By Lindsay Wallace
Director Ridley Scott is the visionary genius behind such classics as ‘Thelma and Louise”, “Gladiator”, “Alien” and “Blade Runner”. If you haven’t already heard, he is now in the midst of re-making the classic Robin Hood story, which stars Russell Crowe as Robin Hood and Cate Blanchett as Lady Marion. Alan Doyle — lead singer of the popular Canadian band Great Big Sea — was cast as Allen a-Dale. We caught up with the frontman soon after he was cast, and Doyle was ready to dish on his new role.
Doyle’s character, Allen a-Dale, is one of the Merry Men in the Robin Hood story. “He’s a troubadour,” exclaimed Doyle. “He’s an Irish lute playing balladeer. He’s an artist who loves to sing a song. With two or three other guys, Allen a -Dale is one of the Merry Men who’s followed Robin Hood for a long time and hopes to continue to do so. Yes, I will be playing the lute in the film.”
Doyle explained that Ridley’s re-imagining of Robin Hood is to be surprisingly musical. “There is a lot of singing in the film,” he told us. “A lot of it by different people in different parts of the film. I don’t know quite yet if Russell and I will be singing together. But there will be lots of music in the film.”
So, how did this Canadian rock star with very little acting experience land such a gig? Doyle explained that Russell Crowe is a longtime close friend. “Russell knew there was a role coming up in this film and they needed a guy that could do the training and the physical stuff that was required, but also someone who has a long history in Celtic music and somebody who could play the lute. I’m sure there’s lots of people in the world who can do that, but he called me and asked me if I’d like to come to LA to read for the part. And off we went.”
The film is in post production now and slated for release in 2010. There will clearly be some “Gladiator”-esque action scenes for Crowe and Doyle, as they have been training with horses, archery and sword fighting.
It should be interesting to see Crowe and Doyle on screen together in this film. The duo has performed together in the past, so perhaps they’ll be bringing their musical collaborations to the big screen as well. “I wrote a few songs with Russell for his band, and he wrote a few with me for Great Big Sea, and I also produced a record for his band and actually toured a couple of times in Australia and in Europe, I was sort of a guest in his band. It was a great collaboration, to be honest. He’s got a real different skill set than I have. He’s a real keen word smith as most of my actor friends are.
“It’s funny how they can do that isn’t, those actor types.” Doyle laughed, “But I’m an actor type now, so I have to stop referring to them in the third person!”
