Sir Derek Jacobi Bids Cadfael Farewell

Sir Derek Jacobi has starred in countless productions of Shakespeare, several Hollywood films, and the beloved series I, Claudius. But in recent years, American and British audiences have come to associate the versatile actor with his most sustained creation: the medieval monk-sleuth Cadfael from Ellis Peters' mystery series. On the eve of the final three episodes of the PBS Mystery! series (airing January 7, 14, and 21 in 1999; check local listings), Sir Derek talked with Amazon.com's Patrick O'Kelley about the trials and joys of bringing Cadfael to life, and shared a few behind-the-scenes glimpses of Cadfael's 12th-century world.

Amazon.com: Tell me a little bit about Cadfael. He's such a compassionate man, yet he is strangely drawn to mysteries that often involve murder. What attracted you to this character and his world?

Sir Derek Jacobi: I didn't know the books before I started, but then I boned up on Ellis Peters's work, and I realized that Cadfael is a very interesting character. He's a monk, but he wasn't always a monk. Two-thirds of his life was spent as a soldier and a warrior and a killer, before he chose a contemplative life in a monastery, an abbey. Most of his life had been very much in the real world, and he gave it up for a life of prayer.

And one of the fascinations for me with Cadfael as a whole is that this mystery series doesn't rely on forensic evidence. It takes place in the mid-12th century, way before forensic intricacies and car chases and that kind of thing. It was all done with herbs and smells and tastes and flowers and plants. And that is, I think, interesting, being a keen gardener myself.

Amazon.com: How was it that you were able to develop an understanding of this character--a man living this monastic life so long ago in a culture that is so foreign from the culture of the late 20th century?

Jacobi: Well, it is all described for you there in the books. Ellis Peters's historical detail is very accurate and very minute, and therefore is not only interesting to read but good for an actor to acquire a sense of the period.

And the other thing I think is that an actor lives in the land of imagination. You have to pretend to live in those clothes that they lived in, to live within the climate that they had then. You have to imagine with the help, obviously, of all the other technicians that are around--the writer, the director, the other actors. But ultimately it's a leap of faith and a leap of imagination to put yourself back in time into those conditions and situations and see how you would react.

It's often difficult to slough off all that we've acquired, all the comforts and safety nets modern life provides for us, and realize that in those days, people were living very much on the edge--life was incredibly hard! Pain and danger and fear were daily fare. They couldn't take pills if they had headaches; they took other things--herbs and medicines and potions--that Cadfael was very knowledgeable about. It was a much darker world that they lived in, without all the comforts and the things we take so much for granted now.

Amazon.com: Did you have any difficulties trying to fit yourself into the role?

Jacobi: If you read the descriptions of him, I'm not physically absolutely right for Cadfael. He was short. I have in my mind a picture that isn't me, so that when I met the authoress for lunch before we started, I expected her to say, "Oh, no, he's so physically wrong for it!" But she didn't! She said, "No, I'd love him to do it!" and we got on very well. I said, "Does it matter to you that for instance they don't want me to sound Welsh?" And she said, no, that doesn't matter because it's all set beyond the borders in Wales in the books. Cadfael is supposed to speak fluent Welsh himself, but there was very little Welshness about him when we did it.

Curiously, they did market research on accents and found the two accents that turned most people off on English television--British accents--were Birmingham and Wales. So that was one of the reasons they decided that we wouldn't use a Welsh accent, and also because they were worried that Middle America wouldn't understand a word we were saying!

Amazon.com: Can you tell me a little bit more about your relationship to Ellis Peters?

Jacobi: Well we met, as I say, over lunch given by her agent, who lives in this lovely house on the River Thames in London, and we got on immediately! She was a lovely lady--very forthright, very strong. The first thing I noticed about her was that not only did she wear a wig, but she wore it rather badly! You could see the stocking top poking out underneath the wig. But she was lovely. She was very cultured, and when she talked about Cadfael and his period, it was great to listen to her, because she was a fund of knowledge.

