| If you're enthralled by the latest series of Robin of Sherwood on ITV, (Saturday times vary), just think how exciting it all is for the new star, Jason Connery! He could hardly wait to tell us about the Merry Life... |
| Fighting fit though he is, it didn't take long for Jason to realize what a tough character Robin must have been. "We started filming the series in Winter," he told us, "and it was freezing! They didn't have thermal underwear in Robin's day. "I did one scene where I had to lie down, covered in a goat skin. It was cold, damp, raining and thoroughly miserable. "I thought then that those guys must have been pretty tough You really got an impression of what it must have been like to be around in their times. "It was different in the Summer; then you'd lie around in the sun and think 'Hmmm, this is good, I could live in the forest, no problem!' But there's no way I'd have been hanging around the forest in Winter. I'd have been sneaking off to the nearest warm farmhouse as quickly as possible!" Jason also grew to admire the way that Robin and the Merry Men defended themselves. "Before this, I'd never shot an arrow and never fought with a sword or a staff," he said. "So, two weeks before I began filming, I went off to practise. "It was all under strict tuition and I really got into it. If you concentrate and don't try to do too much at once, it's fine, otherwise it does your brain in! Luckily, I had a very, very good stuntman who helped me work things out." Even so, Jason did suffer some injuries. "Oh yes, I got loads of little nicks and bruises," he explained. "That happened because we wanted things to look convincing. I was never hurt badly because we were very safety concious about it all. Even though the fights look real, we went through them time and time again to get them right." Over the Top There were a couple of scenes, however, which no amount of rehearsing could prepare for. "I fell off a horse, for a start," he recalled. "It shied from the camera and I went over the top, but I was all right. The horse decided to stop and didn't tell me about it! "Then I did this scene where I got shot in the stomach with an arrow. I did have a block of wood beneath my clothes to protect me, I should add! Anyway, I then had to lie in this stream and it was freezing. "It was so cold that my throat was shaking uncontrollably and I was supposed to be playing dead! The director told me to stop it, but I couldn't! "When the scene was over, I got out, made straight for a blanket and said 'Can I change my clothes?' I was told 'Oh no, we've got another shot, get back in!' I ended up doing four different shots, but it was great afterwards; they rushed me off and stuck me under a hot shower." Out of the Swim Jason, whose father is actor Sean Connery, didn't always have his sights set on a career in films, TV, or the theatre. "I was going to take up swimming as a profession," he said. "I went to a school where they were very keen on swimming. Too keen, in fact. That's why I gave it up. It was eight hours in the pool each day, plus weight training. "I was one of the fastest in the South of England over four lengths freestyle, and everyone felt I had potential, but I got bored with swimming up and down a pool all day long." Jason is still a keen sportsman, which is one of the reasons he was chosen to play Robin. He enjoys playing rugby and going water-skiing. Jason says: "When I'm over at my father's home in Spain, we play a lot of tennis together. We used to also play golf, but he kept on beating me. At tennis he usually beats me in psychological warfare. He's always saying 'You ready for this?' He likes to wind me up!" |
| Jason Takes a bow! |