James McAvoy and Lin-Manual Miranda were His Dark Materials fanboys before landing the show
By Ariba Bhuvad
His Dark Materials cast members Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy are both huge fans of the Philip Pullman fantasy trilogy. HUGE.
To say that James McAvoy (Lord Asriel) is a huge fan of His Dark Materials would be the biggest understatement of the year. In a clip from the upcoming season 1 home entertainment release, the Scottish actor revealed just how many times he’d read or listened to Philip Pullman’s seminal fantasy series. “I’ve read it three times I think, I’ve listened to the audiobook twice, I’ve listened to the the BBC radio adaptation twice. I’m a massive fan.”
It looks like luck was on his side when he got cast in the pivotal role of Lord Asriel, the explorer father of main character Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen). Imagine getting to play a character from a story you’re obsessed with.
McAvoy isn’t the only His Dark Materials star that was a fan of the novel series long before starring in the HBO/BBC adaptation. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby, also has a special connection with the series.
"His Dark Materials is one of my favorite book series’ of all time. I read it with my wife when she was still my girlfriend, we had just started dating. It was one of those trilogies we read together. And it’s such a beautiful coming of age story, it’s such a beautiful world. It’s so smart, it’s so full."
Talk about a full circle moment!
The first season of His Dark Materials was a wild ride for me, especially as someone who has never read the books. I was completely sucked into this fantasy world with its airships, dæmon familiars and fearsome talking polar bears. And the all-star case, which also includes Ruth Wilson as the villainous Mrs. Coulter and Amir Wilson (no relation) as the young Will Parry, made it easy.
Season 2 (which adapts the second book in the series, The Subtle Knife) was filmed ahead of the coronavirus pandemic, so it faced no major production delays and will air later this fall. Thank goodness for them filming the first two seasons back to back!
Oh, and just in case you didn’t already know, His Dark Materials season 2 will reunite Fleabag’s Andrew Scott (Hot Priest) with Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Scott will play Will’s father John Parry, with Waller-Bridge voicing his osprey dæmon Sayan Kötör.
If we manage to get some Fleabag-style humor and banter in there, I think His Dark Materials season 2 might be the best thing on television this fall!
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