean Bean, who in a brief interview with NBC News admitted he may be one of the few who hasn't binge-watched the entire series ahead of the final season. In fact, he hasn't had much time to catch up at all. Though it's hard to believe, Bean has had a life outside "Game of Thrones" in the several seasons since his execution, taking on new roles that require travel.

Still, when he can, Bean says he tunes in at home, and is excited for the final season. In a relaxed interview, he talked about his predictions, whom he wants to see on the Iron Throne, and whether Ned Stark will return to Westeros.

Are you looking forward to the final season? How are you planning to watch?

Flying to New York, going to see the first two episodes, I think, over there. On a big screen, I think.

The way everyone would want to watch it.

Yeah! Otherwise, have just been watching it at home on my TV.

Have you been watching every episode as they’ve come out since Ned died?

No, I’ve kind of caught up when I can. I’ve been traveling around working quite a lot around the world. So, I’ve not really been tuning in. I’ve caught up a little bit. Interested to see what happens.

You didn't binge-watch the whole series the way others did ahead of the last season?

Not too much of last season, so I’m going to have to catch up before I get to New York. But you know, just dipping in here and there, it’s difficult to follow because of traveling around.

For the upcoming season, do you have any guesses for who you think might be the first to die?

Maybe Cersei, but I think if she does die it will be in the last episode. She might be the last to die. The first, maybe, I’ve got no idea actually. I suppose, I guess, they can just kill anybody they want now. Maybe they all die!

And if they all died…

It’s going to be a massacre.

What do you think would be a more likely potential scenario? Jaime killing Cersei or Cersei killing Jaime?

Probably Cersei killing him or maybe Bran Stark — but he’s a bit friendly with the Lannisters now, isn’t he? I don't know, but maybe he could just lose his mind and kill all the Lannisters. That’d be good.

Speaking of death, of the episodes that you’ve watched, whose has been the most satisfying death so far?

Me. Mine.

Yours??

Well, OK, it’s not really the most satisfying … yeah, no, I didn’t really enjoy mine. Well, parts of it, it was very quick. I can’t remember very much of it. It’s a good way to die: in one chop.

Who would you want to see on the Iron Throne at the end of the series?

Sansa would be good, because she’s my daughter. Either her or Arya.

There are a lot of fan theories about Ned potentially returning in some form for the final season, maybe as a white walker? Will we see him?

Who, Ned?

Yeah!

They’d be shedding a bit of money on bringing me back. ... I’m not aware of that at the moment. But I mean, maybe.

Are you excited for summer once the series ends?


Am I excited for summer? Yes. Summer is coming.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
 

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/five-minutes-ned-stark-his-game-thrones-predictions-whether-he-n989556

[patch]

Sean Bean Is Really Meaning to Catch Up on Game of Thrones

Ned Stark was not the first person to die on Game of Thrones. (That was Ser Waymar Royce, who got killed by a White Walker.) And he was not the first major character to die on Game of Thrones. (That was Viserys Targaryen, who got molten gold poured all over him by his own brother-in-law.) But eight years later, his surprise execution in the show’s ninth episode remains the most iconic death on a series that has seen more than its fair share of early departures. Ned’s passing crystallized something that readers of George R.R. Martin’s novels had long known: This was a grim, unjust world, and nobody was guaranteed to get out of it alive, no matter how beloved they were. But the moment would not have been so effective without the performance of Sean Bean, who brought a gentle humanity to the rough-hewn northern lord that underscored the tragedy of his fate. As Game of Thrones prepares to air its final season, Vulture caught up with Bean from his home in rural Somerset to talk about his favorite memories from his single season on the show, Ned’s legacy, and playing death scenes.

Do you remember how they approached you for the gig?
We met in a little café in Soho in London, me and David Benioff and Dan Weiss. I wasn’t aware of the books and they’d just sent me the treatment for the first pilot. They described what it was all about, the characters and the fact that I wouldn’t probably last for another [season]! [Laughs.] So they were very candid and I appreciated that. They were very excited and very passionate in the way they spoke, and I was very enchanted by the prospect of portraying this great man called Ned Stark.

