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British actor Daniel Sharman has taken an unusual path in training for his role as a cold-blooded killer in "Cursed".
"I did some classical dance and some Muay Thai - I overlapped these things to build a character who was capable of being incredibly lethal, effective and graceful at the same time," says Daniel Sharman, 34, to The Post .
The series debuts Friday on Netflix, is based on a novel of the same name, "Cursed" is a version of the legend of King Arthur, set in a way made of magic and adventures in disturbing forests. The story follows Nimue (Katherine Langford), a powerful girl with magical powers who crosses the path of a young Arthur (Devon Terrell). The villains in the series are a group of religious fanatics known as Paladini Rossi (led by Father Carden, Peter Mullan) who inflict terror on the world. Daniel's character is a mysterious and hooded figure who works (and burns villages) with the Red Paladins. He is known as the "Weeping Monk", but in the end he will find out more about his identity.
"He's the typical Frank Miller character," Sharman says, referring to the creator of the show, known for the graphic novels behind films like Sin City and 300. "The Weeping Monk has particular signs under his eyes, which later reveal the his past, and he's wrapped in a cloak with a big hood, but he's a ruthless killer, " says Daniel. "He looks a bit like the Sad Reaper. It must be motionless, because every movement of it obscures your field of vision. This immediately identifies him as an immobile character, and his gestures must be harmonious and graceful under the clothes. You feel hidden. "
"This is practically part of my character's journey: going from being hidden to being exposed," he says. "There was something nice about walking around in a mysterious way . "
Daniel says that when he was shooting Cursed in England, he spent a lot of time working on the movements of the Weeping Monk with his personal trainer Raheem Glistens and the two became very close friends.
"Actually I am now the godfather of one of his children." He says. "It is a beautiful thing born from all this."
Although Sharman's role in Cursed stands out, this is not his first role in this genre. He also had to deal with werewolves, zombies and vampires in Teen Wolf, Fear The Walking Dead and The Originals.
"I remember leaving the acting school and one of my teachers said to me 'You look like a strange elf, nobody will ever take you for a role that seems true, because your appearance is strange.' And I think it ended just like that. Because people usually say to me 'You're strange, we won't give you the role of the boy next door!' " .
Sharman says he really enjoyed his chance to work with Frank Miller. "As an artist, painter and portraitist, I find his drawings truly fascinating," he says. "I grew up with those films (Sin City and 300) and they are very interesting, in my opinion. I thought 'Oh, it's really cool! I would love to work with someone who made those choices! '. I really enjoyed my time with him. We spent a lot of time eating terrible English breakfasts together. "
