Laurence O’Fuarian takes the reins in The Witcher: Blood Origin, the hit franchise’s new prequel installment.

Laurence O’Fuarain is an actor that has been primed to lead a fantasy show. Still early in his career his credits include Game of Thrones, Into the Badlands, and Vikings among other popular films and television shows. The Irishman is known for portraying brooding characters that require a commitment to physical transformation. His stint as Fjall, the lead role in Netflix’s newest installment of the World of The Witcher franchise, is no different. O’Fuarain steps into the space fans will associate with Henry Cavill’s Geralt with ease, a burden he says was “a badge of honour.”

Netflix’s recently released limited series The Witcher: Blood Origin serves as a prequel to the original flagship show. Across four episodes it gives both those who already love the fantasy world and the purely curious a look into past events that directly lead to the adventures of Geralt and company, both politically and personally, following what is known in the lore as the “conjunction of the spheres” and answering the question of how exactly Witchers came to be. Since the highly anticipated Christmas drop the show reached the top three on the streaming platform rivaling that of the original’s sophomore season that came out last year. 

1883’s Sydney Bolen chats with Laurence O’Faurain about the landing The Witcher role, portraying fantasy characters, his New Year’s resolutions, and more.

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Congrats on The Witcher: Blood Origin. I love The Witcher and I really enjoyed it. I’m sure you’re excited for everyone to see it.

Yeah, I am. I flew my parents over for the premiere. We all watched that together. It was incredible. I’m really excited. I haven’t seen the last two episodes. Netflix sent me a link to watch, but I decided I didn’t want to yet. I’m going to wait so that I can watch it at the same time as everybody else. On Christmas day I’ll do it all over again.

Prior to getting the part, how much did you know about the franchise? 

I knew a lot about it. I’m a massive fan of the game. I play that alot. I actually have friends who voiced a couple characters in the game.

That’s cool.

Yeah. What I knew was mainly from the game. Obviously, when the marquee series came out I watched that too. Funnily enough, I actually auditioned for Geralt.

Really?

Yeah. I was up for that. But when I googled it, straightaway, I saw: “Henry Cavill wants to play Geralt in The Witcher series.” So, I thought, I’m probably not going to get that part.

You found a way to be part of it eventually.

The gods were smiling on me, I suppose. I am a massive fan. I love the lore. I think it’s an incredible world and to be a part of it and play the part that I play within the series is a badge of honour.

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Let’s talk about Fjall.  I don’t want to give too much of his arc away so who is he to you?

I’ve lived with him for two years. I still haven’t really let him go. When the series comes on Christmas Day I think I’ll be able to do that. But, to me, Fjallis a man stuck within a job and position that he hates. He’s unhappy. He’s carrying a scar around and has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He can’t really forgive himself for a dramatic scene that happened in his past with his brother. He puts on hard fronts. He’s quick, harsh, and brash. He’s a bit of a brute but he has a heart in there. He’s loyal and he cares. He understands that what he’s doing is wrong. The monarchy he protects is really hurting the people. He knows he is complicit in that because that’s his position. I think any soldier struggles when they get orders that go against what they personally believe. Anyone would wrestle a little bit with the morality of it all. He’s just a product of the system. When he does get banished, he’s out in the world on his own and he’s never really been out in the world on his own. He’s always had his clan with him or the army. For the first time, he has to fend for himself. He has a little bit of a self-destructive tendency. I think if it wasn’t for meeting Élie, he’d be getting all sorts of trouble. He’s every man, really, or I guess, “every elf.”

What did you find most intriguing about the role when you first read the script?

