Friday, April 17, 2009

David James Elliott - TV Guide Online: 'Knights of Bloodsteel'

At TV Guide Online:

(Please follow the link for the complete interview.)



David James Elliott Plunges into Sci Fi's Knights of Bloodsteel

Apr 17, 2009
by Erin Fox

JAG's David James Elliott has traded his buzzcut and pressed uniform for a flowing mane and leather battle-wear to star in Sci Fi's two-part movie event Knights of Bloodsteel (Sunday, April 19 and Monday, April 20, 9 pm/ET, Sci Fi). Elliott stars as freedom fighter John Serragoth in this tale about the continent of Mirabilis, where humans, goblins, elves and dwarves seek bloodsteel, an ore that imparts magical abilities to anyone who can draw it from the Earth. TVGuide.com spoke with Elliott about making the leap into the fantasy genre, training for sword-fighting scenes and talking up the idea of a JAG reunion.

A brief excerpt:

TVGuide.com: How long did it take you to learn how to sword-fight?
Elliott: I grew up in the theater — the classical theater — I went to theater school and studied swordplay. I worked with a man named Patty Crane who was Errol Flynn's stand-in back in the '30s in Hollywood. So I wasn't a stranger to sword-fighting, but it had been a while.

TVGuide.com: It seemed pretty intricate. Were you ever nervous you'd get hurt?
Elliott: Well it's choreographed, so hopefully it comes off like a dance. ... The swords were made of steel and they were sharp. I had one glance off my eyebrow — ripped through my eyebrow and just missed taking my eye out. So I had one mishap, but it's pretty amazing that with all the fights we had, that was the only disaster. Usually in fistfights you get punched in the face. I remember on JAG, Joe Jackson punched Stephen Culp and shattered his nose. You know, we were going into our 18th hour of shooting, and they had a sequence where he had to pretend to punch him in the face, and he landed it and they had to take him away in an ambulance.

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