Among those Witchers are old friends, rivals, mentors and (possibly) opponents \u2013 and ahead of the new season\u2019s debut we caught up with two of the new Witcher recruits, aka season two stars Paul Bullion and Yasen Atour, aka Lambert and Coen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re coming as new Witchers, and we have our own characteristics,\u201d Atour told RadioTimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThank God for Henry, because he managed to kind of take us under his wing, in a way. We started training early on, and we had a wonderful stunt team that helped us build our characters, and the way they move, and the way they fight.<\/p> \u201cBut it was really Henry. I remember being on the set with Henry, and asking him hundreds of questions. You know, Henry\u2019s a geek in that way, in that respect, because he knows everything, man. It\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLambert is a fellow Witcher of the central character, Geralt, and he trained at the same Witcher schools,\u201d Bullion said. \u201cSo he\u2019s had all the same kind of experience and training as Geralt. He\u2019s a fellow monster hunter, and he travels around, collecting coin, in exchange for killing monsters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCoen is the Witcher who\u2019s not like the rest of them, because he\u2019s had a tough time trying to go through the mutation process,\u201d Atour added. \u201cAs a result, he\u2019s suffered physically, as you\u2019ll be able to see from the show, but he gained in a lot more empathy.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a fun guy. He\u2019s a fun character, and a lot of fun to play, actually. Yeah, that\u2019s Coen in a nutshell: very loyal, and doesn\u2019t take himself too seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n While not listed as \u201cmain\u201d characters in the series, Lambert and Coen play a large role, appearing across more episodes than most higher-billed characters (excluding leads Henry Cavill, Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra, of course) alongside other Witchers like older leader Vesemir (Kim Bodnia) and Geralt\u2019s old friend Eskel (Basil Eidenbenz).<\/p>\n And of course, to fans of the Witcher no characters are really small anyway. Lambert and Coen have been familiar to readers of Andrzej Sapkowski\u2019s books and players of the CD Projekt Red videogames for years, and taking them on means living up to those expectations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was probably the first time I\u2019ve played a character that has that kind of history and recognition,\u201d Bullion said. \u201cI think it was even more important, then, just to focus in, and try to distort the noise a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou had to look at the game \u2013 I\u2019m not a crazy gamer, but I had to look at the game, and take what I could from the books,\u201d Atour said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the fans, they were the biggest help for me. That was the biggest resource of information. There\u2019s a plethora of information there, from fans. You take what you think will work, and you try it out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn [first Witcher novel] Blood of Elves, it\u2019s quite clear what Lambert\u2019s like, and that informed a lot of my decisions,\u201d Bullion added.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then I dabbled in the games. It\u2019s a brilliant game, especially The Witcher 3. Great for learning, especially the lore surrounding the different beasts and monsters. But I\u2019ve also said before that I\u2019m here to do an interpretation of the character, not an impersonation.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, there was another impersonation Bullion, Atour and the other new Witchers had to factor in \u2013 that of Henry Cavill\u2019s performance. Because how much of Geralt was just, well, Geralt, and how much should be taken as the Witcher default?<\/p>\n \u201cIt was tough. Exactly like you said, we\u2019re coming as new Witchers, and we have our own characteristics,\u201d Atour said. \u201cAnd then you watch the OG Witcher, Henry, Geralt, playing this role in a certain way. And you\u2019re like, \u2018Does my voice need to be a certain way? Do I need to move a certain way?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n This individuality also extends to fighting styles \u2013 in their \u201cWitcher school\u201d training, Bullion notes that they all developed variations of the same, broadsword-wielding fighting style \u2013 though given that these action scenes whizz by quickly, more individuality comes from characterisation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not about going in and doing a carbon copy, because, you know, Geralt is Geralt,\u201d Bullion said. \u201cLambert is also a Witcher, and he\u2019s experienced the same training. He\u2019s experienced similar scenarios to Geralt.<\/p>\n \u201cBut his ways of dealing with them are very different. Lambert\u2019s a very prickly, kind of short-tempered character. One thing I was very clear about, going into it, was to root him in a huge sense of insecurity. So the way that he would react to things was completely different to Geralt.\u201d<\/p>\n Surprisingly, one thing that apparently helped nail these tricky shades of performance was also the show\u2019s biggest obstacle \u2013 the delays in filming forced by the coronavirus pandemic, which gave the actors more time to think about their characters, develop their personalities and (when everyone returned) bond on set.