Will
Moseley:
Caught Between Worlds
by Lynn Barker
 With
Narnia: Prince Caspian out now on DVD and Blu-Ray, we wanted
to catch up with the Narnia films' hot male lead William Moseley.
At the posh Renaissance Hotel in the Hollywood/Highland complex on Hollywood
Blvd., we sat down with 21-year-old Will Moseley who played Peter Pevensie
in both Narnia films. "Caspian" saw Peter become Narnia's
High King and aid Prince Caspian in reclaiming his throne. The Peter character
isn't in the next book/film Voyage of the Dawn Treader so we
wanted to know what the cute young actor is up to now and what his next
project is as well as what cool stuff is on the DVD!
We must say
that Will looks all grown up, very classy and dapper and, wow, those big
blue eyes! Let's dish....
AGW: We know
that you have a lot of fans from the Narnia films but are you
plagued by fame and chased by paparazzi yet?
Will: No.
I don't have any fame (he laughs). We're right here in Hollywood and if
I walked outside with you (on Hollywood Blvd.) right now we'd be fine
and could go anywhere and no one would recognize me. Even in Hollywood
where everybody's got their cameras out waiting for someone They would
see me walking and then see (someone dressed as) Spider-Man and run up
to him! (we laugh). I'm really lucky that I can just go out and have a
drink with some friends and it's fine. I live a very normal life being
a 21-year-old, seeing my friends, going out, having a laugh but it's not
like people are waiting outside my house camping or there's paparazzi
chasing me down the street. It's fairly normal. I have these fans and
I feel indebted to them. Without them, I wouldn't be here now.
AGW: There
is no Peter in "Dawn Treader". Are you happy with being in just
the two movies?
Will: I am
happy. I think, especially, with a franchise film, you have to be careful
because you don't want to be repeating yourself. You want to get the most
out of a character as possible. I was lucky. I had four and a half or
five hours to bring out Peter. I think (if it were) seven and a half hours,
I might be bringing out a side of Peter that people had seen before. I
feel lucky that I've had these two films and an incredible amount of success
and love around the world in truthful and good films. Now I can go on
and do something else.
AGW: And that
would be what?
Will: I'm
actually doing a Shakespeare class in London right now which I'm absolutely
loving. I'm also doing a photography course. I have a film going on in
the Spring next year which is called Ironclad and it's about
the Magna Carta. It's got some really interesting actors involved, Richard
Attenborough, Paul Giamatti, Robert Carlisle, Bob Hoskins. It should be
a lot of fun.
AGW: When
did you realize you had a talent for acting?
Will: I realized
it was what I wanted to do when I was about ten years old. I knew this
was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It seemed right. I auditioned
for this very local story, a BBC adaptation and I didn't get it but I
got down to the last few and loved it; bouncing off the energies of other
kids. Then, five years later, the same casting director came back casting
for "Narnia" and I ended up getting the part as Peter. I just
knew at 10 years old.
AGW: But at
21 you don't have to worry about the transition between child and adult
actor, do you?
 Will:
Well, you'd be surprised because I look so young for my age (laughing)
it's like 'where do I go?'. I can't really play a romantic lead yet because
I don't look old enough unless I play one in high school and I'm not really
a high school student either. It's kind of a little bizarre. It's just
finding that right place for me.
AGW: Had you
read the books when you were cast or have you read them since then?
Will: I hadn't
actually read them but I used to listen to the story tapes. The only one
I'm not familiar with now is "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" but
I think I'll be able to see that one at the cinema. I think they're making
a movie (we laugh).
AGW: There
is a lot of adventure but also a moral or spiritual theme in these films.
Can you talk about that?
Will: Definitely.
It's a lot about 'what is the right thing?' At the end of the day, we
have choices in life. We have two doors; the easy door where people aren't
getting hurt and the hard door where people usually end up getting helped.
Peter, in this film, chooses the easy door and people do end up getting
hurt. I think he has to figure out that he needs help. He needs Caspian
and other people and his family. He ends up going the harder route. Spiritually,
there are many interesting things.
AGW: Did playing
Peter effect your own life?
