Did someone inspire your performance?

CH: Conor McGregor [UFC fighter] was someone I drew a lot of inspiration from and what he has said about knowing what you’re capable of, how when you’re in the ring, you are really just fighting yourself.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is not the Knights of the Round Table tale that many are familiar with. How did you start to become Arthur?

CH: We’re only telling the first chapter of the story. I love that Guy’s instinct would be a more ignoble version. He says, “We’ve seen the story of the nobleman who goes on the noble quest to become the noble king.” This is the story of a reluctant hero, but where did that reluctance come from? 

Where does one even begin to tackle something this huge?

GR: Usually, there’s an overriding sense of fear that it’s not going to happen. But, the kind of fear that galvanizes activity is the kind of fear that I can live with.

What was the biggest challenge of immersing yourself in this medieval world?

CH: It was a really fine needle that we were threading—taking the world seriously, giving it the respect that it is due and also throwing that all out the window and tackling it with an appropriate level of irrelevance and originality.

GR: I was unfamiliar with this genre and a budget this size. The task is to find the tonality. You have to, as a director, steer the head of the tiger.

Will you ever return to TV?

CH: I never say never. I love the rhythm of TV. But, I’m incredibly grateful with how things are going now. I love doing a diverse range of films. I’ve been developing a few ideas and I have three projects set up at three studios. I have some, long way down the line, desire to direct a film.

Could we see more of King Arthur in the future?

GR: Yes. It is such a rich stew. We have plenty more stew out there [laughs].

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