I think the fight sequences are great. I had to really focus on the physicality because I knew what it meant to the fans. Obviously, Henry [Cavill] is the face of the flagship show and he’s a certain size and shape. I had an idea in my head of how Fjall looked. He’s an ultimate warrior. I took that really, really seriously. At first I was training outdoors with my boxing coach because we weren’t allowed inside due to lock down. But eventually, I called Netflix and I said, “Look, I need to get in shape. I need a gym.” They said, “we have one on set, but the show doesn’t start for another six weeks.” I just asked, “can you find me over just a little bit earlier? Just give me somewhere to stay and just give me keys to the gym.” And that’s what I did. I went over and trained on my own. I  just cycled to the gym every day, trained, ate, read the scripts, played the games, lived The Witcher life. That was my life for basically the whole series. I remember we were in Iceland and they gave me a weight bench in my bedroom. So that I could go home and work out in the room because there were no gyms on the location. It was a lot of training. Before we started filming there was a bootcamp as well. It was horseback riding lessons and hand to hand combat. I had to learn to fight with that massive ax which was a lot of fun. Everything about it was just incredible. I’d do it all over again.

I’m a big fan of the show runner. I love hearing people talk about how fun the shows are to be on. If you could give Fjall one piece of advice, what would it be?

Breathe.

I get that one a lot.

Yeah?

People like to tell their characters to breathe. Everyone I talk to seems to play stressed on characters.

[laughs] Take better breaths. Just relax. Take a breath.

You mentioned filming in Iceland. Did you have any time to be a tourist while you were there?

Yeah. When Sophia and I got there we had to quarantine for a week at the Hilton Hotel. They let us out for a walk for an hour everyday. We would just walk around Reykjavik. It’s nice and simple, but people really rant and rave about Iceland, so we were thinking, “Okay, right. There has to be a little bit more to see.” When we started filming and going into the middle of Iceland and out west and seeing the glaciers and the black mountain dunes and the black beaches it became one of the most incredible places I think I’ve ever seen in my life. I recommend everybody go at least once in their life because it’s really a spectacle to see. It was so easy to dip into that “Witcher” world because it felt like we really were there.

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Is there any specific moment or episode that you’re excited for people to see?

There’s quite a few. Without giving too much away. There is an incredible fight sequence with almost everyone involved. We had all the stunt team there that day. We had Michelle Yeoh, myself and Sophia [Brown]. Literally, blood, sweat and tears went into the making of that fight sequence. That’s just one of the many highlights of the show. 

They packed a lot into the four episodes, for sure. While you may be new to the world of The Witcher, you have taken on many other historical and fantasy roles.  What about this genre of character do you find most challenging?

It’s always tough to find a character’s head space and really dig in deep. It’s part of the process, but sometimes I find it challenging to go as deep as I can with fantasy roles. I think another challenge would be letting it go. That’s a bit of a tough one as well. So Sometimes when it all clicks and you find them it’s very hard to put it down. Putting stuff to bed is tough sometimes.

Next on the docket, you have the horror/thriller Do Not End. What can you share about the project and your character?

We shot that in Sofia, Bulgaria at New Boyana studios. It was just incredible. We had a great cast. It’s a young cast so we all became  really good friends. My characters name is Frank Balenger. Like Fjall, he’s carrying a bit of a scar or a weight on his shoulders. But unlike Fjall he is a regular enough guy who is just trying to fix something that is in error Now again, I can’t give too much away on that as well, but he’s a guy carrying a bit of a secret. So we’ll have to wait and see what that is.

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As 2023 approaches, do you have any resolutions or goals for the new year?

I want to get a driver’s license. I want to try to sort that out this year. I’ve been putting it off for a long time. I know it’s not the most fantastic answer you’ve ever heard.

No. It’s a very real and achievable goal. Finally, to bring everything back to The Witcher: Blood Origin, if you could use a portal to go anywhere real or fictional, where would you go?

Can I come back? 

Yes. But you only can use it once. 

It’s impossible. I’d love to go and see the dinosaurs and see what’s going on there. But I’d be afraid to get eaten, so probably not that. My next one would probably be the pyramids. I’d love to see how they were built or maybe when they were built so I could see what they looked like when they were in their prime.

The Witcher: Blood Origin is out now on Netflix.

Interview Sydney Bolen

Photography Cedric Terrell 

Talent Laurence O’Fuarain

Grooming Charlie Cullen

Styling Gareth Scourfield at One Represents

Top image credits

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