Writer-producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is not new to adaptations but "The Witcher" gave her a chance to explore an entirely new world, which she says despite its fantasy setting, deals with reality.
It is for the first time Lauren dabbled into the genre after working on prestige drama projects such as "The West Wing", "Justice", "Parenthood" and, comic adaptations in "The Umbrella Academy" and "The Defenders".
The showrunner said she instantly fell in love with the characters that Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski has created as they are closer to real people though they move through a world dominated by magic and monsters.
"I was comfortable in the realm of adaptations but what I was surprised the most about fantasy is that it isn't about escapism. It's about reflecting the real world, the one we're all walking through. I fell in love with Geralt, Ciri and Yennifer. They're all loners, they don't feel like they fit in. That's something I could relate to," Lauren told PTI in an exclusive interview from Manila.
"The other fantasy aspects though, they were so much fun because I had never written monster fights or people learning to use magic for the first time. Those were brand new to me as a writer," she added.
Set in a medieval world known as The Continent, "The Witcher" follows the story of monster hunter Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and princess Ciri (Freya Allan), whose destinies are tied together.
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Cavill, a Hollywood A-lister and best known world over for his portrayal of Superman, was the perfect lead for the show, believes Lauren.
"It's a dream to have a star who is so passionate about the material and is really a scholar of 'The Witcher'. Henry will tell you it was his dream to play this character. And it's a great advantage to me as creator because he shows up every day excited to work.
"I put words on page and in my brain, I already have an idea of what Geralt looks like and what he sounds like and how he reacts to certain things. But the truth is, I have to put that in the hands of an actor, and I have to let them pour themselves into that role. And Henry's a great collaborator in that way. His silence, his stoicism, his dry sense of humour, these things are really important to Geralt and Henry just embodies that."
"It will be fun for fans when they watch these episodes and see that we actually pull direct dialogues, visualisations and places or people from the book. My copy of the books are all folded down and marked up. Because we continue to go back to the source material to try and make sure that even when we can't do everything, we stay very close to the book."
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