 Was that kind of character new for you at the time?
I’ve played characters before that were “decent” people, but not genuinely good, you know? There was always a bit of a [dark] side to the characters I played. Like Boromir in The Lord of the Rings. He was a good man, he meant well, but he had this weakness which cost him his life. They’re interesting characters, but Ned was just out-and-out a good man. And I’d never played a character with such a big family.
 
I’m always interested in hearing about the original Game of Thrones pilot, because it’s something the public will probably never see1. Do you have any strong memories of shooting that first version?
We were in Belfast for that and we shot a lot in the studio. We shot in Shane’s Castle2 for my castle [Winterfell], and then we worked in Scotland for the banquet. So we got around a little bit. It seemed a little fractured at the time because we were all trying to find our feet and find out who we were and how we interacted. There were lots of glimmers of potential, and I guess that was the idea, to try and display all these different dynamics in order to finance the show and get support behind it. It was more of a showcase, I think, than anything else. And then we reshot over half of it, we kept bits and changed things around, and it [became] more of a story rather than a montage.

When you say it was a showcase, what do you mean?
They had to introduce so many characters in the pilot that there wasn’t a great deal of time for developing the characters. It was a matter of portraying the different families, different characters, the strange people, and introducing them all. And then I suppose once that’s done, you can explore them a little further over ten episodes. The pilot was just a taste for the people who were making the decision whether or not to take it into a series.

For the second version they recast Catelyn, your wife3.
Yes, they did. We got Michelle Fairley, and I think they recast someone else as well4. Jennifer Ehle had just had a baby, so it was quite difficult for her. I’m assuming that the prospect of being involved for quite a few years may not have worked for her. Or maybe it was something else. I don’t know very much about that.
   
How did you get the news that they were reshooting the pilot?
When we knew it was going to go ahead, we reshot certain scenes with the idea of doing ten episodes in mind. I think we knew it was good. We didn’t expect it to be the phenomenon that it is now. Nobody really knew whether it was going to go ahead or not. And then when we got the nod, we were over the moon because there was so much potential.

Do you have a favorite scene in the first season?
I had a nice scene with Bran where we sat down near the waterside under the old tree. And I like the scene where I said, “Winter is coming,” of course! I never knew that would become such a worldwide phrase.

Why do you think those house words became such a thing?
It epitomizes George R.R. Martin’s writing. It’s not like you’re saying, “It’s going to be getting a bit cold before spring comes back.” It’s very loaded with danger and dread. It’s an omen — it means more than it actually says. It was good to be the one to say it!
 
How did it feel knowing you were only going to last one season?
It was fine. At least I knew where I stood. You can’t really change it when a good author has wrote it that way. You can’t say, “I want to stay on!” But he had a good innings5, the buildup to his death was good, and it was shocking. You can’t really ask for more than that in a character. And they decided to go with my northern accent, and that set the tone for the rest of the people that followed. They all had to learn to talk like me!
 
You read the first book, but none of the others. Was that a conscious choice, or did it just happen?
I didn’t want to get too involved in the books, so I kind of read the first one, not in any great depth. It was just to get a flavor, really. I didn’t want to get too attached to how Ned was portrayed and what the story was about, because I knew it was probably going to change. And I wanted to bring some of my ideas to the part.

What sort of ideas were those?
There’s only so much you can get from a book. If you truly copy it, it’s not going to work because it’s a book first and foremost, it’s not drama. I brought parts of me and my father, and parts of people who are father figures. I tried to bring an honesty and a sympathy to Ned. He didn’t know everything, he was vulnerable at times, and he didn’t try to hide it that much. I just wanted to bring a person who had frailties and vulnerabilities, who was strong and courageous and honorable, but he also had these faults. I wanted to get them over at the same time, so that the combination of all those emotions would make for a full-rounded and interesting man.
 
If you don’t mind me asking, which parts of Ned came from your own father?
My father, I always remember him as a very fair man with humor. Kind of quiet, really. But we respected him very much and we loved him very much, of course. He had a quiet authority. He was a mild-mannered man and a kind man, and I suppose those things rub off in your everyday life. I looked up to my dad.

