"Of all the places we’ve filmed Sharpe this is by far
the greatest and it’s probably the best film we’ve
ever made."
Daragh O’Malley admits that after
fighting wars in Portugal, Spain and France he thought his days
in uniform would end with the Battle of Waterloo. "After
five years filming in Russia in nightmare conditions, nearly
losing half my face in Turkey when I suffered a terrible injury
in a fight scene, I didn’t think I’d be back filming
more Sharpe! Despite that, all my memories of Sharpe are fond
ones and although I did consider I was too old to go back it
was a happy and exciting time for us all."
Daragh was returning to the role of
Sgt Patrick Harper after more than eight years. Alongside Sean
Bean he is the only regular cast member to have appeared in all
the Sharpe films. "It was bizarre but straight away we fell
back into it. When I got out of the car at the read-through and
saw Sean for the first time in nearly nine years he just said
‘alright Daragh’ and that time apart was eclipsed.”
Speaking of his character Daragh explains:
“When Sharpe gave up soldiering and became a farmer in France,
Harper returned to Ireland. But he couldn’t settle and was
soon working undercover as a spy for the Duke of Wellington.
It’s like every boy’s dream working on Sharpe. You
never really grow up on that set. There is always some action
shot to be filmed and we do most of it ourselves. There was one
very fast scene on a horse that I had a double for, but that
was it. It takes a lot of energy to film those scenes and none
of us is 25 any more! And it’s all done so quickly. One
take and that’s your lot. You look around and the unit is
packing up and moving onto the next location. The director Tom
Clegg is as fast as a speeding bullet! He has directed all 31
hours of Sharpe and his enthusiasm is our inspiration to give
everything we’ve got on screen.”
Daragh had never visited India before,
let alone filmed there, but says it is an experience that has
changed his life. "It’s different universe. In eight
weeks there I never saw anybody get angry or heard anyone raise
their voice. Despite the extremes of devastating poverty and
wealth, I didn’t meet an Indian who didn’t smile back
at me even if it was from the gutter. One morning I went to see
a film at 9am and there were 1600 people in there with me, all
jumping up to join in the songs and get involved. They love the
movies.
“We filmed in the desert sands
of Western Jaipur where men on camels are living a life untouched
by the last few centuries, in incredible palaces and fortresses,
with pigs and goats and monkeys under our feet. Of all the places
we’ve filmed Sharpe this is by far the greatest and it’s
probably the best film we’ve ever made. But then I think
this is the role Sean is happiest in too. It’s a big motion
picture on a TV budget!”
