James McAvoy Talks Bringing Lord Asriel To Life In His Dark Materials

A Handful Of Dust

The BBC/ HBO co-production adapting Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials starts this weekend and here’s James McAvoy, who plays Lord Asriel talking about playing the role…

Adapting Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy of the same name, which is considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction, the first season follows Lyra, a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children, and becomes a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. As she journeys through the worlds, including our own, Lyra meets Will, a determined and courageous boy. Together, they encounter extraordinary beings and dangerous secrets, with the fate of both the living — and the dead — in their hands.

Stars DafneKeen as LyraBelacqua,Lin-ManuelMiranda as Lee Scoresby, James McAvoy as Lord Asriel,Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter and Clarke Peters as Dr Carne.

It is being produced by New Line Cinema and Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner of Bad Wolf for BBC One. Before airing, the show was renewed for a second series of eight episodes.