Ned Stark has a culture shock when he comes from the North to King’s Landing. I was wondering if you ever experienced anything similar coming from Sheffield.
My background was very industrial — steel factories and coal mines and heavy industry. Coming down to London was quite a shock. It was so fast and kind of alien to me. I was going to RADA7 for drama school, and at one point I was thinking about going on the train back home! I didn’t know if I would be able to adapt. I missed my friends and my family, but I stuck it out. It was probably the biggest chance I’d ever had in my life, and I really wanted to do what I said I was going to do.
 
Going to Hollywood was very different. I guess there were some comparisons [to what Ned went through] in terms of a lot of shit with producers! I mean, it’s a typical thing of doing the rounds and getting told, “This could happen and that could happen, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that.” And then nothing happens at all! There’s a lot of two-faced people and very shallow people in L.A. I’m not particularly fond of the place, but it’s been good to me in the sense that I’ve been offered work there and I’ve enjoyed it. But it’s certainly not somewhere I would feel comfortable living for any long period of time. You have to take everyone with a pinch of salt because everyone’s in it. They’re all very ambitious people, that’s why they go there, and I understand that. But at first, I didn’t understand that, and I couldn’t understand why people promised things and then they broke their word. I guess you could say that’s similar to Ned, somewhat.

At least no one has chopped your head off in Hollywood yet.
No! But you’re swirling around, trying to figure out what’s what and who’s who. It’s pretty cutthroat. I just don’t take it too literally, you know? I was quite young when I went over there for the first time and I was quite excited about the prospect of getting a job, and it didn’t really work out. I had to come back and do some more work in the U.K. and in Europe before I could go back with any weight behind me. But I’m okay now. They’re aware of me.

You’ve been off Game of Thrones for eight years now. Has the type of part you’ve been offered changed?
I was offered lots of parts on horses. Hairy men on horses with fur capes and swords and beards! [Laughs.] I’m very proud to have been Ned Stark, and it certainly helped us all with other work. We were given a showcase, and we took the opportunity to show what we could do.
 
What do you think has made the show as big as it is?
I mean, the sheer balls of the thing. It takes no prisoners. It touches upon all those very deep emotions — anger and jealousy and love and hate. People can see themselves in it. The characters might seem out of this world, but they’re very much like all of us. And anything can happen. When you can kill the main character in the first series, everybody’s in danger! It’s pure fantasy, but rooted in issues with power — the power of the throne, the power of the families, and the lengths that they would go to to achieve this ultimate power, which is quite a curious thing.

The only thing I can liken it to is The Lord of the Rings, which you were also a part of. I’m curious how the experiences compare.
On Lord of the Rings, we were all on this island in New Zealand and we didn’t really know just how big that would become. It’s just as well you don’t know what’s going to happen. If you think you’re going to be part of something phenomenal, it usually turns into a bit of an anticlimax. If we’d known, there might have been a tension or a nervousness, so I’m glad we didn’t and it developed into something enormous. But you always know when you’re doing something good. That there’s a good company behind it, a good director and producers, and you’re aware that it’s quality material. That’s very reassuring and it gives you a boost.

Both of them you left pretty early. What was it like looking at those experiences as they continued, from afar?
I don’t mind! I just did my bit and then I had to go! [Laughs.] I don’t get to argue about that, right? And the talk about, “Will this happen? Will that happen?” I guess because the [show has passed the books], people can speculate, whereas when the books were around, we did all of the books and it had to be that way. But now that there’s this quite exciting element, who knows what’s going to happen? It’s fascinating.
 
Do you get caught up in that guessing game too?
A little. I’m just like everyone else. I think that HBO and Dan and David and everyone, they know that and they love that. They love the secrecy of it.

and everyone, they know that and they love that. They love the secrecy of it.
 
Do you get any inside information, or are you out in the cold with everyone else?
I’m in the cold. I don’t get any updates, no information at all! That’s good, because I want to enjoy it like everybody else.

Did you know Jon Snow’s true parentage?
No, I didn’t. I thought he was my son.

When did you find out he wasn’t?
When it came out.

Really?
I found out like everybody else did, yeah. Nobody told me.

I feel like you hinted about the truth8 in some interviews.
There was always some small doubts or suspicions, but I wasn’t going to say that. But, you know, I knew more than other people.

