Vikings, created by Michael Hirst, aired for an epic six seasons, bringing the adventures of a Ragnar Lothbrok: the greatest hero of his age. The series told the saga of Ragnar’s band of Viking brothers and his family as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. It was an hugely popular show on Amazon/History Channel; one whose fan base grew exponentially each season… and so when it was announced that Vikings: Valhalla would continue the bloodline… the buzz was created.
Vikings: Valhalla begins in the early 11th century and chronicles the legendary adventures of some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived: Leif Eriksson, Freydis Eriksdotter, Harald Hardrada, and the Norman King William the Conqueror. These men and women blazed a path as they fight for survival in the ever changing, evolving world.
I was delighted to once again work with the extremely talented and wonderful show runner Jeb Stuart, (Liberator, Die Hard) and enter the second season as the colourful character Batu.
We meet Batu in episode 2, in his element, amid the loud and raucous fight pen, in Novgorod. Batu, a showman and conman, plus his partner, Kaysan, (played by Kayode Akinyemi) over the years had traveled north from Constantinople, using similar tactics of making money and living the travellers life, yet after the con goes wrong, Leif and Harald, played by Sam Corlett and Leo Suter, offer to work with them rather than what they should do, against them. The journey to Constantinople is a difficult and dangerous one, and working together as a team seems the only way.
Leif and Harald band together some more colourful characters to create a bunch of misfits; a blind Pecheneg, an astrologer, a slave owner, a man and his daughter, each character with their own reason to travel, and each character with their own twist in the story. Ailbhe NicAmhlaidh, Eleanor Mclynn, Eigil Hedegaard, Hayat Kamille, Siobhan Callaghan, Sofi Lebedeva, Steven Brand, Tolga Safer, join the 12 strong Falk ship as it sets off down the Dnieper river hoping to evade the dangers that lie ahead.
I had a wonderful 4/5 months working on this project in the amazing county of Wicklow in Ireland. The creatives, the crew, the cast, the locals and all who I encountered helped shape some incredible memories alongside an epic TV series.
Taylor Action James 