Will: I think
subconsciously, it definitely make a difference. As I was going through
struggles in myself, Peter was going through struggles in his world. I
could automatically relate back to what I was naturally feeling at times.
When I was feeling triumphant, Peter was as well. So there is definitely
an amount of osmosis there. I learned a lot from Peter and I also learned
that you can make mistakes and that's okay. People aren't perfect.
AGW: So playing
Peter changed your life?
Will: In every
sense of the word. I grew up in the countryside in England in a tiny village
with rolling hills and, if somebody had told me at the age of 15, 'in
a few years' time, you'll be in L.A. talking about the DVD of your major
motion picture', I never would have believed it. I would have said 'you're
insane' but I did dream big as a kid and to be here now, looking out at
a beautiful day in Los Angeles is kind of a dream in itself. It was raining
like [heck] in London and I was so glad to get on the plane (laughter)!
I was so excited. I don't feel I've achieved everything I can yet, this
is definitely fulfilling me so far. I still go back to my parents' house
in the countryside so there's really nothing I miss either.
AGW: How hard
is it to work with effects that aren't there on set?
Peter: You
just have to use your imagination. If somebody said to us, 'there is a
mouse in the middle of this table here in front of us' and we had a camera
there and we had to look at that and pretend the mouse was funny and laugh
and they cut to the mouse saying something funny. It's like that. At times
it was weird. I'd be saying a battle speech 'We've got to go off and fight'
and I'd turn to Susan, then Caspian and then turn to a tennis ball waggling
and say my big, profound line and give everything to this tennis ball.
At times it's bizarre.
AGW: I'll
bet! Are you part of the commentary on this DVD?
Will: Yes.
We did all of us in a room watching the film; six of us with Ben and talked
about each scene. It was a really nice sit-down chat.
AGW: Was there
any scene that you did most of the talking about?
Will: (laughs)
Most of the fight scenes. I'm a pretty physical person so I was lucky
that this film is very physical and Andrew (the director) really threw
some incredible scenes in. I got to talk about my horse stunt and my Peter/Miraz
fight, some of the battle scenes. I thought I also represented the stunt
coordinator Allan Poppleton who is a really incredible, interesting guy
who doesn't get as much appreciation.
AGW: Is there
anything cut from the film that is back now on the DVD?
Will: Totally.
There was scene I shot, the Arbiter scene which is one of the last scenes.
I really liked it. I got to see it today for the first time. It was good
to see that work back in.
AGW: Are there
any funny bloopers on the DVD?
Will: They
play music on set sometimes. They were playing Saturday Night Fever
and Skandar and I were dancing to it and I did not think the camera
was rolling and we were busting a move and, suddenly on the DVD bloopers,
every single shot is cut back to us dancing. I was like 'are you crazy?'
I'm not a good dancer. Not very cool.
AGW: What
do you do when you're not working or studying?
Will: I moved
to London and I'm taking a photography course and to know how cameras
properly work is fascinating. I was thinking about university but it's
not really like me. My sister just took a break year and traveled the
whole of South America to find out what she was all about. For me, I'd
done the traveling and in New Zealand working. I'm doing some Shakespeare.
I love English literature and drama.
AGW: Do you
want to direct or be some kind of behind-the-camera filmmaker some day?
Will: I would
love to. That's my dream to be a director. I really look at a film from
a director's standpoint. Acting is a lot of fun but the director side
is really inspiring; people like David Lean and Stanley Kubrick, Anthony
Minghella. People like that blow my mind how they were able to create
these beautiful films. I'll start with the still camera to the movie camera.
AGW: How do
you get along with the other actors in the Narnia films?
Will: We get
on really well. I think that's one of the reasons we were cast as a family
because of the friendship we have together and how we treat each other.
I've kept up with Skandar (Keynes) and Anna (Popplewell) because they
both live in London and Georgie. I saw her a month ago. England's a small
country so we really can travel up somewhere, stay for a night and see
each other.
Photo of Will
Moseley copyright Lynn Barker, 2008
DVD box art
copyright Walt Disney Pictures, 2008
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