Little John as a Scottish engineer

AWW:    So, what was involved in taking a legendary character like Little John and investing him with a humanity for modern films?

KD:      First off, I had auditioned quite a while ago. I had auditioned in June of the previous year on tape for Ridley doing a different accent. Then I found out that I was his first choice. And once I found out about that then I became very committed to it even though I didn't get an offer right away. I was told that he was going to be a Scotsman, so I packed my bags and went to Scotland. I travelled around Scotland trying to find which exact dialect I wanted to do for him and get a much better sense of the Scottish people. I was in Scotland for almost two months and I finally found what I had been looking for. I got the offer for the movie about three months after that. And then we were off in full motion to tackle these great historical, legendary characters.

AWW:    What sort of Scottish accent did you give Little John?

KD:      Well, I spent a lot of time in Glasgow. I really liked the sound. I really liked the harshness to it. It felt right for him. I couldn't do an exact Glaswegian accent because the accent in the 12th century, there were certain things that they did, certain consonants that weren't used whatsoever in the accent. I basically did a Glaswegian accent but pulling out what we call glottals from certain words. Mostly I think people would think I was from Glasgow.

AWW:    I understand that the Little John in this film is perhaps getting back closer to the ballads in that he's clever. I understand that he's an engineer in the film.

KD:      Yeah, he's basically a head engineer in King Richard's army. From the research that I had done ... I didn't watch any of the movies to find him. I guess the feeling I got from film and TV incarnations kind of suggested that he was a little bit rotund, big, jolly and maybe not the smartest fella. The reading I had done -- I just got a different sense. Russell and I had a conversation about it, and I said "should I put on some weight? Be jollier looking?" And we had both decided that he should be a leader of men, and he should live up to his reputation as being a man of the forest. So we lifted a lot of weights and ate properly and I became really obsessed with my war staff and away we went.

AWW:    What can you tell me about Little John in the film?

KD:      I don't know what I can tell without giving anything away. I think you're just going to get a good, multi-dimensional character who's a kind of balls to the wall ... excuse my French ... kind of fella who really cares a lot about his mates. He's been living day to day in this war, just fighting to stay alive. And he and these other fellas have found refuge in the fact that they love to gamble, drink and sing songs. I think he's got a lot of dimension. I hope he's a lot of fun to watch. He was to me.