Amazon.com: How did she feel about the way you were adapting her novels?

Jacobi: She came out to the set a couple of times and enjoyed herself--reasonably enjoyed herself. I mean, she loved watching Cadfael being made, but of course she didn't wholly approve of what we did with it. I suppose, when you give up any book and somebody else then adapts it for an hour-and-half slot on the telly, they have to make certain alterations. They have to make certain changes, not only for the time that they have at their disposal but for the particular audience they're playing to.

Also, she uses a certain language in the books that was not used in the adaptation. She would have preferred her own dialogue, but of course you couldn't use that dialogue. It's great to read, but in all other media it wouldn't work. She was pleased that episodes were being done, but like any parent, she didn't like what was happening to her child. I think that's true of any writer.

Amazon.com: Do you have a favorite episode that you think captures the essence of Cadfael?

Jacobi: I think my favorite was "Virgin in the Ice." It was the best narrative, the most imaginative plot. A body is congealed in ice, and then the ice block slowly thaws in the abbey. As it thaws this beautiful girl is uncovered inside. It was a wonderful image.

Amazon.com: In the final episodes, especially, Cadfael's medieval world is rendered with tremendous realism. The set must have been very impressive.

Jacobi: What was so good about it was that the set that they originally built stayed there, and weathered over the five years. It got five summers and five winters of weather. It became more and more authentic as we worked in it, and they added bits to it.

And I always found--right from the beginning--an extraordinary thing. The abbey was built on one of the sound studios, and of course it was all polystyrene, but you walked into this vast polystyrene abbey and you felt you were walking into the real thing. People's voices naturally hushed. You started to whisper.

Amazon.com: Were there special challenges to filming in Hungary?

Jacobi: It was never physically dangerous except when I nearly fell off a horse, but it was physically arduous--especially when you were working late at night.

Oh, gosh! I remember the cold of the Hungarian winter! The wind swept across those Hungarian plains and rattled up your habit! Lots of thermal underwear was employed and a lot of boots and things as I went into the water. One of the last episodes was all about a flood. We were working in the rain till all hours, and it was muddy and it was cold and it was damp, and it was hours under the hoses. That was not pleasant. That was not pleasant.

I think the thing that I disliked most of all, though, was the tonsure and my head being shaved--twice a week with a three-and-a-half-inch diameter tonsure. Originally they wanted it to be bigger, but I pleaded and pleaded and pleaded to have the smallest tonsure that they could get away with. A tonsure that could still be seen, but... I worried about my social life!

And what was very nice is that they made me a toupee! So when I was not on set, when I wasn't being Cadfael, when I was being me, you know, going to the theater or whatever in and around Budapest, I would stick on this toupee. Sometimes it stayed on, but sometimes it blew off.

I went to a Chinese restaurant after work one day. I took a book, put my little toupee on, walked down the street, and went into the Chinese restaurant. And then I sat there and ordered my food. My first course came and I put down my book, and I just happened to put up my hand to scratch my head and discovered that my toupee had been blown by the wind and was folded over backwards on the top of my head! I'd gone into that restaurant and sat down and the waitress had taken my order and everybody else had seen me with this what must have looked like this creature, this animal, sitting on the top of my head!

Amazon.com: And no one said a word.

Jacobi: Terribly embarrassing! Nobody said a word! Nobody said a word. Very embarrassing. Very embarrassing.

Amazon.com: Why is it that you decided to end the Cadfael series at 13 and not do the whole run of Peters's books?

Jacobi: Well, actually, it wasn't my decision. It was doing very well; it was doing particularly well outside of England. It was a very big seller for Carlton Television. But it was getting more and more expensive to do. I thought it was getting better and better, because the production values were increasing each time we did it.

I truly don't know why it was ended, though. It was suddenly decided that that would be it. They never said particularly why, because they were cut off in their prime. I would love to do more because I enjoyed it very much. This time last year I was there hanging around the hotel in Budapest having a lovely time! With my toupee on. But I miss it, I do miss it.