I’ve heard you don’t watch every episode of the show, but you sort of keep up with it. Is that true?
I go in and out, yeah. With working and traveling and stuff like that, it’s difficult to keep in touch. But I’ve meant to just sit down and watch them all over one weekend. I like to binge-watch, especially for something like this.

you watch episodes without watching the ones in between, is it hard to keep up with the gaps?
Yeah. But I can switch it on and watch it for a while and then I think, Oh, I have to switch it off, I don’t want to spoil it!

Since you died at the end of season one, a lot of the actors who played Starks have had their own death scenes. Did anyone ever come to you for advice?
No. I think everyone likes to do it their own way, you know? And I wouldn’t ask anyone, “How did he die in that scene?” It’s very personal and only you should really know what you’re going to do. Dying is a very personal thing. You have to learn how to emulate that for yourself. It’s quite a weird thing. It’s just something you’ve got to do. I don’t particularly enjoy it.

I’m sorry you’ve had to do it so many times.
Oh yeah! But now I’m doing it less. I get to survive a little bit more now.
 
When you watch the show, do you find yourself rooting for the Starks, or do you try to stay neutral?
Definitely the Starks. They’re my family!
 
How do you think Ned would feel about the way all his kids ended up?
He’d have mixed feelings about what happens and whether he’d have done things in different ways, but he’d probably think, Well, that’s the way it had to be. I don’t think he would say, “You should have done this, you should have done that.” I think he’d look on and say, “They have to make their own way.” He probably feels he should have done more.

you have a favorite character on the show?
I quite like, I want to call him the bald-headed …

Varys?
Varys, yes. I just think he’s interesting. As a character, he’s very full-throttle, you know? [Conleth Hill] has made a lot out of that character, and he’s really gone for it. I think he’s quite unique9 in the show.
 
If you could bring any character back to life, who would it be?
Me. [Laughs.] No, maybe King Robert. I’d bring him back. He had his head screwed on proper.

Do you think he was a good king?
Well, not really.

But he was better than what came after.
Yeah! He was entertaining.

I remember playing as you in the Goldeneye video game. Now there are Boromir and Ned Stark toys out there. Does a person ever get used to that kind of thing?
Kind of, yeah! I’ve got quite a few of them at home. You have to have a look at them because it’s in your likeness, and usually they get it, but you have to go, “That’s okay” or “That’s not okay.” They send your little head through the post and you look at it and say, “Yeah, that’s fine!”

Have you ever sent one back?
You can, but I’ve never made any changes. They’ve always gotten me pretty good.

I heard a rumor you used to get Rowan Atkinson’s mail. Is that true?
Once or twice, yeah. It just said “Mr. Bean, London,” and I think they just thought it was me. There was a photograph of Rowan Atkinson for him to sign, and I sent it back saying “Sean Bean!”

https://www.vulture.com/2019/04/game-of-thrones-sean-bean-interview.html?utm_source=nym&utm_medium=f1&utm_campaign=feed-full

[lasue]

That's FUNNY !!! I wonder what they thought when they saw SEAN'S name on the picture of Mr. Bean ???

[patch]

Sean Bean: ‘Turning 60 was a relief. It’s all right really’
The actor talks to Robert Crampton about the advantages of ageing

Sean Bean is in London for the premiere of World on Fire, a big-budget BBC drama that he stars in this autumn. He’s staying at the Soho Hotel, where we meet, in the modest room that he’s occupying for a couple of days before heading home to Somerset. After more than 30 years in London, arriving from his native Sheffield to attend Rada in 1981, Bean quit the capital five years ago. Now 60, he doesn’t miss life in the big city. He is, he admits, a committed homebody.

“We live in the heart of the countryside,” he explains in his mellow south Yorkshire tones. “We don’t have any neighbours and I quite like that. That’s why I got out of London; the neighbours in…
 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sean-bean-turning-60-was-a-relief-its-all-right-really-cb26zvcmf

[bratty1973]

:( need to subscribe for whole interview. Hope it gets posted somewhere.

[patch]

:( need to subscribe for whole interview. Hope it gets posted somewhere.

I'm sure it will 

Sean Bean has been married five times. He must be a bloody nightmare 

https://twitter.com/mummyinthecity/status/1172874099477139457

[bratty1973]

Thank you Patch  <3