‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ cast on Netflix prequel: “An absolute gift”

The Witcher: Blood Origin will transport fans of Andrzej Sapkowski’s iconic fantasy books into a whole new world, or, at least, into a new era of The Continent before Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) roamed the lands slaying monsters for coin.

In the prequel, which lands on Netflix on Christmas Day, the audience will be introduced to several new heroes, seven to be exact, who are on a mission to save their elven world. Their quest will mark the creation of the first Witcher, while the series will also show how the Conjunction of the Spheres came to pass.

Sophia Brown and Laurence O’Fuarain told Newsweek what it was like to portray Éile and Fjall, the leaders of the group, and how they felt about creating a new chapter in The Witcher franchise.

‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ Stars Sophia Brown and Laurence O’Fuarain on Netflix Prequel

Blood Origin is set 1,200 years before The Witcher but the world is not so dissimilar to what fans of the franchise know, it is full of love and betrayal, and war and magic with characters like Lenny Henry’s Chief Sage Balor focused on using the latter for nefarious means.

Éile and Fjall are elven warriors from opposing clans, and they’re brought together by unexpected circumstances after becoming estranged from their respective groups. Fjall is outcast for his connection to Princess Merwyn (Mirren Mack), while Éile is determined to carve her own path.

O’Fuarain describes himself as a “massive fan” of The Witcher franchise and games which meant that, for him, it was a joy to be part of the team creating a new world for other fans of the franchise.

“It was an absolute gift and an honor to be able to fill those shoes and pick up Fjall’s ax,” O’Fuarain said. “It’s really gives an explanation about how the Witchers were created.

“Even though it was quite physical a transformation, and sequences were really, really tough, and really taxing on the body, it was just good for me. I still can’t believe that I got the opportunity to that, it’s something I will take to the grave.”

Brown shared that she didn’t “really know what to make of” being in a franchise as big as The Witcher yet because it doesn’t yet feel like a story that is outside of their own bubble.

“It very much feels like a world we created, that somehow people seem to know,” Brown said. “So, until it comes out, at the minute it [just] feels like this world we’ve created, and, in terms of being part of The Witcher family, I feel honored, privileged and excited for it to come out.

“And when it comes out, I’ll be excited for people to know [and] to be introduced to the elven continent, and meet the characters that we have so lovingly created.”

On Éile and Fjall’s Unlikely Bond

Éile and Fjall don’t like each other at first because of the way in which their clans have fought for generations, but through the hardships they face in the four-part limited series, they begin to kindle newfound respect and admiration for each other.

Looking back at filming, Brown said: “We had to make sure that, physically, we were prepared and ready to be fighting as elite warriors, and so the time that we needed to be able to do that allowed us to get to know each other, get to work very closely with each other, and really build a bond to be able to support each other as people, as actors, as friends.

“And, so, by the time we really were able to put on Éile’s cloak on and Fjall’s coat and have the years on, we really took our time in getting dressed in that way and so we were really ready to then just fall off and fall into it with each other.”

She went on: “So it took heavy consideration and time to really handpick how to make the relationship, and I don’t think we were consciously doing it at the time but it just kind of came to be.

“And, then, by the time we were in that world it was amazing for both of us to kind of realize that we were there and ready, and then it was just off on the journey.”

Filming for the Netflix show was interesting because they shot scenes out of order, meaning that O’Fuarain, Brown, and their cast members had to keep track of exactly what point their character was in emotionally and physically.

“It was an awful lot of moving parts,” O’Fuarain reflected. “And I think it was really ambitious, as a team we were really ambitious and we wanted to do the best job we really could and pack as much as we could.

“But, again, that meant the world felt very heavy, we were still up for it but it was making sure that we tackled properly. So, yeah, the energy dipped from time to time, but I think, overall, we got through it as best we could and we just had a blast.

“I mean, everybody on the set really was a fan of the show, and a fan of what they were doing and wanted to be there for everyone, so that really filtered into the doing of it, the making of it.”

On Fight Scenes with Michelle Yeoh

The pair also had the chance to act alongside Michelle Yeoh, who portrays sword master Scían, which proved a wonderful experience for the actors and O’Fuarain shared that he “hope[s] to do it again.”

“Michelle is just a superstar, in every sense of the word,” O’Fuarain said. “She really came to set every single day bubbly, ready to do it, loved what she did and had time for everybody and everybody loved her.

“She really set the tone for the rest of the show because she’s a boss, once she set a tone people listened, not that there was a bad energy anyway but it was more that she just brought a positive energy to set every single day.”

Brown added: “It was also nice going into it, the bar that was expected because to have someone so skilled as Michelle Yeoh you already know, ‘okay, I have to meet this level’ and so there was something to work towards.

“I think she just guided us and grew with us, and also helped us grow at the same time. It’s beautiful to work with her.”

The Witcher: Blood Origin premieres on Sunday, December 25 on Netflix.