Howard Charles, The Musketeers - Exclusive Interview
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: HOWARD CHARLES ON “THE MUSKETEERS”
By Abbie Bernstein
In most screen versions of Alexandre Dumas’ classic seventeenth-century adventure THE THREE MUSKETEERS – and even in the novel itself – Musketeer Porthos gets a bit shortchanged. Dashing new Musketeer D’Artagnan is learning the ropes of heroism and love, Athos has a tragic past with the treacherous Milady de Winter and Aramis has an on-again, off-again relationship with the priesthood. Porthos is there to keep everybody’s spirits up and add some muscle.
This is rectified in BBC America’s THE MUSKETEERS, which airs in the U.S. on Sunday nights. Adrian Hodges’ new adaptation changes some elements – for instance, the Musketeers are now loyal to the French king rather than the queen – but D’Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino) is still the newcomer and Athos (Tom Burke) still has sorrow in his history. However, Aramis, who is played by Santiago Cabrera, and particularly Porthos, portrayed by Howard Charles, are different and much more well-rounded than in previous editions of the story.
Charles, a British actor with an impressive stage career in England, is at a garden party thrown by BBC America for the Television Critics Association. With a duck pond and wrought-iron furniture, it’s almost a setting where one can imagine Musketeers visiting, or at least passing through.
This is definitely a more examined portrait of Porthos, Charles says. “I think with our story, we’ve redefined Aramis and Porthos quite a lot, particularly Porthos. Throughout the series, there’s a strong back story, which I was fortunate enough to play, which goes back to my roots. Basically, because Porthos grew up in the seventeenth-century version of the ghetto, the Court of Miracles, was born in darkness but then found the light and became a Musketeer, so that was the zenith of my attainment as Porthos, becoming a Musketeer. Porthos is very well-defined, probably more so than in the novel, actually. I think all of them are to an extent, funnily enough.”
Pre-Order
ON AMAZON
In at least one episode, Charles adds, the story centers on Porthos’ personal history. “It’s not a flashback. It really works very well. I am forced to revisit that environment, the Court of Miracles. I’m basically accused of murder, and I don’t know whether I’ve done it or not, because I was inebriated on my birthday, and one thing leads to another and I have to go back there and re-introduce to my first love, if you like, and my old best friend-slash-brother, and things ensue and unravel. But it was very important to me and a great opportunity to explore the inner [life] of Porthos.”
Charles also provides a multi-racial Porthos. He explains that MUSKETEERS adapter Hodges “wanted to pay homage to [Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie], the father of the novelist, who was a general in the French army, who rose from private to commander of a few thousand men. This man was the son of a French aristocrat, but his mother was a slave. And that’s true. It’s very well detailed in a book called THE BLACK COUNT, which is part of my research material, along with the novel. But wanting to have a mixed-race man, specifically to play Porthos, was hugely attractive and necessary, particularly in the U.K., where it’s a little more difficult sometimes if you’re of a brown hue, because the parts aren’t there.”
The Musketeers are famous for their swordplay. Given that most British actors get at least some sword training in their studies, did Charles already know how to work with a bladed weapon?
“Nowhere near as much as now,” the actor replies, “but I was trained at the Drama Centre London and I did a little bit there, and I also worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and we did a lot there, too. So I’ve done a little, but never really in a combative way, where you’re having full-on fights. On the set of THE MUSKETEERS, although it was rehearsed and it was structured, we were fighting. It was real. If you missed one of your moves, you were going to get hit with a sword, and sometimes people did. So it was real. I’ve also dabbled in martial arts in the past, so I can handle myself quite naturally, so that lends itself to Porthos a lot.”
Porthos doesn’t do martial arts per se, Charles notes. Even so, “I probably do more fighting with my hands than any other Musketeer, but that’s because out of the four of us, Porthos is the one who basically is a weapon. He can use any thing as a weapon. In the first fight, you see me take part in in the series, in Episode One, is when a Red Guard stops me getting to my sword, so I pick up a fork and I beat him with a fork, and he’s got a big long sword, and so that was a lot of fun.”
A lot of real-life soldiers say that when they’re fighting, they’re fighting for the people around them, rather than some larger cause. Is that the way the view of the Musketeers within the series?
“I think the Musketeers are aware that there’s a larger cause,” Charles replies, “and they are very protective of the realm and the king and they know why they’re there and what it is to be a Musketeer, but fundamentally, I think maybe throughout history, when you’re in the trenches, so to speak, it’s about you and the man next to you. A friend of mine who is a soldier, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, I sat down with him quite a few times before we started shooting and just spoke to him about what it’s like to be a soldier. He just brought it home to me and made me very aware and appreciative of the fact that it might be for queen and country, it might be for king and country, whatever, officially. Unofficially, it’s about you and your brother next to you, because he’s going to stop you getting shot and you’re going to stop him getting shot, and so you fight for each other, and that’s what the Musketeers do. And that’s certainly how I played it. They’re my family.”
As for upcoming projects, Charles has at least one. “I’ll just say the name Muhammad Ali. I’ve been working on it for the last four years.” Charles says he is a co-creator. “It’s a theatrical play. We’ll see what happens. I’d like to do it on stage.”
In conclusion, Charles says, “The one thing that I would like to say is, I think the world needs these types of heroes. There are a lot of antiheroes and it’s kind of the age of antiheroes, and we’re bringing back heroes. And I think that’s necessary. It’s about brotherhood, and I think the world needs that, particularly the Western world. We live in a society which is kind of messed up and people want as much as they can get, as quickly as possible. It’s good for people, particularly children, to get an example of the Musketeers, who carry on jovially, no matter how broken down your horse is. The Musketeers are a band of brothers that ensure that no wrongdoer will go unpunished and that good people will be watched over and protected by fearless, almost superhuman heroes who don’t need capes and special powers. These are guys with will and desire and hunger for justice and honor, so I think it’s a good example for people to watch. I hope that translates when it airs.”
Written by Abbie Bernstein
Hit SUBMIT and we'll send it straight to you FREE
Abbie Bernstein
Latest posts by Abbie Bernstein (see all)
