Robin Hood
Immersing herself in the world of Robin Hood alongside one of contemporary cinema’s most productive film-making teams – Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe – was an awe-inspiring experience says Cate Blanchett.
The Oscar-winning actress plays the feisty Lady Marion Loxley, a woman who will defend her home and fight for her family, opposite Crowe as Robin Longstride, a battle hardened archer who returns to 12th century England to find a country on the brink of civil war.
Blanchett brings Marion vividly to life and clearly enjoyed the adventure that was making a modern day epic.
“It was utterly surprising,” she smiles. “You know when you are about to work with Ridley and Russell that there’s going to be a lot of testosterone on set and so you brace yourself but they were incredibly fine, detailed, welcoming and good humoured.
“I expected it to be more heavy going than it was but it was the most glorious summer. The weather in England was superb, there’s nothing like a wonderful English summer day and we were filming in some of the most beautiful parts of the country, like Windsor Great Park. Then, Russell brought along this really fantastic band of Merry Men who kept everyone entertained, including my children.”
Blanchett joined Scott, her fellow cast members – including Scott Grimes, Kevin Durand and Alan Doyle who play Robin’s Band of Brothers plus the crew on location in England to make what the director describes as a “re-imagining” of one of the most enduring myths of English folklore. “It couldn’t be timelier”, she says.
“I grew up with Errol Flynn playing Robin Hood and now being a mother of three boys my children have been watching the BBC television version” she says.
“They’ve also seen the one with foxes, the animated Disney version (Robin Hood, 1973). There are many versions, one for every generation and you can ask ‘well, why tell this story now? But if you look at the current climate and how we all feel the world is so bad and so corrupt and we feel so powerless within it, I think we are all looking towards an outsider, a hero, to come and save the day and that’s Robin Hood.”
She also believes casting Crowe – a fellow Australian – to play the most famous outlaw of all time is a perfect match. Flynn, she notes, was also Australian and there’s something in the national psyche that makes an Aussie outlaw a perfect match for the man who robs from the rich to give to the poor.
“It’s interesting that two Australians have played the role, when I think about Robin Hood, before Russell, I think about Errol Flynn as being Robin Hood.
“I think there’s an outsider’s perspective from us Antipodeans – we understand the outlaw’s perspective maybe inherently and deeply and Russell certainly does.
“He’s very outside the norm and is often getting into trouble, as a figure, but then he’s also got an incredibly strong ability to access really deep and soulful emotions.
“This is not an inconsequential Robin Hood, it’s a really soul searching Robin Hood that he’s created. After this film, I think you’ll remember Errol Flynn and you’ll remember Russell.”
Robin Hood is Scott and Crowe’s fifth film together. Their professional collaboration started with the blockbuster hit Gladiator and continued with A Good Year, American Gangster and Body of Lies. The director and actor have a combative working relationship, trading ideas and discussing how to approach a scene.
“Russell and Ridley together are a bit like George and Martha,” she laughs, referring to the cartoon hippos, best friends who argue a lot. “They argue, they love one another deeply, they respect one another like nobody’s business and they bring out the best in one another and that’s why they keep working together.