- So this is Mojo, the real star of the show.
And this is Matt, who's keeping him happy.
He's just woken up, so.
Like a lot of people who've just got up, he's a bit grumpy.
But good morning.
River.
He's an extraordinary horse.
In November last year, the producers called me and said, "Can you ride?"
And I, mindful of safety, said, "Well, I have ridden."
And they said, "'Cause we've got you cantering bareback."
I said, "Well, I can't do that, that's a specialist thing."
So they took me to see Mark and Ben, his son, who were very good at not damaging actors, and have worked with people a lot more rich and precious than me.
And Ben got Mojo to rear in front of me, and said, "Put your hands up, "and then when you bring them down, he'll drop."
And he did, about a meter away, and I didn't run away.
And so Ben said, "Okay, you can do that."
(Mojo neighs) You're safe, you're safe.
I think when I first read that Siegfried was a person who preferred horses to people, I thought that was a quite extreme character note.
But then I spent more time with Mark and Ben, and with their extraordinary horses, and I began to see it as quite natural.
I mean, you can tell how beautiful they are.
And particularly riding Mojo, and Malik, his friend, there's a sense that you're in the sort of company of real thoroughbreds.
It's like having a Ferrari under your foot.
And sometimes, when you're riding a riding school horse, and you have to really egg it on, or kick twice to make it do anything.
And you're on Malik, and then you just pull your stomach muscles in, and he goes, oh, we're trotting, okay, and he's away.
And I find that sort of communication really extraordinary, because you know, if you approach a cow on "All Creatures Great and Small" it will kick you if it wants to.
Whereas when you approach a horse, its mood depends on how you behave towards it.
And so watching Matt and Andy, our on-set vet, and Mark and Ben with the horses, just the sort of habitual gentleness and sound and contact that they have with them, means you learn how to behave in a way that the horse understands.
Although, it's always you in charge.
The horse will do it willingly, and sometimes even joyfully, if you're in a good mood together.
And I find that amazing.
I mean, to be booked to do something that you couldn't quite do, and then to be taught how to do it a bit better, so that people who can really do it go, yeah, I kinda believe that, that's a real joy as an actor.
(gentle music)
