Colin Morgan
Colin Morgan
Colin Morganis a Northern Irish film, television, theatre and radio actor best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series Merlin, the lead in The Living and the Dead, and main roles in Humans and The Fall; his stage role as Ariel in The Tempest; and film roles in Testament of Youth, Legend and The Huntsman: Winter's War...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth1 January 1986
CityArmagh, Northern Ireland
CountryIreland
Nowadays, kids know how a programme like Merlin is made and how it works. But the show just seems to grow in popularity the more it goes on.
As an actor, you need to be versatile. You need to challenge yourself.
The fantasy genre is so in at the moment. Viewers want to escape from their lives and watch something that is so separate from their everyday existence. People have always wanted to escape their lives - that's why they go to movies and the theatre.
Merlin was five years of my life. I enjoyed every year, every day. I had a brilliant time on it. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I wanted to do more.
Because it was one of my favorites from the Arthurian legend, one of the things that I really enjoyed doing was the legend of the crystal cave. In my head, it was fun to imagine what it was going to look like because there was a lot of CGI involved, in seeing visions of the future reflected within crystals.
Any Arthurian enthusiast who has watched 'Merlin' has probably concluded that it's not accurate whatsoever - but, it's not meant to be. It's not meant to be a true telling. It's in a fantasy setting, it's really concentrating on the fantasy element.
When I think of Camelot, I think of the castle in France where we film, but I think it's wrong to lock it down to one place because it's all part of our imagination. They are legends for a reason. Their stories have endured for hundreds of years and, hopefully, they will for hundreds of years to come.
For me, one of my favorites, director-wise, is Tim Burton. I also really admire the work of actors like Sean Penn. He is probably my favorite actor because of his dedication and commitment to roles, and the ability to morph and change himself when he needs to. It's about dedication and commitment and a passion.
It's weird to be recognised anywhere. The cost of living your dream, acting, is being recognised.
I'm just happy to be doing what I always wanted to do. Sometimes you have to remind yourself how privileged you are.
My sights have always been on acting, on the creative process, never the lifestyle. Growing up in Northern Ireland when I did, everything was against you if you wanted to do something like that. But I was determined.
There's no social media or Googling yourself. You only have to do it once to learn never to do it again.
I cannot wait to come back to Glasgow. I know the place like the back of my hand. In fact, one of the jobs I had as a student was in Cineworld. And I was always at gigs in King Tut's, Nice 'n' Sleazy's and the Barras. I played Ultimate Frisbee down on Glasgow Green and pulled pints in O'Neill's on Queen Street.