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The Witcher is very Shakespearean, says Eamon Farren, with Cahir reminding the actor of Macbeth
Just like Shakespeare's immortal cast of characters, Farren says The Witcher is full of people who are "everything in one person." We should note, though, that very few if any of them are a donkey called Bottom
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Netflix's The Witcher is based on the series of Andrzej Sapkowski's hit books, which began publication in 1993. But according to one person intimately familiar with the series, the characters within can be traced thematically much farther back, and to an admittedly more important source. The way the show's Eamon Farren, AKA Cahir, tells it, The Witcher can be held up as a mirror to the works of William Shakespeare.
The comment came about during MCM Comic Con London May 2023, where Farren was appearing ahead of the then-upcoming Witcher season 3. At one point during the Q&A portion of his panel, Farren was asked who the most interesting character he'd ever played was, and his answer had everything to do with the Bard.
"The most interesting character I've played?" posited the actor, "I've played a lot of great characters. Cahir is definitely one of the most complex and challenging. But also, in drama school I played Hamlet. That's one of the most interesting."
"[Cahir] reminds me a bit of Macbeth," Farren continued, "Playing Hamlet and Macbeth any sort of Shakespeare [...] that's why I love doing The Witcher because it does have those Shakespearean overtones. And you know, [those characters] are everything in one person, so it's always fun."
One thing I will say The Witcher has over the greatest playwright in English history, though - we never got a steamy bathtub scene for the Prince of Denmark.
Then again, maybe I just need to do some more Googling.
You can watch Eamon Farren's full MCM London Comic Con panel from May 2023 right here:
Return to the Continent - be it the original Witcher books, the great Witcher games, or the excellent Witcher TV series franchise at Netflix. To help you on your journey, we have our key articles about Geralt's adventures here:
About MCM Comic Con London May 2023
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