Dónal Finn talks “whirlwind” of replacing Barney Harris as Mat on The Wheel of Time
By Dan Selcke
The second season of The Wheel of Time kicks off on Amazon Prime Video in just a few days. That means the return of the sprawling cast from the first season, including Josha Stradowski as magic messiah Rand al’Thor, Rosamund Pike as the sorceress Moiraine, and Barney Harris as…
Well, actually Barney Harris won’t be returning as Mat Cauthon, the trouble-making scamp from the Two Rivers with strangely good luck. Harris had to leave the show at the end of season 1. In season 2, Mat will be played by Irish actor Dónal Finn, one of eight children from a farming family in Ireland.
“He is a character, if you’re in any way familiar with the books, who is innately lovable,” Finn told RTE. “He describes himself as a farm boy, which is something I know all too well, but he’s also someone who is a bit of a hellraiser who wants to grab life by the collar and enjoy it and milk it.”
"He could be described a reluctant hero or someone who doesn’t really see himself having the quality of the skills to do that but yet when the time comes, and the pressure is on, he steps up and I think that’s another reason people connected to Mat on the show."
The Wheel of Time is already filming season 3
It’s always a little strange when a new actor takes over a part audiences are already familiar with, but Finn hits the ground running. “I’m kind of grateful for my journey of being cast and stepping into the role,” he said. “Because it was a whirlwind of getting cast in a role I didn’t know much about due to confidentiality reasons and then getting the call to join the show all happened really fast and I’m grateful for that because it didn’t give me time to stop or sweat or think.”
"I jumped in. I was in Morrocco at the time, filming a different project, and then I came straight to Prague to do a reading. Then there was a costume fitting and then they cut my hair and before I knew it, I was on the set."
With any luck, Finn will stick around through to the end of the show, which could last a while; there are over 10 Wheel of Time books to adapt. According to RTE, Finn is already filming the third season of the show.
Dónal Finn: Mat is a “reluctant hero” on The Wheel of Time
But first up we have season 2, which sounds like it’s gotten an upgrade. “The minutiae of the detail is phenomenal,” Finn said. “I’ve been with our showrunner, [Rafe Judkins], and he’s getting a text from the hair and make-up department asking how long this character’s fingernails have to be.”
"Our designer here, Andres, a phenomenal man, has to harness the detail – if there is something wooden in the room, what is carved into it, what is the imagery, and how is that foreshadowing something that might come later for the character?We have amazing departments in all areas. There’s a stunts team here in Prague that trains me for hours and hours across months, which speaks again to the scale of things. There is a deep commitment for everyone."
The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time season 2 all drop on Prime Video this Friday, September 1.
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