“Dawn Treader” Interview with Ben Barnes

In its August/September issue, One Magazine (France) interviewed Ben Barnes (King Caspian) about The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which premiers in theaters December 10. The magazine asked Barnes about film expectations, his on-set injury by Skandar Keynes (King Edmund), the pressures of fame, getting older, and his love life — among other things. Below are select portions of the interview — translated by Kate, a friend of BenBarnesFan.com admin Stephanie.

What can we expect from the third film?

It’s a much more mature and adult film than the two previous ones. The magical aspect that you all know hasn’t been left out, but The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is an adventure film rather than a pure work of fantasy. Caspian is now the new King of Narnia and, with Edmund and Lucy, he embarks on a great crossing aboard this boat, the Dawn Treader, to find the land of Aslan. So most sequences take place on the sea, which hasn’t been easy to film. In Hollywood, it’s often said that filming on the water is the most painful of all .. I agree! [laughs] But I enjoyed myself very much. . . .

The film isn’t produced by Disney but by Fox. Is this going to change anything?

No. Apart from the fact that the logo at the beginning of the film isn’t the same, you won’t see any difference. Although the whole team had changed and the producers aren’t the same, the new studio wanted the film to fit into the continuity of the preceding two. That can reassure the fans: they’ll find the Narnia they love. The only big difference is that you can watch the film in 3D. I have to admit that I’m really looking forward to seeing the result. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my favorite book in the Narnia series and I believe that the film will do it justice.

You were apparently injured during the shooting of the film. Can you tell us what happened?

I was filming a sword fight with Skandar [Keynes, Edmund Pevensie], but he badly calculated one of his moves and I was hit in the face. At first it really hurt and I was sure that my nose was broken. Luckily, that wasn’t the case; I was just filming with a swollen lip for a few days. In the story, it’s always Skander who’s afraid. He was as white as a sheet when the doctor came on the set [laughs]. But it wasn’t his fault. When you’re filming a very physical sequence like this one, these things can happen.

Click here to read the full interview. Enjoy!

Photo: Ben Barnes Fan