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used that time to really knuckle down, and dive into our characters, and be able to take what Henry\u2019s done with Geralt, and use that as the foundations,\u201d Atour said. \u201cAnd then we can start implementing our own characteristics, and why.<\/p>\n \u201cCOVID was a blessing and a curse, in a sense, because what it did was, it gave us a lot more time before we actually started to shoot. Me and Paul used that time, because me and Paul were almost a double act in the show.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like that did feed into the scenes, because we would bond. I was living by myself. My time on set was normally the only human interaction I\u2019d have. So I\u2019d say it definitely made me feel close to the people in my scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was kind of reflecting what was happening in reality,\u201d agreed Bullion. \u201cYou know, we were in the middle of a pandemic. We had to close the set for the best part of seven months whilst Netflix found a way through with incredible safety measures, and we were able to return to work.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all felt like we were all experiencing the same thing, and we could help each other through that, and try to get this thing achieved, which was to film a huge fantasy season in the eye of a storm.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans will see the result of this effort in season two, two years after the first run of episodes debuted \u2013 and it\u2019s no exaggeration to say that Witcher society and history is a crucial plank of the new series, at least in the middle episodes.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the season progresses, you\u2019ll start going deeper into the characters\u2019 emotional state; their triggers; and you\u2019ll see a little bit of history into what [Witcher fortress] Kaer Morhen is about, and you\u2019ll understand the characters a lot more on a personal level,\u201d Bullion said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such a vast series that you\u2019ve just got to give it time to unfold. And that\u2019s what\u2019s exciting about season two. They did an exploration, or an introduction, of what the Witcher world is in season one, and now we\u2019re moving onto season two, we get to go deeper into everything. And that\u2019s where all the fun, gritty stuff starts. You\u2019ll definitely see stuff unfold as the eight episodes go on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think that season one introduced you to the world of The Witcher, and The Witcher as an entity, as a world,\u201d agreed Atour. \u201cBut, you know, season two is bonkers, in a way, because there\u2019s so much action. There are so many epic fight scenes.<\/p>\n \u201cBut essentially, what we get more so in this season is, at the heart of it, a story about loved ones, about family, and what lengths one would go to protect their loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n And further ahead, the future also looks bright. The Witcher is already renewed for a third season, and while it\u2019s unclear how much Geralt\u2019s fellow-Witchers will feature in the story (in the books and games they only appear in key segments) both actors are keen to return.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, it\u2019s no secret, I love the series, and I love the project,\u201d Bullion said. \u201cWe\u2019re very excited about it. If I\u2019m lucky enough to be part of the expansive plans that they\u2019ve got, then, hey, look, let\u2019s see how series two goes down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cListen, why wouldn\u2019t I? \u2013 is your answer,\u201d Atour laughed. \u201cYou know what I mean? It\u2019s been an absolute pleasure and honour to be part of a show of that magnitude. There are conversations. I can\u2019t go too deep into that, but I think: watch this space.\u201d<\/p>\n Conversations? Expansive plans? Could there be something these two aren\u2019t telling? After all, we\u2019ve got one Witcher prequel spin-off on the way, an anime movie, a kids\u2019 animation and more coming from the expanded IP of the franchise. Could a separate Witcher spin-off be on the cards as well?<\/p>\n Bullion plays coy \u2013 \u201cthey call Geralt the White Wolf, so I suppose they could do the Red Wolf spinoff, couldn\u2019t they?\u201d he laughs, referencing Lambert\u2019s fiery mane \u2013 but Atour reveals their plans are no joke.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve actually put some stuff together, me and Paul,\u201d he told RadioTimes.com<\/strong>. \u201cAnd you never know. You never know. There could be something in the pipeline.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny how Paul was like, \u2018The Red Wolf.\u2019 We\u2019ve actually got a treatment, you know? Paul\u2019s sneaky. We\u2019ve actually got a treatment together for a show.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all depends on how they go down in season two. And if there is a hunger and a thirst to see more of those two guys, then we have many options, and many routes that we can go down.\u201d<\/p>\n So watch this space, and watch Lambert and Coen in the background of the Witcher season two \u2013 if all goes well, you could be seeing a lot more of them\u2026<\/p>\n The Witcher season two streams on Netflix from Friday 17th December. For more, check out our dedicated Fantasy<\/a> page or our full TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\""JM2_3418.NEF"\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/12\/Lambert-c1a43ae-e1639062794663.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"JM2_3418.NEF\"\\"\/")
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