page_title: The Dragon's Call
section_title: Casting
hierarchical_section_title: The Dragon's Call / Production / Casting
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo taken of Eve Myles at 'The Rift' a Torchwood convention
context_page_description: "The Dragon's Call" is the first episode of the first series of the British fantasy-adventure family television series Merlin. Written by Julian Jones and directed by James Hawes, the episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 20 September 2008.
  The episode tells the arrival of Merlin as a young man in Camelot, where magic is banned by King Uther Pendragon. Taken under the wing of Camelot's physician, Gaius, he is warned that he must keep his innate magical ability a secret. In Camelot, he meets Uther's heir, the arrogant Prince Arthur, as well as Lady Morgana and her handmaid, Guinevere. As a witch plans revenge on the King's heir for the execution of her son, Merlin is informed by a cryptic dragon that his destiny is to protect Arthur.
  Merlin was conceived by Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps to be an origin story for the characters of the Arthurian legends, with family-centered entertainment. Young actors with little experience were cast as the four lead characters, while better-known actors were cast in supporting roles. Many of the scenes in Camelot were filmed in France, at the Château de Pierrefonds, while the rest was filmed in England and Wales.
context_section_description: The producers were aware that they would be casting young actors with little experience in film and television. Hundreds were seen for the part of Merlin, with the part going to 22-year-old Colin Morgan, whom Murphy and Capps felt possessed a broad acting range with good comedic timing and wonder, and who they felt would most importantly be likable to the audience. Bradley James was cast as Prince Arthur, whom the producers saw as a "medieval Prince Harry". They felt that James' sense of comedy balanced the fact that the character was intended to first appear acting like an "idiot". Murphy and Capps had previously worked with James on a pilot, and kept him in the "back of [their] minds" when casting Arthur. Katie McGrath and Angel Coulby, who play Morgana and Gwen respectively, also had little previous professional acting experience. Despite this, it was noted that all four young actors took to their jobs maturely and with energy.
  The series also incorporates more experienced and well-known actors. Richard Wilson was cast as Gaius, who was conceived to have a dysfunctional father/son relationship with Merlin. Murphy and Capps had worked with Wilson before and considered him a broad actor with a "warmth" and "humanity" that would fit the character. The voice of the Great Dragon was given to John Hurt; he was offered the part, though the producers did not expect him to accept. The role of King Uther went to veteran actor Anthony Head, who was best known for his role as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Head had been one of the first choices for the part; Murphy and Capps felt that he was good with "high-concept" worlds. Murphy and Capps had also previously worked with Caroline Faber, who briefly appears as Merlin's mother. The two liked her sense of humanity, though her scene — where Gaius reads her letter — was almost cut from "The Dragon's Call". Eve Myles guest stars in "The Dragon's Call" as the villain Mary Collins and her host body Lady Helen. Murphy and Capps remarked that Myles gave a "big" but "truthful" performance, and really "embraced" being a villain. Myles sang during the filming of the climax, though her voice was replaced with a real operatic soprano in post-production. Composer Rob Lane was given little time to complete the song and, though he was given Old English texts, the lyrics do not make actual sense.
caption: "The Dragon's Call" guest-starred Eve Myles, who enjoyed playing the villain.
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